370 replies to this topic

[browniebaker]

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.

Last mid-autumn moon festival (for lack of a business trip to S.F.), I bought a box of four Shengkee mooncakes from my local Chinese grocery, and they were delicious. There were two egg-yolk-lotus-seed and two red-bean-with-pine-nuts.

However, I found no mixed-nut mooncakes of the Shengkee brand or any other brand at the grocery, so I picked up two mixed-nut at Maria's, a chain Chinese bakery just outside D.C. in Rockville, Maryland. Did I regret this purchase or what?! The mixed-nut filling was syrupy and cloyingly sweet, with no subtlety of flavors at all. The pastry around the filling was blah. I could barely choke it down. Terrible. I'm spoiled by Eastern Bakery's mixed-nut mooncakes, which are peerless in my book.

But I am going to try to mail-order mixed-nut mooncakes this year from Shengkee. Thanks, Chengb02, for putting the idea in my head!

[Gary Soup]

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!!!

Yeah, right, BB. I'm guessing it was one of those "I-don't-dare-come-back-without-it" kinds of "surprise."

[browniebaker]

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!!!

Yeah, right, BB. I'm guessing it was one of those "I-don't-dare-come-back-without-it" kinds of "surprise."

Gary, you must be my kind of husband!

[hzrt8w]

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.

The pictures on this website looked like those hand-painted ones made in the 40-50's. I am not sure what the green filling is.

[hzrt8w]

Ooh, it's almost that time of year again! What day is mid-autumn this year?
.....
Oh, how I wished Eastern Bakery did mail-orders!

It is September 28, 2004 Tuesday.

Since I heard "Eastern Bakery" mentioned a few times... can anybody tell me the street it's on (and the cross street)? I will be in SF again tomorrow and would like to drop by and pick up a few to try. Anybody knows the Chinese name? (In China Town, Chinese business names are much more prominent than their English ones)

[Gary Soup]

Ooh, it's almost that time of year again! What day is mid-autumn this year?
.....
Oh, how I wished Eastern Bakery did mail-orders!

It is September 28, 2004 Tuesday.

Since I heard "Eastern Bakery" mentioned a few times... can anybody tell me the street it's on (and the cross street)? I will be in SF again tomorrow and would like to drop by and pick up a few to try. Anybody knows the Chinese name? (In China Town, Chinese business names are much more prominent than their English ones)

720 Grant Avenue at Commercial St. (That's between Sacramento and Clay St.) You can't miss it, it's got pictures of Bill Clinton shopping there in the window. (He stopped by for a photo opportunity).

[Transparent]

I absolutely love the lotus paste mooncakes, and the yolks are awesome. I always look foward to the autumn festival every year. My family always gets tins and tins of the mooncakes. I think the nut ones taste terrible. They look putrid as well... That's why I never take a bite out of a whole mooncake - I cut it open to see the filling first. :D

[browniebaker]

I absolutely love the lotus paste mooncakes, and the yolks are awesome. I always look foward to the autumn festival every year. My family always gets tins and tins of the mooncakes. I think the nut ones taste terrible. They look putrid as well... That's why I never take a bite out of a whole mooncake - I cut it open to see the filling first. :D

Egad, does ANYONE ever take a bite out of a whole mooncake? Just doesn't seem right. Like buttering a whole slice of bread and biting off it. Even I go through the motions of cutting the mooncake in quarters before inhaling the whole thing!

[Susan G]

Yes, I eat them. I eat them incorrectly: I have rarely ever sliced one before biting into it...........I eat them in private (also incorrect form!).

Red bean paste ones are my favorites, followed by nut-and-fruit ones.

One is supposed to drink tea while eating them?? This is a revelation! I was always outside, freezing my hands and nose, admiring the roundness of the moon while popping them down!

[hzrt8w]

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

Kee Wah, which is a very famous restaurant making Moon Cake in Hong Kong, has established their US presence and has a website. I had been to their bakeries in Monterey Park, California and was always impressed with their bakery items. They offer mail order for Moon Cakes.

These Moon Cakes look more traditional.

Kee Wah Bakery

The prices seem a bit high though. But then again I don't eat Moon Cakes that much and haven't bought any in years (always got them from the in-laws), I am not familiar with the going price.

The mini Moon Cakes are very popular in recent years. With the minis, you never have to share. You can garble up the whole cake in one shot. But the traditional size and shape of Moon Cake is still the best on my book.

I haven't tried the ones in Eastern Bakery, but I think Kee Wah's should be comparable.

Edited by hzrt8w, 20 August 2004 - 10:33 PM.

[chengb02]

One is supposed to drink tea while eating them??  This is a revelation!  I was always outside, freezing my hands and nose, admiring the roundness of the moon while popping them down!

Haha, this post reminds me of my first year at college, far away from my parents and even farther from my girlfirend. I, stupidly, bought my own from a local store (in small town Indiana that meant they were originally from Chicago, who knows how many days they had been sitting there)and forced myself to eat at least one while freezing outside, sitting on the porch, looking at the moon and making myself incredibly sad, how pitiful i was, hehe!

as to the tea, in my opinion the only way mooncakes can be rendered edible is by having a good cup of tea at hand.

Edited by chengb02, 20 August 2004 - 10:32 PM.

[hzrt8w]

as to the tea, in my opinion the only way mooncakes can be rendered edible is by having a good cup of tea at hand.

Or a sniffer-ful of cognac... no, make that VSOP... no no no, make that XO. (Where is Laksa's virtual drink when you need it?)

A bright full moon is mysteriously mesmerizing to lead us to think about our loved ones especially those whom we cannot be with. [or should it be "with whom we cannot be"? Sounds weird.]

Edited by hzrt8w, 20 August 2004 - 10:40 PM.

[browniebaker]

Yes, I eat them.  I eat them incorrectly: I have rarely ever sliced one before biting into it...........I eat them in private (also incorrect form!).

Red bean paste ones are my favorites, followed by nut-and-fruit ones.

One is supposed to drink tea while eating them??  This is a revelation!  I was always outside, freezing my hands and nose, admiring the roundness of the moon while popping them down!

Yes, I know that my eating mooncakes alone is totally incorrect. It's a bad thing, like drinking alone. Mooncakes are meant for eating with family and friends while gazing at the moon, which I also do (in addition to my private feast!).

As for the tea: I wouldn't dream of having mooncakes without the accompaniment of a delicate, flowery China tea. The night of the festival, we find the room in the house that has the best view of the moon through a window, and we set up an indoor picnic before that window. My kids think it's a lark and love it. I really look forward to the this annual event, about as much as Thanksgiving (United States holiday) and Christmas.

Thanks, hzrt8w, for the Kee Wah Bakery link. Sheng Kee (Taiwanese, and my (Taiwanese) parents' choice as the gold standard in mooncakes) or Kee Wah (Hong-Kong-based)? Wow, this is going to be fun, just researching the issue and deciding! Maybe both? I'm thinking a side-by-side taste-test is in order -- all in the name of scientific research, of course!

Edited by browniebaker, 21 August 2004 - 12:24 AM.

[jo-mel]

Here's another closet mooncake-eater! I don't even need a moon - just tea. (Chinese restaurant tea will do)

[Dejah]

Ok, Cantonese speakers:

Let's see if I can get some semblance to pronunciation and getting this on here!
I remember learning this many mooncakes ago.

Chong tseen ming yuet gong,
Yee see dai sheung sheung.
Gueh tow mong ming yeut
Dye tow see goo hueung.

If someone can post the Chinese characters for this, it would be great! I can print it out for my Chinese students when the new term starts. We usually have an autumn BBQ with the new students and mooncakes and wotow go are my contributuions.

I pay about $25.00 for a tin of 4 lotus paste / double yolk regular size cakes. These come from Vancouver and have been fresh when they are brought in by Superstore. The shelves are bare within a couple days.

I find the mini-ones drier. One of my sons will snatch a couple right away and hide them in his room. He and I enjoy them the most.

[Transparent]

On the topic of Autumn Festival food, does anyone know of a "jello-like" goh that's made of boiling water, sugar, and strings of a yellowish substance? My grandma used to makes these dangerously diabeties-inducing treats during the festival. It was refrigerated and cuts into pieces. A name would be really nice.

Dejah: I know of that ryhme! I heard it when I was younger. I don't know the characters for it though, sorry.

[Susan G]

Chong tseen ming yuet gong,
Yee see dai sheung sheung.
Gueh tow mong ming yeut
Dye tow see goo hueung.

Was this written by the poet who was constantly drunk? And died by trying to reach the moon in the river....he fell overboard and drowned?

(Reaching, reaching for those long-ago lectures on Chinese arts............and failing miserably to grasp onto them!!)

[liuzhou]

李白
夜思


床前明月光, 疑是地上霜。
舉頭望明月, 低頭思故鄉。

Li Bai
IN THE QUIET NIGHT

So bright a gleam on the foot of my bed --
Could there have been a frost already?
Lifting myself to look, I found that it was moonlight.
Sinking back again, I thought suddenly of home.

[Susan G]

李白
夜思


床前明月光, 疑是地上霜。
舉頭望明月, 低頭思故鄉。

Li Bai
IN THE QUIET NIGHT

So bright a gleam on the foot of my bed --
Could there have been a frost already?
Lifting myself to look, I found that it was moonlight.
Sinking back again, I thought suddenly of home.

Yes, yes, YES! As I recall, my Nanjing professor told us that the reason the narrator is looking up from bed (but unable to walk to the window) is because the narrator is dead drunk. But maybe that was just extrapolation from the poet's own life!

Gotta get me some mooncakes and chrysanthemum tea!

[Dejah]

On the topic of Autumn Festival food, does anyone know of a "jello-like" goh that's made of boiling water, sugar, and strings of a yellowish substance? My grandma used to makes these dangerously diabeties-inducing treats during the festival. It was refrigerated and cuts into pieces. A name would be really nice.

Dejah: I know of that ryhme! I heard it when I was younger. I don't know the characters for it though, sorry.

The jello-like go was mentioned in another thread. I remember the ingredient; agar agar, made from seaweed. But, as before, I can't remember what the name for the finished prodict is. I have some agar in my cupboard. Maybe I can get my mom to show mje how to make it tomorrow! :biggrin

Thanks, liuzhou, for the Chinese characters for the poem. I actually used the poem in a song hubby and I co-wrote and recorded in the70s.

[liuzhou]

Re Li Bai's Poem

I just wanted to add that it is highly unlikely that he spoke Cantonese.

If we were fortunate enough to go to one of his poetry readings, we probably wouldn't understand a word.

That said, I do think it sounds a lot better in putonghua, which would be closer to his pronunciation.

chuáng qián míng yuè guāng
yí shì dì shàng shuāng
jǔ tóu wàng míng yuè
dī tóu sī gù xiāng

Edited by liuzhou, 21 August 2004 - 09:42 PM.

[Dejah]

You are correct in that the poem would be spoken in putongua, and sounds better in that dialect as well.

It was taught to me in Cantonese, but I also know it in putongua. But, my pronunciation is VERY bad,

[kOffkOff]

anyone tried Bird's nest mooncakes before? I was wondering how they taste like

[jo-mel]

Ah -- that poem, ----and that poet! I first heard it when I was studying Chinese, and it has been a favorite ever since. It started my love for Chinese poetry, especially The Golden Age, but also those by Zhou En Lai.

I learned "Ye Se' also as "chuang qian ming yue guang--", but my favorite translation is also the most simple :

Beside my bed a pool of light---
Is it hoarfrost on the ground?
I lift my head and see the moon,
I lower my head and think of home.

The full moon is the 29th? I'm gonna get me some mooncakes, and go outside with my poems, and read some Li Bai!

[hzrt8w]

720 Grant Avenue at Commercial St.  (That's between Sacramento and Clay St.)  You can't miss it, it's got pictures of Bill Clinton shopping there in the window.  (He stopped by for a photo opportunity).

I dropped by Eastern Bakery in San Francisco yesterday. Chinese name is 东亚. Yes Gary, they have pictures of Clinton right at the front window. I wonder how much campaign contribution they had made to earn this bragging right...

Right on Grant Street in the middle of China Town, that place is a tourist magnet. When I went in to the store, I saw half of the patrons were non-Chinese tourists. It is interesting to see the shop-keepers having to explain most of the bakery items (names, ingredients, taste, etc.) in English to these tourists. Not quite what I am used to.

However, from the look of them I found their Moon Cakes not up to my expectation. Their forms were kind of irregular and the skins looked dull instead of shiny. Prices: around US $15 to $17 a tin of four. The prices are much lower than Kee Wah's (which are selling around $24 a tin of four). I looked at the prices of other bread bakery items and found theirs to be much higher than their peers in China Town. Perhaps that's why I didn't see a crowd of Chinese competing to order in their shop?

I left and proceeded to my favorite bakery "AA Bakery" on Stockton Street near Washington. There, I saw the usual crowd of Chinese customers fighting for their orders. *sigh* Interesting enough, AA Bakery posted a re-print of SF Examiner article which surveyed the bakeries in China Town on Moon Cakes and ranked AA Bakery the first. And Eastern Bakery is on the fourth place. AA has always been my favorite and I was glad others recognized them too. Their Moon Cakes are priced at $4 each regardless of filling. But they make the Moon Cakes in different sizes. So I suspect the smallest ones are lotus paste with double yolk filling and the largest ones are probably fruit and nut filling.

San Francisco Examiner's article on Moon Cakes

I thought of buying a few tins and re-distribute them to egullet readers in this thread... with a 50% markup of course... but, naah...

Yes, Kee Wah is Hong Kong based. They had been around before I was born. When I was small I just knew that all my aunts went there to buy Moon Cakes for self-consumption or gifts.

Edited by hzrt8w, 22 August 2004 - 08:13 PM.

[Gary Soup]

However, from the look of them I found their Moon Cakes not up to my expectation.  Their forms were kind of irregular and the skins looked dull instead of shiny. 

I hope you didn't base your judgement on the displays in the front window. Some of the pastries look like they have been there since the shop first opened. I can't go in there without a preconception that everything is over the hill. I would think that the mooncakes reviewed by Picky Eater were freshly made, though, as the review was during the mid-autumn festival season.

Garden Bakery is one that I have never though of in terms of moon cakes, but then I'm not a moon cake fan.

[Dejah]

On the topic of Autumn Festival food, does anyone know of a "jello-like" goh that's made of boiling water, sugar, and strings of a yellowish substance? My grandma used to makes these dangerously diabeties-inducing treats during the festival. It was refrigerated and cuts into pieces. A name would be really nice.

Dejah: I know of that ryhme! I heard it when I was younger. I don't know the characters for it though, sorry.

I just remembered the jello-like go. It's called dye choi go. (literally big veg. cake)
The strings of yellowish substance is agar agar. It must be first soaked to soften, rinsed, then boiled until it is all dissolved. Sugar is then added, along with a beaten egg if you wish.
Once it is cooled, put it in the fridge. When firm, you can cut it into chunks and indulge.

My mom was here tonight and I made a pan of this. It's waiting to cool and set. Will see how it turns out then maybe I can get a picture of it.

[Dejah]

I just checked the dye choi go. It's great! Will have a picture of it in the next few minutes.
The only thing I was disappointed with was the egg. it didn't "swirl" as it should have. Next time I will remember to pour slowly.

[Dejah]

transparent:

Here's the agar agar go you were asking about.

[Dejah]

edited to remove 2nd. send

Edited by Dejah, 22 August 2004 - 08:17 PM.