Moon-gazing in Penang

If you’re not Asian and have been wondering at the sudden proliferation of round pastries at bakeries, sundry shops, restaurants and hotels all over Penang, then wonder no more. It’s because on the 15^th of September this year, the Penang Chinese are celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Also known as the Mooncake Festival as well as the Lantern Festival, it coincides with the 15^th Day of the 8^th Moon on the Chinese Lunar Calendar. On this one day of the year, legend has it that the moon is at its brightest and roundest and so the Chinese gather to gaze upon the moon’s beauty, eat lots and lots of mooncakes while their children play with brightly lit lanterns.

Moocakes

There are many different kinds of mooncakes, but the simplest one is the angkong-ah peah (or doll biscuits) which are made with just flour, eggs, oil and (preferably) black sugar or molasses. Kung-chye peng in Cantonese, these are soft, slightly chewy and either made in the shapes of various deities, flowers, leaves,

fish or other animals, as simple rolls (when placed in a small red basket, they are called 'piglets') or just round, slightly flattened balls.

Then there are the elaborately moulded pastries filled with either red or kidney bean paste, lotus seed paste or a mixture of candied fruit, dried ham and nuts. More expensive mooncakes have one or more salted ducks’ egg yolks in them/ Traditional varieties usually feature either the same kind of pastry as the biscuit dough or a dry flaky pastry. 

Modern varieties, however, comprise what is called ‘snow skin’ – made from chilled glutinous rice paste somewhat like Japanese mochi cakes – and may have fillings ranging from the old-fashioned kind to ice cream, chocolate, green tea, seafood or even fruit.

Lanterns

Chinese lanterns were not a part of the original festival even though they have become so much a part of it that the festival is sometimes called the Lantern Festival. In fact, prior to the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) lanterns were not associated with the festival. But then, the Tangs were such a fun and rather luxury-loving lot that their era is considered a highpoint of Chinese cosmopolitan culture so it’s not surprising that they should have incorporated colourful brightly lit fanciful lanterns into a festival celebrating the moon and its beautiful light.

Many clubs and societies organise lantern processions during the festival and the biggest state-organised festivity will be held on the mainland in Seberang Perai this year.

 

Cassia wine

Not a big part of the Penang festival at all, but traditionally, cassia wine is drunk as part of the evening’s feasting. Its name is deceptive as it’s actually a white wine flavoured with sweet osmanthus flowers and has a flavour somewhere between apricots and peaches. You can buy these from Chinese wine or medicine shops on the island if you want.

The festival is not a public holiday in Malaysia but it is widely celebrated in all Chinese communities all over the country. And since it has little religious significance to the modern Chinese now, it is also celebrated by people of other races and lantern-making competitions often see Malay, Indian, Japanese and European children (and their families) taking part to see who can come up with the most elaborately home-made ones.