Eating moon cakes is a major tradition in Mid-autumn Festival. As the Festival is approaching, the first batch of moon cakes has been launched in the market, bringing Festival delicacies to the citizens.

The First Food Court located in the Wujiaochang commercial circle has recently adjusted shops to welcome many new brands. In August each year, the First Food Court would give the “golden shops” near the entrance to traditional time-honored brands such as Longhua Suzhai, Zhenlao Dafang, etc. Here, various moon cake brands will compete fiercely in taste and stuff.

The meat-stuffed moon cake is the favorite of original Shanghainese, and the king of all classic moon cakes in Shanghai. The meat-stuffed moon cakes are the bestselling ones of Zhenlao Dafang, sold at five CNY per piece. The production process has been successfully declared as intangible cultural heritage. The skin is so crispy that residues would fall as soon as the skin is touched. There is strong milk aroma in the mouth; the meat stuff particles are juicy and bring sweet and delicious taste to the mouth, enchanting people to the largest extent. In addition, moon cakes with fashionable flavors such as shrimp meat, bamboo shoot & meat, and salted egg yolk & meat can also satisfy the gourmets.

Some customers with light taste like the non-meat moon cakes of Longhua Suzhai. The bestselling combination consists of moon cakes with such stuffs as moss nuts, top-grade nuts, fine rose and pepper & salt fruits. After setting the moon cake apart, you can find nuts in the stuff emitting great aroma. Some people buy dozens of such moon cakes and take them home to share with their family members.

According to the staff, Longhua Suzhai and Zhenlao Dafang have workshops on the upper floor of the mall. The craftsmen are busy from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day to ensure that the moon cakes are baked and sold on the same day.

“Among them, moon cakes with moss nut stuff are the most distinctive and bestselling ones. The ingredients are sufficient and fresh. At least more than 1,000 pieces can be sold every day.” Liu Yi, a shop assistant at Longhua Suzhai, said, “The Mid-autumn Festival has not arrived yet. When the festival is approaching in early September, the sales performance will be much better.”

Many new products are seen on the site. The First Food Court’s own brand Huadian Food is distinctive for its creativity. The moon cakes with such stuffs as salty Kaiyang radish shreds, abalone & meat and sweet fruit elements surprise the customers. For example, a moon cake with fragrant pomelo and sticky flavor as the stuff is mixed with avocado, grapefruit and sweet potato. It is not only a moon cake but also a delicate dessert. Ji Lijuan, a shop assistant of the Shanghai Huadian Food, said that the moon cake contains the aroma of avocado and grapefruit, and also adds the sweet potato that young people like, which gives the moon cake “sticky flavor” and sweet.

Which is your choice in the Mid-autumn Festival, the classic moon cakes or creative ones?