Because the longest lingering bastion of the British Empire, Hong Kong has often attracted attention from historians, media stalwarts and ordinary travellers alike. However, anyone keen to flee the hustle and bustle of Kowloon and the crowded streets of Central should ensure that you visit Hong Kong when it's in its least commercial time of the year - through the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated in a variety of East Asian countries, including China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore. Originally, the festival commemorated the 14th century Chinese uprising contrary to the Mongols, in that your rebels spread the phrase of revolution on items of paper that have been hidden in cakes handmade mooncake price singapore. Today, however, the Mid-Autumn Festival is just a pan-Asian celebration of togetherness and harmony, and generally falls on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month of the Chinese calendar (often mid-to-late September or early October).

Anyone visiting Hong Kong through the Mid-Autumn Festival will undoubtedly be treated to a colourful showcase, where families constitute and light bright lanterns throughout the city. Traditionally, lanterns are made in the form of animals but recently, modern technological icons, like space ships and aeroplanes, have been a favorite choice.

Moreover, the Mid-Autumn Festival is usually called the 'mooncake' festival, since mooncakes are traditionally eaten during this time. Mooncakes (or yuek being) are widely considered a delicacy, and are sweet, baked cakes that contain a thin, soft skin with a sugary, oily filling. Often, mooncakes will contain one or more whole salted duck egg yolks in the centre to symbolise the entire moon, while the actual filling may differ based on regional culture.

The original mooncake filling is popularly believed to be lotus seed paste, which (due to its high price) is usually substituted by white kidney bean paste instead. Other seed pastes that are accustomed to fill mooncakes include red bean paste (made from adzuki beans), mung bean and black bean paste; but jujube paste and five kernel paste may also be popular. In addition to indulging in special mooncakes, many Chinese families will even eat pomeloes (a large form of grapefruit) whilst having barbeques outside beneath the moon.