Mid-Autumn: Mooncakes that match your current life sitch

Depending on what your folks told you as a kid, the Mid-Autumn Festival came about because of:

a) Hou Yi, an archer who saved us hoomans when he shot down nine of the 10 suns said to be circling earth centuries ago (it didn’t prevent global warming though, sigh).

For his effort, he was made king but he soon became a tyrant, prompting his wife Chang-E to steal an elixir of life that belonged to him.

She then flew up to the moon, lived there and became the Moon Goddess while he was sent to the sun. Talk about long distance relationships:

They could only meet each other on the 15th of every month, when there was a full moon.

So, the next time someone tells you men are from Mars and women are from Venus, correct them and say men are from the sun and women are from the moon.

b) A rabbit that offered itself up as food to Buddha who was disguised as a hungry old man.

c) Disgruntled locals in 14th-century Yuan China who were prohibited from gathering in large groups (hello, social distancing) to prevent them from rebelling against the Mongols.

To communicate with one another, they hid secret messages in mooncakes, like how you use short-form codes so your parents don’t know what you are talking about on Whatsapp.

So, as a result of one of the above, the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Mooncake Festival, is now celebrated on the 15th day of the eight lunar month when the moon is presumably at its biggest and brightest.

This year, it is on Oct 1. And choosing the right mooncake is a piece of cake with some help from us here.

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If you must make everything drama and complicated

Think Aroma Truffle & Co’s Black Charcoal Musang King Mooncake or Butterfly Pea Musang King Mooncake sound like a mouthful liao? Wait till you hear what’s in them.

The black charcoal one is made with Musang King durian flesh and its snow skin is said to be infused with black winter truffle from Spoleto in Italy and also decorated with edible gold dust.

The butterfly pea version sounds even more hiong: it has Musang King durian flesh and black winter truffle bits. Better brew a big teapot of gao Chinese tea to wash that all down.

For more details, go here.

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If you need to watch your weight and health

First, the brutal facts (or fats). One lotus seed paste mooncake with two yolks – yes, we are looking at those of you who like yours with four – gives you about 890 calories.

That’s more than the calories from two cheeseburgers. Thankfully, kind-hearted bakers out there are creating sugar-free versions so you can have your mooncake, eat it and pass your next health check-up.

For instance, Chocoelf does a variety of sugar-free mooncakes, some stuffed with lots of nuts (to keep you full for longer) and even “yolks” made with soy beans.

For more details, go here.

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If you have to impress atas elderly people aka your new boss/in-laws/neighbour who’s threatening to report you for having five cats in your condo

Settle the atas part first with how swee these floral mooncakes by Janicewong2am look (their box is just as chio!); then appeal to your recipient’s love for the good ol’ days with the nostalgic flavours inspired by peanut pancakes, red bean soup, bandung and orh-nee.

For more details, go here.

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If you are celebrating a birthday that falls during the Mid-Autumn Festival

Merge the two occasions into one with the 120th Anniversary Mooncake from Goodwood Park Hotel. At 16.5cm wide, it’s as good as a small birthday cake.

Try slicing this into 12 equal pieces so everyone gets one of the 12 salted egg yolks in it. Think that’s already very big for a mooncake?

It’s a size zero, compared to a mooncake measuring 2.5m in diameter and weighing 2,500kg made in Shanghai in 2013.

For more details, go here.

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If you want to do your part for society

Order a gift set of eight mini mooncakes from the APSN Bakery Enterprise which imparts food preparation and customer service skills to individuals with special needs from the APSN Centre for Adults.

Each set consists of mooncakes in flavours like Matcha with Toasted Macadamia Nuts and Salted Black Sesame Lotus with Black Sesame Seed.

Yes, and we won’t judge you if that’s the only one good thing you do in 2020 – besides wearing your mask properly.

For more details, go here.

This article was first published in Wonderwall.sg.