September 19th was the Mid-Autumn Festival, which celebrated many Asian cultures on the 15th moon of the 8th lunar month. And mooncakes—those high-calorie treats—are the centerpiece delicacy.
A Pacific Asia Museum spokeswoman explained to a newspaper, "It’s almost like a Christmas fruitcake. It’s a traditional gift that people just give each other during the Moon Festival. ness partners give them to each other as an appreciation for their support in the past. It’s best wishes for another year of harvest and prosperity (or) exchanging a good blessing.” The pastry is filled with lotus seed, red bean or a similar paste and sometimes there's an egg yolk (which represents the moon).
The folks behind MyBlockNYC captured some videos, via Camra, of the scene at a Chinatown bakery that makes mooncakes as well as the chaos when mooncakes are being given out at Sara D. Roosevelt Park.
Mooncakes were also used as part of a rebellion to get rid of Mongol occupiers hundreds of years ago. And if mooncake pastries aren't your thing, did you realize there are Haagen Dazs ice cream mooncakes?
