My 1Malaysia Mooncake Festival

Posted by : foongpc | Friday, September 24, 2010 | Published in

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It was the 15th day of the 8th month two days ago, according to the Chinese calendar. That was the day when Chinese people all over the world celebrated Mid-Autumn Festival. In Malaysia, it is popularly known as Mooncake Festival or Lantern Festival.

I had my very own 1Malaysia mooncake celebration. Why 1Malaysia? You'll know why in a minute.

Mooncake Festival is never complete without lanterns and mooncakes. I am too old to play lanterns but one is never too old for mooncakes. Haha!!

So let me start with mooncakes! Look at this beautiful mooncake box from Mandarin Oriental KL!



No, it did not come with the dragon, I swear. The dragon just happened to be there. Haha!

When I opened the box, it revealed 8 mini boxes inside!



So I excitedly took one box out!



I opened the box and took this out.



It was a mini durian snow skin mooncake! I quickly unwrapped it.



The mooncake was about 4cm in diameter - that's how mini it was!

I knew I could just chuck the whole mooncake into my mouth but I decided to cut it into half instead.



I took one small bite and I loved it! The durian paste simply melted in my mouth. Yum!!

Nowadays there are 4 types of mooncakes - the baked skin, snow skin, jelly and ice cream mooncakes. I dislike the baked skin variety. The jelly mooncakes are quite nice but one look at the colouring scares me! The ice cream mooncakes made famous by Haagen Dazs may appeal to some people but not me. I guess I still love the snow skin variety best!

So even though there were baked skin and jelly mooncakes that night, I did not bother to eat and take photos of them!

I did try the snow skin mooncakes from Tai Thong. Their durian coulis was really quite good with strong durian aroma!



Somehow, the photo of the durian mooncake below does not look too appetizing, but I swear it tasted really good!



However, the yam mooncake from Tai Thong was just so so.



Maybe because it had egg yolks inside! I hate mooncakes with egg yolks!!



Now don't get me wrong. I love eating egg yolks. But the combination of egg yolks and mooncakes are just....yucks!!!

By the way, these Tai Thong mooncakes were all normal size and not mini ones like the Mandarin Oriental mooncakes.

OK, enough about mooncakes! Mooncake festival is not just about mooncakes you know. There is also this slightly less popular food but it is my favourite food during Mooncake Festival. It is none other than the taro!



Some people call it yam. I prefer to call it taro-yam. Haha!

So how do you eat these taro-yams? Preparing it is easy! Just boil them in a pot filled with water and with some salt added, for about 30-45 minutes.

Then, you just need to peel off the outer hairy skin and they are ready for consumption!

Look at my peeled taro!



Oops! Focused on the wrong object - the unpeeled taro-yams!

OK, here is the correct photo.



I normally like to dip the taro into some soya sauce that was added with a dash of pepper. Yum!!

Earlier, I told you that I celebrated a 1Malaysia mooncake festival. Want to know why I said that?

Well, besides mooncakes and taro, I also ate some Raya cookies given by my Muslim friends!



I am not very fond of cookies but I ate quite a lot that night!



All these calorie-laden cookies were not doing me any good but it's OK, I promised myself I would work out the next day, and I did!



And guess what? To round it off, I even ate naan breads which I bought from a mamak shop that night! Haha!



Now was that a 1Malaysia celebration or what? LOL!

Did you celebrate Mooncake Festival too and what did you eat?

FIRST COMMENTER

(75) Comments

  1. fufu said...

    wow so many kuih bulan!!!! damn...drooling now...

    September 24, 2010 at 4:10 AM
  2. fufu said...

    snow skin mooncake!!! i want!!! reserve one for me next year ok? i will be back home for mooncake festival :)

    September 24, 2010 at 4:11 AM
  3. fufu said...

    i love lotus paste also... wait... and pandan one... wait i havent tried ice cream mooncake!!! oh no...one is not enough... get me as many as you could pls!!! =p

    i dont like mooncake with egg yolks too... oily!!!

    so now you know what fufu's tongue like?? lol

    September 24, 2010 at 4:13 AM
  4. fufu said...

    happy mooncake festival :)

    September 24, 2010 at 4:14 AM
  5. Mariuca said...

    chop from Amsterdam, yay FC2... kamon panda, me chopping fr far away hehehehe!

    September 24, 2010 at 5:47 AM
  6. Mariuca said...

    didn manage get my mooncake la and now dah habis huhuhuhu:0

    September 24, 2010 at 5:49 AM
  7. lina said...

    Wah! So jeles reading abt you eating mooncakes! LOL

    September 24, 2010 at 7:05 AM
  8. lina said...

    Hungry lar.... Isk isk isk

    September 24, 2010 at 7:05 AM
  9. Caroline said...

    omg!! *drool* why la show the durian mooncake here?! =( so yumssss!!!

    September 24, 2010 at 8:33 AM
  10. Caroline said...

    I love snowskin n jelly mooncake!! :D

    September 24, 2010 at 8:33 AM
  11. Caroline said...

    gosh! d durian coulis just look so yummy!! ish tempting me with all the durian mooncakeS!!!

    September 24, 2010 at 8:34 AM
  12. Caroline said...

    if baked skin with yolk inside, i like! hehe. :D

    September 24, 2010 at 8:35 AM
  13. Caroline said...

    hahhaah taro-yam! simply call it only la u. LOL!

    September 24, 2010 at 8:36 AM
  14. Caroline said...

    i saw almond london there!! hahaha! i love those raya cookies but too much till i bored with it. :/

    September 24, 2010 at 8:37 AM
  15. Caroline said...

    LOL! naan bread! mmg 1 malaysia la u!

    September 24, 2010 at 8:38 AM
  16. Caroline said...

    TGIF Foong! :D

    September 24, 2010 at 8:38 AM
  17. Unknown said...

    Wahhhh somehow I felt that Malay Raya cookies are much more appealing..LOL

    dun like yolk? I used to hate it but now I eat them already...LOL

    September 24, 2010 at 8:42 AM
  18. Unknown said...

    Lol.. Panda loves moon cakes a lot.. but also lot different varieties food.. =D

    how much is the moon cakes from Mandarin Oriental KL??

    September 24, 2010 at 9:42 AM
  19. wenn said...

    my my, my stomach is already yelling for food..love all the mooncakes!

    September 24, 2010 at 10:04 AM
  20. [SK] said...

    wow, you bought one whole box of mooncakes from mandarin oriental??

    September 24, 2010 at 10:43 AM
  21. [SK] said...

    but don't think you finished everything that night lah, sure got leftover for days after..

    September 24, 2010 at 10:44 AM
  22. [SK] said...

    yearrr, i hate durians!! i will never eat durian mooncakes, and not even going to buy that.. yucks!!

    September 24, 2010 at 10:46 AM
  23. [SK] said...

    that taro looks very nice!! i love that, hehe!! and i think we seldom eat these on days other than mid-autumn huh??

    September 24, 2010 at 10:47 AM
  24. [SK] said...

    haha, so very 1-Malaysia!! mooncakes + raya cookies + naan.. only you have that idea to bring this out.. hahaha!!

    September 24, 2010 at 10:48 AM
  25. [SK] said...

    but did you eat them separately?? then this is not truly 1-Malaysia lor..

    September 24, 2010 at 10:49 AM
  26. [SK] said...

    you should take the mooncake paste, spread them over on the raya cookies, and then wrap it using the naan.. that truly one mouthful bite of 1-Malaysia!! kekekeke~~ :D

    September 24, 2010 at 10:49 AM
  27. [SK] said...

    didn't really celebrate at home, but we did have a small party in the office together, this is a tradition of our company, fun right?? :p

    September 24, 2010 at 10:50 AM
  28. LifeRamblings said...

    my waistline keeps expanding for just looking at all these snacks.

    September 24, 2010 at 11:45 AM
  29. khengsiong said...

    The mooncake (mini) boxes have very interesting design...

    September 24, 2010 at 12:12 PM
  30. khengsiong said...

    ...but also a bit like soap!

    September 24, 2010 at 12:12 PM
  31. khengsiong said...

    Nowadays there are plenty of mooncake flavors, but I still prefer the traditional one, LOL...

    September 24, 2010 at 12:14 PM
  32. Gabriel said...

    wow...what a feast! so nice! u made me drool over the snow skin mooncakes! :(

    September 24, 2010 at 1:32 PM
  33. Kelvin said...

    I wanna to buy tat durian mooncake, but was out of stock T_T

    September 24, 2010 at 2:14 PM
  34. iamthewitch said...

    The yam mooncake somehow reminded me of THE yam mooncake at Sushi Tei last time. LOL! I actually like the baked version more because snow skin doesn't taste very good if you leave them out for too long...

    September 24, 2010 at 3:03 PM
  35. jolene said...

    i hate mooncakes with egg yolks too

    September 24, 2010 at 4:52 PM
  36. HappySurfer said...

    I still prefer the non-halal mooncakes because they are not so dry/rough and flat in taste. Love those with egg-yolks, double yolks just nice. Durian mooncakes give me the shivers. I only eat durian in its original form, not durian in other forms. *Shiver* To each his/her own, I suppose.

    September 24, 2010 at 7:18 PM
  37. HappySurfer said...

    Love those mini-yams. Good thing they are available all year round.

    The Tai Thong mooncake looks ornate - very Oriental. Pretty. The cookies look yummy too. What a food celebration you had..

    September 24, 2010 at 7:23 PM
  38. Reanaclaire said...

    Ate...er..oh, i went for western food with my girl cos the chinese stalls were closed during that evening around my area..either closed or too crowded to go in..
    the small yam.. i ate it with fine sugar last time.. :)

    September 24, 2010 at 8:09 PM
  39. Anonymous

    Wow..so much food! :)

    I love the durian mooncake from Shangri-La Hotel. Retails at RM16 a piece! Expensive but utterly delicious.

    September 24, 2010 at 8:26 PM
  40. இ Baŋäŋaz இ said...

    No durian, no snow skin! just an old fashioned Bananaz lup the traditional..haha.

    September 24, 2010 at 8:33 PM
  41. இ Baŋäŋaz இ said...

    Oh naan & cookies are nice..and you semua 'taro' into your tummy.. truly 1Moonlaysian festival.

    September 24, 2010 at 8:35 PM
  42. Borneo Falcon said...

    I deliberately flew back home just for the Mid-Autumn Festival and really have a great time there. There is no other places in Malaysia that have the same atmosphere as in my hometown.

    September 24, 2010 at 8:44 PM
  43. vialentino said...

    wah....many mooncakes.

    got vendor present us the MO mooncakes...guess what...everyone aiming for the packaging box instead...hehehe..

    September 25, 2010 at 12:32 AM
  44. Ken Wooi said...

    i want some! haha.. =)

    September 25, 2010 at 1:03 AM
  45. Ishmael F. Ahab said...

    These pictures of foods make my stomach grumble. I want those mooncakes Foong.

    September 25, 2010 at 5:38 PM
  46. TZ said...

    Drooling on the yam... such a long time i never had the yam... :P

    September 25, 2010 at 9:31 PM
  47. Monica said...

    *drooling*

    September 26, 2010 at 3:47 AM
  48. Monica said...

    omg the durian mooncake looks so YUM!!!!!

    September 26, 2010 at 3:48 AM
  49. Tekkaus said...

    It has been ages since I last dropped by here huh! :D

    September 26, 2010 at 1:56 PM
  50. Tekkaus said...

    Yeah! Me and my family kind celebrated it too. :D

    September 26, 2010 at 1:58 PM
  51. Tekkaus said...

    War...so geng? 1Malaysia mooncake? You are also caught in this 1Malaysia fever huh! :D

    September 26, 2010 at 1:59 PM
  52. Tekkaus said...

    You are too old for lanterns? How old are you? Even I still play lanterns. LOL :D

    September 26, 2010 at 1:59 PM
  53. Tekkaus said...

    Wow...the mooncake box from Mandarin Oriental KL looks so high class. There is even a jade ring! Must be expensive o. :D

    September 26, 2010 at 2:00 PM
  54. Tekkaus said...

    Then inside there were another 8 "gold-plated" box....war...don't play play o. :p

    September 26, 2010 at 2:01 PM
  55. Tekkaus said...

    Wow...snow skin durian paste? Must be super duper delicious...what? You even measured the diameter? Haha :D

    September 26, 2010 at 2:01 PM
  56. Tekkaus said...

    Yeah! I agreed...snow skin still taste the best. :)

    September 26, 2010 at 2:02 PM
  57. Tekkaus said...

    Same here bro. I don't like mooncakes with egg yolks too. Those yolky stuff simply destroy all the goodness of the mooncake. :D

    September 26, 2010 at 2:03 PM
  58. Tekkaus said...

    taro yam? Ouh...hmmm..I wonder if I have eaten this before. :D

    September 26, 2010 at 2:04 PM
  59. Tekkaus said...

    No wonder you name your celebration 1Malaysia because there is kuih raya. :D

    September 26, 2010 at 2:17 PM
  60. Twilight Man said...

    Honestly, your blog is the best on mooncake topic!

    September 26, 2010 at 5:20 PM
  61. Bengbeng said...

    i bought 4 mini baked skinned mooncake for rm4.00 and stir-fried some noodles for a further rm6.00. rm 10.00 for the three of us the whole day

    September 26, 2010 at 5:32 PM
  62. poorprince said...

    yum yum looks pretty good

    September 26, 2010 at 10:40 PM
  63. Che-Cheh said...

    Ahh no wonder 1Malaysia.

    So you've finished all the mooncakes?

    September 27, 2010 at 10:46 AM
  64. Erika Toh said...

    Wah, you finally tried Tai Thong's Snow Skin Durian Coulis and yes, it's delicious!

    September 28, 2010 at 4:33 PM
  65. Erika Toh said...

    I couldn't believe I'm saying this cause I'm not a fan of durians~ xP

    September 28, 2010 at 4:33 PM
  66. Erika Toh said...

    That shows how good it is~ Haha! xP

    September 28, 2010 at 4:34 PM
  67. Erika Toh said...

    Haha...my first time spamming panda's blog with comments! xP

    September 28, 2010 at 4:34 PM
  68. Erika Toh said...

    Wee....it feels fun but is tiresome! xP Panda, panda, PANDAMAN! xP

    September 28, 2010 at 4:35 PM
  69. Carol said...

    Happy mooncake festival,loved all the mooncakes.

    September 29, 2010 at 2:59 PM
  70. Maidstone said...

    I'm quite familiar with this festival. I came to know a lot about this festival from one of my friend. Hope to participate in this festival if I get a chance.

    September 29, 2010 at 8:44 PM
  71. Ayie said...

    looks like quite a feast foong, so many treats!

    October 3, 2010 at 1:48 PM
  72. Hanging lamps said...

    I am interested in answering some of your questions, but remember, everyone is different, and it depends on the kind of enviroment that particular chnese person was raised and if he/she was born in australia.

    October 8, 2010 at 2:52 PM
  73. Hanging lamps said...

    it depends on the kind of enviroment that particular chnese person was raised and if he/she was born in australia.

    October 8, 2010 at 2:53 PM
  74. Hanging lamps said...

    on the kind of enviroment that particular chnese person was raised and if he/she was born in australia.

    October 8, 2010 at 2:54 PM
  75. Startup Indias said... October 28, 2021 at 3:20 PM