The Mid Autumn Harvest Festival is coming up on Tuesday 21 September. The mooncake is a prominent figure in Chinese culture and this Chinese festival is usually celebrated with gifts of mooncakes.
Mooncakes are a symbol of family and harmony, and represent the harvest moon in the night sky, thus making it an ideal representation of the Harvest Festival. The history of mooncakes is as old as 3,000 years in China. The tradition started with the Zhou dynasty, who believed that worshipping the moon would bring them a bountiful harvest the following year. The Harvest Festival gained so much popularity that it was declared a Public holiday in 2008 in China.
Growing up in Malaysia, I had always eaten mooncakes but didn’t really understand why, until I did some research for this article. The mooncake is not just a food, it’s a profound cultural tradition deeply embedded in Chinese people’s hearts.
Mooncakes… bring them on!
So it was my lucky day, when the specially curated Mooncake Gift Set came from New World Petaling Jaya Hotel to our house in a beautiful red ornamental chic hand carry bag. Perfect for re-gifting or re-using. After admiring the packaging, we got straight into tasting the four cakes on offer.
- White Lotus Paste Mooncake – an old time favourite flavour, full of rich creamy texture and ‘lotus-ness’ (lotus has a mild, slightly sweet flavour).
- Pomegranate Lotus Paste Mooncake – oh goodness, the scent was heavenly and the taste didn’t disappoint, carrying the same berry-like flavouring.
- Assorted Fruits & nuts Mooncake – very dense and full of nuts. Very chewy but not stodgy. Hint of orange and molasses came through.
- Longan Wolfberries Paste Mooncake – the stickiest of all the four sampled, but it doesn’t stick to the roof of your mouth. Small chewy bits of wolfberries give it a nice texture.
Overall, I was very happy with the quality, presentation and taste. The Mooncake Gift Set makes a nice gift or to bring to a family gathering (post lockdown of course). The mooncakes expiry date is mid October 2021, as they all contain fresh ingredients, so do enjoy them fast. They’re high in calories though, so don’t over indulge.
The Mooncake Gift Set (a set of four) is priced at RM148 nett per set.
Call the hotel at 03 76820000 or 010-2163810 to make your order, email them here or use this order form.
Would you like to find out more places for delicious mooncakes? Have a look at our mooncakes listicle here. Happy Mid-Autumn Festival to all those celebrating!
Our mooncakes were sponsored by New World Petaling Jaya Hotel. As always, our opinion is honest and our own.
