Today, September 21 is Mid Autumn festival or Moon festival. In Japan we call it 中秋の名月（Chusyu no Meigetsu). In Japan we celebrate this by preparing a little tray of mochi balls place neatly on a tray as an offering for God. We also decorate Japanese pampas grass as a metaphor for Autumn and thank the God for another year of abundant harvest.

I live in Yokohama and this town have the biggest Chinatown in Japan and because I’m 4th generation Thai-Chinese, I try to go the Chinese way to celebrate the full moon. We can’t get the moon cake with salted egg yolk in Japan except during the Mid Autumn festival and I have lots of fond memories with my family with this particular food.

I always switch places to buy the moon cakes because there are so many choices here in Yokohama Chinatown. The taste differ a bit and I recommend different places according to one’s taste bud. This year for myself I decided to go “the old school way” and got one at my husband’s family favorite place, 華正樓 Kaseirou. I got 2 moon cakes at this place, one with salted egg yoke in it and another one with dried fruit & nuts (no pictures). The dried fruit with nuts are sold all year around. This is our favorite and it taste like an oriental fruit cake! (w/ less flour) It goes with tea and coffee so when I’m in a mood for some fruit cake-ish thing, this is one of my choice. The one with the egg yolk, (top picture, the square one) was as good as I expected. The outer shell was thin enough to hold the filling, not too dry or flaky at all. The filling is soft and smooth, sweet(but not too sweet) with a hint of sesame.

My husband was in Chinatown a few days ago and he brought a Chinese golden ham w/ nut moon cake at 翠香園 Suikouen!! This place, if not the first, are one of the places started making and selling Chinese sweet in Yokohama Chinatown (since 1926)!! I love their sweets, it’s still handmade one by one on location and their crafts are amazing. The mooncake with ham are sold only during moon festival. It’s super sweet but out of the world experience! The meat and lard are cooked in Chinese wine (pic bottom row) and when slice it you can smell it. The sweet fragrance will fill the table and a bite in to it, the salty pork, the sweeten lard with all the nut goodness.. oh my. You will be slammed by its sweetness so dig in bit by bit. 1/8 will be just right and always have a good cup of tea as a chaser.

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今年は満月と中秋節と同じ日に重なりましたね。今年も我が家のお楽しみは月餅です。横浜に住んでて、ハマっ子の旦那がいて、タイ華僑の私にとって月餅には家族との沢山の思い出があり、中秋節で月餅は外せません。

今年の月餅は増田家の定番華正樓と決めていて、前月仕事で出掛けた時に買っておいたのだ（日持ちするのよ）。華正樓では仲秋蛋黄月餅（家鴨卵黄2ヶ入り黒餡）と仲秋伍仁月餅（種木の実とドライフルーツ入り）の二つをゲット。仲秋蛋黄月餅は季節限定。仲秋伍仁月餅は年中買えます。仲秋伍仁月餅は昨年買って、その細かな作り、味に感動し、今年もリピ。ドライフルーツとナッツの下処理が良く、東洋版フルーツケーキ的にコーヒー、紅茶と合わせてい先月いただきました。

あと、先週増田が用事で中華街方面へ行った時になんと、翠香園へ立ち寄り金銀肉月（金華ハム五目）と旦黄荳沙（黒ごまあん＋塩卵１個）と２個も買って来たよ！夫婦二人だよ、どうやってそんなに月餅食べるんだよ！甘さで死んじゃうよ！夫が小声で、だっておらんちゃんのお気に入りじゃ無いかって（涙涙涙）。

そんな訳で今年はとんでも無く贅沢な中秋節を祝いました。この日は華正樓の仲秋蛋黄月餅と翠香園の金銀肉月を潮州の単叢烏龍。香港にいる友人に分けてもらいました。甘い月餅に鼻から抜けるウーロンの芳潤な味と香り。家族と友人に感謝して皆の健康と幸せを祈りました。