MOONCAKES, SAN FRANCISCO

The moon festival is a Chinese celebration on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month. This year it will be September 15. There's a whole bucket load of meaning and symbolism to the event, most of which you do not need to know, and would not pay any heed to whatsoever anyway.

So, in short, here are the most important things to keep in mind:


THE MOON FESTIVAL 
中秋節 ('jung chau jit')

Over three thousand years of tradition, worship in gratitude for the harvest.
Full moon.
There are stories.
Family togetherness.
Revolt against the foreigners.
Lanterns.
Eat mooncakes.


MOONCAKES 
月餅 ('yuet bing')

Mooncakes can be made with any number of fillings. Often they will contain a salted duck egg yolk, which makes them richer and adds complexity to the sweetness. Very delicious!

There are four kinds that in my mind you should consider:

單黃蓮蓉 ('daan wong lin yung'): single yolk lotus seed paste.
雙黃蓮蓉 ('seung wong lin yung'): double yolk lotus seed paste.
單黃豆沙 ('daan wong dau saa'): single yolk red bean paste.
雙黃豆沙 ('seung wong dau saa'): double yolk red bean paste.

Yes there are many others. And regional variations. But start with these.

Where might you buy them?


BAKERIES
餅家 ('bing kaa') 

THE AA BAKERY & CAFÉ
永興餅家茶餐廳 ('wing hing bing ka tsa tsan teng')
1068 Stockton Street
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 981-0123

EASTERN BAKERY
東亞餅家 ('tung ah bing ka')
720 Grant Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94108
(415) 433-7973

Both bakeries are famous for their mooncakes. The AA also has Hong Kong style milk-tea (港式奶茶 'gong sik naai chaa'), the Eastern is, additionally, famous for their coffee crunch cake.

Every bakery in Chinatown will have mooncakes.
Don't worry, you won't be left yearning.

If you do not have a chance to head into Chinatown, you can also purchase tins with four cakes apiece, made by several companies, available at many Chinese grocery stores out in the Richmond or Sunset.
A well-know imported brand is Wing Wah (榮華 、榮華餅家), from a company located in Yuen Long (元朗) in the New Territories.
Many people look forward to a tin.
It's a celebration.



I myself will NOT be buying a tin of mooncakes this year, as I am single, not particularly festive, and I feel fat.




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