The Mid-Autumn Festival (Zhongqiu Jie) is a popular harvest festival celebrated by Chinese as well as the Vietnamese. It takes place on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar and this year falls on September 12. It is a date that parallels the autuml equinox of the solar calendar, when the moon is at its fullest and roundest. Traditionally on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to appreciate the beautiful full-moon, eat moon cakes and good foods together.
The moon cake as a traditional Chinese bakery product and is regarded as an indispensable delicacy on this occasion. Moon cakes are offered between friends or on family gatherings while celebrating the festival. So, people usually send at least one box of moon cakes to their relatives and friends before the day.
Typical moon cakes are round or rectangular pastries. Base on the original taste, contemporary creation taste and package comes out year by year. Mid-Autumn Festival is right around the corner. Here is a moon cake express may give you some ideas to choose.
Sheraton Shunde
To support low-carbon production, the moon cake box from Sheraton Shunde Hotel can be return for recycling. Customers that recycle the box will receive a RMB50 Food and Beverage cash Voucher as incentive. The boxes including 4 to 8 cakes with traditional Cantonese flavors including five kernel, jinhua ham with mix nuts, sweet bean paste and lotus seed paste filled with egg yolk. The offer will last until September 30.
// Priced from RMB198-238 per box, Sheraton Shunde, 11,Desheng Zhong Lu, Daliang, Shunde District, Foshan, Guangdong. For more information or reservation, please call: 0757 2888 8888 ext. 6380.
Sofitel Guangzhou Sunrich
These moon cakes are a collector’s item, infusing French elegance and traditional Chinese moon cakes. Each gift box contains: 8 traditional Chinese moon cakes, including three special flavors of bird’s nest with white lotus, spirulina, XO scallop; as well as the traditional flavors of red bean, white lotus with egg yolk, sweet purple potato, five kernel ham and green tea. In additional, the package including 1 bottle of carefully selected French Bordeaux wine, 1 jar of French Foie Gras, 1 can of organic fine French Sea Salt and 1 Sofitel membership card valid for 2 designated months.
// Priced at RMB 1888 each box, 988 Guangzhou Da Dao Zhong, Tianhe District, Guangzhou. (020 3819 0816)
Shangri-La Hotel, Guangzhou
The new moon cake collection is made from low-sugar ingredients and packed in specially designed red and gold gift boxes. The collection is available in both contemporary and traditional flavors.
Contemporary creations include Bird’s Nest and Lotus Bean Paste Moon Cake; Abalone Paste Moon Cake, made of diced abalone wrapped in lotus bean paste; and Buddha Jumps Over The Wall Moon Cake, which is filled with stock braised abalone, fish maw, sea cucumber and mushroom. Traditional flavors include lotus bean paste, red lotus bean paste, spirulina algae paste and mixed nuts paste.
// Priced from RMB 218- 588. Shangri-La Hotel Guangzhou, 1, Huizhan Dong Lu, Haizhu District. (020 8917 6813).
Crowne Plaza (Xiamen)
Offers the special gifts "Yayue" classical series moon cake box sets, including white lotus paste and double egg yolks, five nuts and ham; while the contemporary flavors include pineapple.
// Priced from RMB 238-338 per box. Crowne Plaza Xiamen, 199 Jiahe Road, Xiamen, Fujian Province ((86)592 5399999)
Ritz-Carlton (Guangzhou)
Made in the shape of a full moon, the moon cakes are packaged in a signature luxurious and contemporary custom-made gift box. The limited edition Ritz-Carlton Luxury Collection (RMB 888 each) offers four unique flavors of the delicacies in a custom-designed container.
// Priced from RMB 208- 888.The Ritz-Carlton, Guangzhou,3 Xingan Lu, Zhujiang New Town, Tianhe District, Guangzhou.(020.2826.6966)
The Westin (Shenzhen)
The Westin has an assortment of mini moon cakes with traditional flavors including lotus seed pasta as well as coffee and green tea creations.
// Priced from RMB228- 398. Purchase 10 boxes and receive a discount. The Westin Shenzhen, 9028-2 Shennan Dadao, Nanshan District
The Westin (Guangzhou)
Packing in "bible lotus bible" (a traditional Chinese style) with western elements, the custom-made gift box includes in a variety of moon cake flavors and fillings. The moon cakes have white lotus paste and egg yolk, five nuts and ham, shark's fin and nuts, abalone and nuts.
// Priced from RMB188-288, The Westin Guangzhou, 6 Linhe Zhong Lu, Tianhe District, Guangzhou. (020 2826 6966)
Le Meridien（Hong Kong）
The traditional of moon cake box has been transformed into a contemporary jewelry box of style, made with Swarovski Elements. The Moon cake Jewelry Box features four mini black sesame moon cakes with salty egg yolk. (Limited to 160 sets – reservations recommended.)
// Priced at HK$1388.
Another new moon cake flavor: Mini Green Tea Paste Moon cake with salty egg yolk. The green tea blends harmoniously with the traditional moon cake recipe for an unexpected treat.
// Priced at HK$148 per 4-piece box. Nam Fong Chinese Restaurant, Le Méridien Cyberport, 3/F, 100 Cyberport Road, Hong Kong (+852 2980 7410).
China Hotel, A Marriott Hotel
The China Hotel, A Marriott Hotel presents 6 traditional and contemporary gift box varieties. The box set includes charcoal-baked with assorted flavors of coffee and B.B.Q pork with spring onion; lotus seed puree and yolk; mashed red bean and nuts/pandan leaf juice and yolk/ham; nuts and preserved meat; mashed red bean and nuts, with mashed lotus seed puree and double yolks as well as the ham, nuts and preserved meat.
// Priced from RMB208-268. China Hotel, A Marriott Hotel, 122 Liuhua Lu, Yuexiu District. (020 8666 6888 ext.3333/2101)
