SWEET DELECTABLE MOON
Consumers will always prefer the traditional taste of lotus paste and single salted egg yolk mooncakes. The affable chef has been making dim sum for over 20 years; the mooncake component is part of the initial induction. “Knowing how to make mooncakes is one part of being a certified dim sum chef. So I doubt the tradition of making it will die. But how different or diluted it will be in years to come, I cannot say,” he says, voice low.
Having travelled to many Asian countries to taste their versions of mooncakes, Gan is adamant that our version is still the best. “In China, the mooncakes have little burnt parts that they feel give it its flavour and character; ours is smooth and shiny. Meanwhile in Taiwan, the skin is flaky, almost resembling Kah Lui Peng (wedding biscuits),” he reveals.
As we take our seat for a chat following the short but immersive workshop, Gan poses a rhetorical question: “Did you know that eating mooncakes isn’t so much for prosperity but to foster a stronger relationship with the family?”
With a faraway look, he sips on the fragrant Goh Tong Pu’er tea specially cultivated in China under the supervision of Genting, and continues: “Imagine sitting with your family and eating these sweet pastries while looking at the moon. It’s very calming.”
Zhongqiu Jie (Mid-Autumn Festival) is essentially the practice of worshiping the harvest moon in autumn. Its history can be traced back as far as the Zhou Dynasty — the longest Chinese dynasty that ruled over China from 1046 BC to 256 BC. However, the actual consumption of mooncakes during this auspicious day was first recorded during the Tang dynasty, from the 619 AD.
According to legend, a Turpan businessman gifted some mooncakes to Emperor Taizong after his victory against the Xiongnu (the nomadic people of ancient central Asia) on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. The emperor was said to have looked up to the moon while eating the sweet treat and shared the remaining ones with his ministers, thus beginning the tradition of consuming mooncakes in honour of the emperor.
With the eighth month of the lunar calendar just around the corner, various eateries, food and beverage corporations, as well as bakeries in the country are gearing up to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. Falling on Sept 24 this year, the Mid-Autumn Festival is known to be one out of four most significant Chinese festivals celebrated. It’s also the second largest after Chinese New Year.
And Resorts World Genting, just like many of its competitors, has started production and sale of the sweet mooncakes typically consumed on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month — the day when the moon is said to shine brightest.
In the past, these morsels, which are symbolic of unity, would be savoured with family and loved ones under the bright rays of the full moon. Although there still remains many households today that continue to keep to the tradition of consuming wedges of mooncakes paired with Chinese tea during the Mid-Autumn Festival, there are also others who end up purchasing them to give away as gifts as a way of fostering good relationships.