370 replies to this topic

[Gary Soup]

I was in heaven going to Chinatown every weekend for dim sum followed by a visit to a bakery. I tried mooncakes at various bakeries and settled on Eastern Bakery's as the best. They bake their own, so the mooncakes are as fresh as can be.

They are a bit old-fashioned in that they have no web-site, but I think they would ship -- not sure, though. Their phone number is 415-433-7973, in case anyone feels like inquiring.

OK, you've convinced me that you really do like mooncakes -- two in one sitting!

To say Eastern Bakery is a bit old-fashioned is an understatement. I'd guess they used an abacus instead of a cash register, if I didn't know better. The place was chosen by Bill Clinton for a photo-op during his second campaign, I guess you saw the pictures plastered in the window.

Did you also hit Golden Gate Bakery, the one that always seems to have the line out the door (mostly for the egg custard tarts, I'm guessing). And where did you usually go for dim sum?

[browniebaker]

To Gary Soup and Eatingwitheddie: Eastern Bakery makes just about every traditional variety of mooncake: plain, single-yolk, and double-yolk lotus-paste; plain, single-yolk, and double-yolk red-bean-paste; plain, single-yolk, and double-yolk black-bean-paste; and my favorite mixed-nut. The mixed-nut ones come in shapes, too, like pigs and Buddhas. I confess I tried and liked them all.

But you won't find at Eastern Bakery any of the new-fangled varieties some of you have mentioned on this thread. This place is as old-fashioned as can be.

Eastern Bakery also makes the best bo lo mien bao (crusty-topped baked bun) of all the places I tried. It was the site of my humiliating begging for the recipe, declined repeatedly with a silent shake of the head!

Eastern Bakery's mixed-nut mooncake had the best flavor among the mixed-nut mooncakes I tried in S.F. Chinatown, including the ones at Golden Gate Bakery, which I made a point to try because of the line of people coming out of its front door (it must be good, right?). I decided that Golden Gate's forte must be something other than mooncakes. Personally, I didn't "get" why the place was so popular. Their bo lo mien bao (crusty-topped baked bun) wasn't anything special. Gary, I think you're right that all those people are lined up for egg tarts, which I noticed they do run out of early in the day.

As for dim sum, my two favorite places were Great Oriental and New Asia because they both meet my litmus test for a dim-sum place, i.e. make an exceptional deep-fried savory taro croquette (wu gok). Everything else on their menus that I tried was excellent. Great Oriental is a small place, where you find locals eating dim-sum breakfast as early as 7:30 (I think that's when they open) and where the dim-sum offerings rotate and were slightly different every day. New Asia has a huge, fancy banquet-hall that seats a lot and offers the same large menu of dim sum every day. One caveat: my experience in S.F. Chinatown came before I discovered egullet.com and chowhound.com, so I unfortunately did not then have the benefit of your insights as to good dim-sum places. I think if I went again I would definitely have to try the places that people have raved about in dim-sum threads.

edited: italicizing correctly, and sundry typos!

Edited by browniebaker, 18 August 2003 - 10:32 AM.

[Gary Soup]

...Eastern Bakery makes just about every [/I]traditional[I] variety of mooncake... and my favorite mixed-nut...

...I think you're right that all those people are lined up for egg tarts, which I noticed they do run out of early in the day...

...As for dim sum, my two favorite places were Great Oriental and New Asia because they both meet my litmus test for a dim-sum place, i.e. make an exceptional deep-fried savory taro croquette (wu gok)...

BB, though I made it clear thet I am not a mooncake fan, the nut ones are the ones that I will occasionaly sneak a sliver of. Now, if some one can just come up with a traditional pecan pie in the shell of a mooncake...

The other Golden Gate Bakery item that people wax orgasmic over are the little chicken pies ("gai pies").

The New Asia (originally called the Asia Garden) is almost up there with Eastern Bakery in the venerability department. It was one of the first (and maybe the oldest surviving) grand "Hong Kong" style dim sum places in San Francisco, and was the place where I passed the "I can eat chicken feet" test 30 years ago or so. (I never really did take a liking to chicken feet, however, and never order them, though my wife will and I will have a nibble). Asia Garden/New Asia is still favored by many elderly Chinese who have been in the US for a long time, and they will tell anecdotes seeing the old-time expatriate actors, performers and literati there. However, there's a general opinion that the quality declined when the restaurant change hands, though I think that the place just kind of stood still in the face of new competition.

I've never been to the Great Oriental.

By the way, the "bees nest" taro croquettes are my favorite Cantonese dim sum item, too.

[trillium]

Eastern Bakery's mixed-nut mooncake had the best flavor among the mixed-nut mooncakes I tried in S.F. Chinatown, including the ones at Golden Gate Bakery, which I made a point to try because of the line of people coming out of its front door (it must be good, right?). I decided that Golden Gate's forte must be something other than mooncakes. Personally, I didn't "get" why the place was so popular. Their bo lo mien bao (crusty-topped baked bun) wasn't anything special. Gary, I think you're right that all those people are lined up for egg tarts, which I noticed they do run out of early in the day.

Yep. They make the best dan tats ever. I've made myself ill eating them.

I think most of the better dim sum is actually found outside of Chinatown proper, in places where you find the more affluent Chinese neighborhoods. What place is good usually depends on who the chef is, and that changes. Ton Kiang on a good day beats most places but it can be inconsistant.

You've made me very hungry for mooncakes with your descriptions!

regards,
trillium

[mudbug]

Couldn't resist! From a blog called ::mum-mum::est-eat::in Malaysia about Chinese and Malaysian Food, fantastic pics (be sure to eat first before viewing!

Edited by mudbug, 24 August 2003 - 10:30 AM.

[Wena]

mudbug. haha! see that u like the mooncake.

interestingly enough, i know of 2 ppl who have sworned off mum-mum only to come back again.

i do good advertising for food manufacturers. should actually start collecting money for it. :p

anyway, thanks for the mentioned of mum-mum.

[mudbug]

My pleasure Wena, I forgot to post the link to the photos and comments on the Mooncake Festival you attended. Great pics! I get hungry every time I visit the blog.

;)

[pim]

In Thailand we make mooncake with durian filling. Yum! Really they are!

Those of you who live in or near LA can try the durian mooncake at Bangluck Market in Hollywood.

[Wena]

i prefer green tea mooncake. easier on the breath.

[Pan]

Yes, I eat mooncakes. I especially liked the ones with coconut that I bought in Malaysia. I ate at least 6 mooncakes during the last month.

I don't love the egg yolks but eat them anyway, in order to get some protein with the prodigious amount of sugar I've eaten.

[Pan]

I prefer the all-nut variety, which no one else seems to like.

I like that, too. I don't like nut/fruit cakes that have an evident taste of lard, though, let alone ham in them.

[browniebaker]

I prefer the all-nut variety, which no one else seems to like.

I like that, too. I don't like nut/fruit cakes that have an evident taste of lard, though, let alone ham in them.

My mother likes best the mixed-nut mooncakes that have not only lard and bits of ham but also a prominent taste of GARLIC! She declares the ones without ham and garlic to be pale and poor versions. I myself am ecumenical and never met a mooncake I did not like -- although I can truthfully say that only because I never met a durian mooncake, or even a durian.

[Pan]

On my just-completed trip to Malaysia, I found that I no longer hate durian, as I did during my previous stint in Malaysia 26-28 years ago. Actually, I can like it when it's super fresh. But I'm still too chicken to get it as anything but fresh fruit off the tree, except that I was also given bubur with durian and found it OK. My folks, who've liked durian ever since they first tried it some 28 years ago, have always hated durian-flavored things. Similarly, I like mint leaves, whether I eat them or have tea from them, but I maintain a strong dislike for anything that's mint-flavored if anything other than fresh or dried leaves are used.

[Wena]

Actually, I can like it when it's super fresh. But I'm still too chicken to get it as anything but fresh fruit off the tree, except that I was also given bubur with durian and found it OK. My folks, who've liked durian ever since they first tried it some 28 years ago, have always hated durian-flavored things.

some food products that are durian-flavored as still popular. ever tried durian flavoured dodol? the coconut flavoured one is nice.

[Pan]

It might actually have been dodol with durian that I was given. I don't remember, and that isn't because I can't distinguish between bubur and dodol; I definitely can. It was home-made, though.

[cwyc]

Starbucks has jumped on the bandwangon and offerss espresso mooncakes at their Hong Kong locations.

[kOffkOff]

Hi
I didn't read all the posts in this thread, so i don't know if I'm repeating this point.
The most important thing to eating a mooncake is to eat it in very thin slices. Have Chinese tea or green tea to go with it would be even better. And don't eat too much because it is very filling. Just like cheese cakes, eat it in moderate amounts.

I've seen a non-asian foreigner eat his first mooncake and he took a big bite at the whole piece. A very wrong move. It seems his asian friend didnt warn him about it.

Btw, I love green tea mooncakes. I always eat half of a mooncake(sliced) along with a cup of hot green tea

[drinkingchef]

I thought mooncakes were oatmeal cookies with marshmallow filling. Am I confused?

[herbacidal]

I thought mooncakes were oatmeal cookies with marshmallow filling. Am I confused?

i believe those are moon pies, a southern USA thing.

[jschyun]

I love mooncakes, and when I read about Eastern Bakery in SF, I realized that was the place I have been getting them. I used to go there for sesame balls too, if I'm not mistaken.

I am not Chinese (Korean) so I don't have the shroud of tradition to hold me to them. I eat them willingly, for the pleasure of eating them! I think it's the melon (seed?) ones that I get or maybe it was lotus paste. I don't remember, because I don't get them that often. I don't like the egg yolk kind.

Edited by jschyun, 30 October 2003 - 02:04 PM.

[Gary Soup]

It's gettin to be that time of year again, kids, so here's the mooncake thread.

Lets KICK IT UP ANOTHER NOTCH!

[Hest88]

Thanks Gary.

Last year, here in SF, I was too lazy to stand in the Golden Gate Bakery line so picked up mooncakes at Dick Lee. My parents and aunt was NOT impressed and my aunt took me aside and told me that this year I should get their mooncakes at Great Eastern.

I'm still not eating more than a sliver, though.

[Ben Hong]

I LOVE all types of mooncakes, but I eat them in moderation, like one at a time

Edited by Ben Hong, 20 August 2004 - 10:33 AM.

[Big Bunny]

I like fruitcake and I like moon cakes.

Even the "bad" ones are kinda good.

BB

[spelling]

Edited by Big Bunny, 20 August 2004 - 12:29 PM.

[browniebaker]

Ooh, it's almost that time of year again! What day is mid-autumn this year?

On July 3 my husband came home from a business trip to S.F. with a terrific surprise for me: a box of four mooncakes from Eastern Bakery!!! To die for! Two mixed-nut, and two double-yoke- lotus-seed. I snarfed two in the wee a.m. hours, all by myself, while everyone else slept, then shared the remaining two with the kids and the husband for dessert that day, after dinner. I am so selfish and greedy when it comes to mooncakes!

Oh, how I wished Eastern Bakery did mail-orders!

[herbacidal]

snarfed two in the wee a.m. hours, all by myself, while everyone else slept, then shared the remaining two with the kids and the husband for dessert that day, after dinner. I am so selfish and greedy when it comes to mooncakes!

You ate 2 in one sitting, and didn't lay down the rest of the day?

And on top of that, you had room for about half of another one later?

Whoa.

[Dejah]

Love moon cakes, and in my family, I get all the yolks!

Guess I'll have to save acouple for Ben Hong, along with the joong.

[Laksa]

Have you guys ever tried the non-baked mooncakes? That's the top picture on the left. They look like they're made in Chernobyl. I guess the green one is "pandan" flavor. The link is to a Malaysian mooncake company.

[browniebaker]

snarfed two in the wee a.m. hours, all by myself, while everyone else slept, then shared the remaining two with the kids and the husband for dessert that day, after dinner. I am so selfish and greedy when it comes to mooncakes!

You ate 2 in one sitting, and didn't lay down the rest of the day?

And on top of that, you had room for about half of another one later?

Whoa.

Yep. "Sandwiched" between the dawn snack of two mooncakes and the evening dessert of about half a mooncake was my town's annual July 4th picnic of pulled pork barbecue, burgers, hot dogs, potato salad, corn on the cob, slaw, chips, and Ben & Jerry's ice cream bars, of all of which I partook liberally. Mooncakes and BBQ -- what a perfect Fourth of July it was!

But, goodness, this revived mooncake thread is just killing me! I haven't been able to stop thinking about mooncakes for the past two hours!

Need a mooncake, now.

[chengb02]

I'm not a fan of moon cakes, but I recently received an order form in the mail from Shengkee Bakery in San Francisco (I ordered moon cakes from them last year for friends and they turned out alright and they do have a website). I typically will only eat moon cakes during Mid Autumn Festival and then a maximum of 1 but usually more like a half for tradition's sake. I also don't really like the yolk ones and typically only eat the ones with paste. Starbucks in Beijing began offering moon cakes 2 years ago I think and around this time they usually have a special brochure where you can order some of their very untraditional moon cakes. I also rememeber seeing moon cake ads at one of the ice cream chains before I left Beijing, but can't remember which one (I think it was TCBY). Since KFC's sales of their "Macau" egg tarts seems to be doing pretty well, I wonder if they'll come out with moon cakes this year as well.