i know that it is an overkill but i can't help it esp this is THE time to savour the goodness within the mooncake!
let i wanted to try Shang's bird nest's mooncake since i have never eaten before. it tasted a bit over fragrant, something like perfumed tasting despite the filling is smooth and light. the salted egg yolk doesn't taste salty at all.
i prefer the pandan skin mooncake! no perfume after taste. it's egg yolk is much more than the white lotus paste since i am a sucker for salted egg yolk. not sure who is the baker since it was all nicely sliced up and i can't see the name.
yes, each mooncake's mould will beareither the name of the baker or the type of mooncake (like single yolk, double yolks or 4 yolks)... you will notice that in the eariler picture with chinese characters on top of the snow skin bird nest single yolk mooncake. also, my earlier posting of Ta Tong's mooncakes.
oh yes, the legends for this festive has 2 versions...
#1 - The Moon Festival (also called the Mooncake or Mid-Autumn festival) falls on September 18 in the year 2005. What is the Moon festival? Every year on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, when the moon is at its maximum brightness for the entire year, the Chinese celebrate "zhong qui jie." Children are told the story of the moon fairy living in a crystal palace, who comes out to dance on the moon's shadowed surface. The legend surrounding the "lady living in the moon" dates back to ancient times, to a day when ten suns appeared at once in the sky. The Emperor ordered a famous archer to shoot down the nine extra suns. Once the task was accomplished, Goddess of Western Heaven rewarded the archer with a pill that would make him immortal. However, his wife found the pill, took it, and was banished to the moon as a result. Legend says that her beauty is greatest on the day of the Moon festival.
#2 - According to another legend, on this day the "Man in the Moon" was spotted at an inn, carrying a writing tablet. When questioned, he said he was recording the names of all the happy couples who were fated to marry and live happily forever after. Accordingly, just as June is the traditional month for exchanging nuptials in the west, many Chinese weddings are held during the eighth lunar month, with the fifteenth day being the most popular.
... and the REASON behind the mooncake is
Of course, the most famous legend surrounding the Moon festival concerns its possible role in Chinese history. Overrun by the Mongols in the thirteenth century, the Chinese threw off their oppressors in 1368 AD. It is said that mooncakes - which the Mongols did not eat - were the perfect vehicle for hiding and passing along plans for the rebellion. Families were instructed not to eat the mooncakes until the day of the moon festival, which is when the rebellion took place.
Today, Chinese people celebrate the Mid-Autumn festival with dances, feasting and moon gazing. Not to mention mooncakes. While baked goods are a common feature at most Chinese celebrations, mooncakes are inextricably linked with the Moon festival. One traditional mooncake is filled with lotus seed paste and quite distinctive in appearance (see top photo). Roughly the size of a human palm, these mooncakes are quite filling, meant to be cut diagonally in quarters and passed around. The salty yolk in the middle, representing the full moon, is an acquired taste and mooncakes contain four egg yolks representing the four phases of the moon!
Source from http://chinesefood.about.com/library/weekly/aa091099.htm | 
