Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節) – Win 1 of 3 ‘Over The Moon’ mooncake deluxe box
[Competition is now closed. Winners announced here.]
中秋節.
I know is spring time in Australia, but there is no reason why we can’t celebrate mid-autumn festival (中秋節), especially when there is food involved, right? One of my favourite Chinese festivals has to be mid-autumn festival, and it falls on 22nd September this year. As you can see, I have blogged about it every year and of course there is no exception for this year. It is a very typical Chinese thing to do during the festival to have a reunion dinner with families or friends and share some mooncakes after meal over a cup of Chinese tea.
This year, ATFT has teamed up with Amyson again and 3 ATFT readers will be the lucky winners of these gorgeous ‘Over The Moon’ Mooncake deluxe boxes. Each box consists of four mooncakes inside with four different flavours – pumpkin taro, pandan with 1 yolk, jade custard, and macha red bean. Read on and find out how to win.
For those who never heard of mooncake, it is a Chinese pastry that traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is usually in round or rectangular shapes with a soft pastry skin while inside is a thick filling usually made from lotus seed paste and sometimes may contain a salted duck egg yolk inside.
But these days, mooncakes come in different shapes and sizes and flavours. Just go to Chinatown or Cabramatta this weekend and you will be overwhelmed by different types of mooncakes stacking up high in metal tins and some are in unique packaging like these by the brand Casahana (Hei Yue Tong 喜月堂). Each year they have some of the most beautiful packaging I’ve ever seen (Yes I am a sucker for pretty packaging), a three-tier box with drawers that can be used as jewelry box once you have finished the mooncakes, for instance. And they are also always pushing envelopes with new flavours each year, red yeast Japanese sweet potato and charcoal baked yam seems to be the new kids in the mooncake box.
Some mooncakes even shaped of a bunny! So cute! Kawaii…! But very limited stock I’ve been told, if you want to order, best to go to your local Asian supermarket to hunt them down as some limited edition may have to order in especially for you.
As promised, 3 lucky winners are going to take home a beautiful ‘Over The Moon’ mooncake deluxe box. You have to enter to win it (why wouldn’t you?), but promised me one thing if you won, please share with friends and families because that’s what mid-autumn festival is all about. Here’s what you have to do:
THE PRIZE
Prize: 1 of 3 ‘Over The Moon’ Mooncake deluxe box (4pcs)
flavour – pandan 1 yolk, pumpkin taro, jade custard, macha red bean
Note: Entrants are opened to Australian residents only.
HOW TO ENTER
Leave a comment on this post and tell us:
Who you going to share the ‘Over The Moon’ mooncakes with and why?
Terms & conditions 1. You must be over 18 years old or older to enter. 2. Entry will be judged on creativity and honesty. 3. Entries are opened to Australian residents only. 4. Entries closed on Sunday, 12th September 11.59 AM AEST. The winner will be drawn and announced on Monday, 13 September, 10.00AM AEST. 5. Winner will be notified by email and must reply with mailing address within 2 days, or another winner will be picked. 6. Please use contact form if you have any questions. Good luck and thank you! Note: Please check out mooncake.com.au for this year's packaging. You can buy them from your local Asian grocers or ask them to order in for you.
Other competitions ending soon:
Yum Cha with ATFT and win tix to The Kids Are All Right – closes 3rd September (today!)
Dinner for Two at WLG ‘pop-up’ restaurant, Sydney – closes 12 September
KitchenAid giveaway to celebrate ATFT 2yo birthday – closes 22nd October
A Table For Two (ATFT) is Billy Law's food blog that features best eats in Sydney and around the world with drool-worthy food photography to salivate your appetite. I also throw in a smidgen of my food and travel photography for good measure. Billy Law also happened to be a contestant on MasterChef Australia 2011. 
With my partner Rish, so I can have a bite of each one and he can finish them off!
Fiona´s last [type] ..Sprocket Roasters Cafe- Hunter Street- Newcastle
I love this festival too, brings back childhood memories of me running around with lanterns! hehehe Those moon cakes are gorgeous!! Better than the traditional brown looking ones! Pumpkin & taro, interesting combo!!!
Rhonda´s last [type] ..Graduation & Cupcakes!
with my boyfriend Rene, since we’re both foodies and we’d be fighting over the last crumb!!
With my fellow Asian expatriate friends living here in Melbourne because Mid-Autumn typically reminds me of my family and these friends of mine are my family here in Australia.
I will share this with my partner Annick; that way we can continue our “debate” of which flavour/food rules supreme!! As with Cha Time, Macha red bean > taro!
“Look at the pretty box, dear!”
I would share them with my husband and two daughters while teaching them their meaning.
Yeah definately with my Girlfriend Sami.. always time for a mooncake… I’m just not sure if her portion will be the same size as mine :>O
I will share my mooncakes with my True Blue Aussie friends who don’t like to try anything new. I’d make them eat it whilst under the moonlight and show them what goodies they are missing out on in life.
Iron Chef Shellie´s last [type] ..Taste of Melbourne 2010
I would share it with my friends here in Canberra. It’s always a bit ‘dead’ over here and a nice Mid-Autumn Festival dinner plus sharing those lovely mooncakes after the meal will definitely be awesome!
That rabbit mooncake is to die for! i can’t resist its kawaii-ness O_O
Happy Mid-Autumn Festival everyone!
Yuki´s last [type] ..3rd Annual Truffle Degustation at Parlour Wine Room
would have no choice but to share with hubby and the four kids! what a treat we would have sampling all the tastes!
I’ll share with my boys, my man, uncle and auntie – everyone, please save one for me!
My wonderful hubby, to me there is no one else to share with.
My dad, he truly is one of a kind and what better way to spoil him than with some delcious Mooncake delights
I will share it with my Mister and close friends of course. They are all I have in Melbourne. Family is so far away from us… BOO! Last year, we actually skyped and had mooncake together. Mooncake and as any festival, sharing with family and important people in our lives is so important.
penny aka jeroxie´s last [type] ..What ears Pig ears did you say
4 pieces is just perfect to share between me, my mum, dad and sister.
It might be a challenge to convince my traditionalist parents to eat moon cakes not of the original lotus flavour, but I’m sure they’ll enjoy it.
I’m slightly hoping that they don’t enjoy it too much though …. they won’t leave any for me =P
Moon cakes are definitely to be shared with family, I mean, this is what mid autumn festival all about isn’t it? Sharing the love and sweetness with your loved ones. This box of four is perfect for our family of four! We just finished a box of those traditional lotus paste (with yolk) ones, only my dad didn’t have any due to his worrying of his increasing cholesterol. The matcha red bean seems like the perfect one him. My mum is a huge fan of taro whilst my sister and I will fight over the yolk (probably will end up scooping it out and cut it in half haha). my sister just recently got her ears pierced and her earrings are lying everywhere, which is driving my mum hysterics. So the pretty box will definitely make both of them very happy
I’ll never forget mooncake festival, as during my childhood, my dear maternal granma (po po) would buy me the lil piglets (in the basket). That was my absolute favourite. I think they were just the leftover pastry from the mooncake.
Now, whenever I look at or eat mooncakes, it brings back a rush of such memories..and I hope to share this tradition with my 3 boys…
Share them….is it absolutely necessary?? Ok, I’ll stop being greedy and share them with 1) My Mum and Dad who went to China last year and can’t stop reminiscing 2) My husband because all good things in life need to be shared with loved ones and 3) My kids because they are yet to experience the wonder of the mooncake………. That should leave me one???
I’d share it with my family, with whom I always celebrate Mid-Autumn festival. We’re always excited to try new flavours of mooncake that come out each year! It brings back memories of going out at night to ‘watch’ the moon whilst playing with lanterns!
I’d also share some with my boyfriend, with whom I was supposed to celebrate Mid-Autumn with this year at the Cabramatta festival, but am unable to due to exams. This will make up for it!
Lil´s last [type] ..Polaroids and Hair Dye
My partner, a chef, and her family! They are Malaysian and celebrate Mooncake Festival/Mid Autumn Festival. Despite my attempts at replicating Malay desserts Its the one thing that I cannot master and have made them suffer my atrocities!
I would like to share my mooncakes at work. We are very lucky to be a truly international & multicultural organisation.
Sharing mooncakes will be a lovely team building experience
Mid autumn festival helps me to remember my Chinese lunar birthday which occurs on the eve, so twice the reason to celebrate and I will share it with my partner, family and friends.
I’d definitely be sharing the mooncakes with my new husband (having just got married last weekend, extra cake, to make up for barely managing a tiny morsel of out own wedding cake, would be brilliant!). And I suspect, like the true gent he is, he’d let me eat the bigger halves, too. Just as well they’re not the bunny ones, though – way too cute to eat!
i would take it over to my brother’s new place and get the entire extended family to come over. conditions apply tho! everyone must bring a different mooncake for everyone to try!
milkteaxx10´s last [type] ..我對你重要嗎？？
My entire family loves mooncake but especially my sister who developed a massive craving for mooncake when she was pregnant with her first child and ripped through 9 boxes on her own.
Forager @ The Gourmet Forager´s last [type] ..Rejoicing in the long Friday lunch at Marque
My wife of 25 years -she is my sun and my moon.
Would share this ‘Over the Moon’ mooncake with my uncles, aunties and cousins as a Thank You for always having me share their family gathering and the many fun times including this coming Mid Autumn Festival.
p/s Love ATFT
Would definitely share them with Junior. Wow they are just so pretty!
Sara@Belly Rumbles´s last [type] ..Daring Bakers’ Challenge- August – Baked Alaska with Brown Butter Pound Cake
With my parents.
One year, I bought them a special box of mooncakes from Raffles in Singapore and even splurged a bit to get ones with yolks. I was met in Sydney by a trained customs officer who instantly spotted the fact that the mooncakes had egg yolks. Feeling sorry for me, he made me slice off the egg yolks with a Swiss army knife so I could take the egg-less remains into the country. His boss happened to walk past at this moment and was horrified at what I have been allowed to do and ordered me to throw out the now mangled mooncakes. All I managed to salvage was the gorgeous tin that the mooncakes came in. I still have this tin, it serves as a constant reminder of the delicacies my parents (and I) never got to taste.
Oh tis so sad, got my sympathy vote!
With family because whether family is defined as blood relatives or the people we chose to become our family, it is the reason for our place in this world, we are defined by our relationships. BTW congratulations on the mention in the latest MasterChef magazine!
Moya´s last [type] ..Momofuku Crack Pie – for us XGLUTs
If my family were with me, I’d share it with them. Sadly, they’re not, so I’m gonna say I’ll share it with my floor mates in college who are like family to me anyway.
It’ll definitely be with my dearest parents! ~ as they will be coming back to Sydney, just in time to celebrate the mid-autumn festival together as a family. It’ll be a “over the moon” occasion! XD Lov them heaps <3.
I want to share my moon cakes with my daughter, last year for this festival she was still only on boob juice so no moon cakes for her! Now, she is 16 months old and every day is a new food discovery for her, and for me all over again.
I saw these when travelling in Vietnam and Cambodia and wanted so much to bring one back to Australia to share with the pre-schoolers I teach but wasn’t able to. So I would love to win one to share with them so as they might learn more about celebrations from around the world!
I’ve heard of mooncakes but never tasted them. These look too pretty to eat. The boxes they come in are also amazing. I am so wishing I lived in Australia right about now.
We only ever have the traditional flavours in our household as mum does not believe in the new trendier flavours that are being done. Would definately share them with the boyfriend as we both like to try new things, might also try to convince mum to try some too. Oh and these new flavours might mean the sibblings will be more inclined to eat mooncake as the traditional flavours they don’t like.
angie´s last [type] ..Gingerbread People – Bake Sale Donation 1 of 3
Hi. I love the mooncakes! They look so yummy . . . and so pretty! I’m a sucker for packaging too and those rabbit mooncakes are just too cute.
Thanks for sharing!
Oh and I would like to shar the moon cakes with my boyfriend and his family as they are from Colombia and have never eaten one before! No mooncakes there =(
My mother! (and the rest of my family). She keeps subtly hinting that she would like a box from me but I am hopeless when it comes to choose these things – but these flavours sound so fresh and unique and I know that she is quite adventurous when it comes to food so I think she’d enjoy it ever so much!
Moonface was always my favourite character in Enid Blyton’s “The Magic Faraway Tree,” (followed closely by Fanny then Dick!!)
My sweet Husband recently bought me a vintage copy of the book. That said, the timing of this comp is perfect!
Given the reintroduction of Moonface into my life, I can’t think of a better
person than my Hubby to share some gorgeous Mooncake with!!!
I would like to share it with my family
Mid Autumn festival like every other year would be best celebrated by sharing mooncakes with my family and relatives. Because it represents the unity of the family.
I would be over the moon (haha) if I could share these mooncakes with my dear old DAD who is a super picky mooncake connoisseur. Together, we are mooncake FIENDS, salted egg yolks and all. Because of him, I loveee traditional Asian sweets and hope to introduce him to these more modern exciting flavours! Thanks Billy!
I’m going to share this with my mum and dad – they always eat the traditional ones but never really tried the modern flavours like the pandan, pumpkin taro, jade custard or macha red bean – I’d like them to to try something different for once!
No one – even if I have to hide them in my secret nook, just don’t you touch, go sling your hook.
I will share it with my boyfriend, because I’ve enlisted him to be my food photography tutor and I think I might be able to get away with paying him in mooncake currency.
leaf @ theindolentcook´s last [type] ..viet rose – rice vermicelli with grilled sliced pork
We were only talking about Mooncake at work the other day – I would definately share it with my colleagues
Hi Billy – Thanks for having this competition. The moon cake looks fantastic and I can’t wait to try all the different new varieties this year. I’m a sucker for packaging too! hehe
If I win I’ll be sharing them with my closest friends as we get together to celebrate the mid-autumn festival. We always make a point to have dinner or pot-luck together especially during festive occasions as the rest of our families are located back home..
I will share them with my sister and some other residents at International House at UNSW, simply because mooncakes remind us of home and allow us to enjoy this wonderful festival despite being away from home!
Wow… I’ve never seen mooncakes with these flavours. How awesome! I would definitely share these mooncakes with my family. My mum and dad would be sooo excited with the flavours and packaging. They are suckers for packaging too (as am I). We’ve only ever had the lotus paste ones.
My sister, because we always cook together and love trying new food!
I would say “no one”, but my Mum would kill me if I didn’t share with her. So if I want to live to see more Mid-Autumn festivals and eat more mooncakes, I’ll have to share with my Mum
Such beautiful mooncakes!
I would share them all with my mother, because every year, she sources the best double yolk lotus paste mooncake she can find so she can give it to me. I’d like to return the favour this year
OohLookBel´s last [type] ..Little Black Duck with Orange Pomegranate Sauce
I’d share these with my partner Joe and my lovely friends – who’ve become my home away from home and are always willing to eat ‘weird’ Chinese food with me. We’ll be munching these on a balcony and washing it down with green tea and sunflower seeds.
I wanna share with my colleagues. Give them a little bit taste of mooncakes and tell them the acient Chinese story about Mid-Autumn Festival, and what we usually do with family in Taiwan.
i would love to share with my new found housemate who also loves mooncakes~
I’ll share these amazing mooncakes with my surrogate family in Canberra. Being our home away from home, it’ll be great to have some mid Autumn festivities going on. Though it’ll be very hard to take our 1st bite as they are so pretty, but I’m sure honey will take lots of pictures!
Soy
Soy @ honeyandsoy´s last [type] ..Experience French Contryside cooking at Cocotte- Singapore
I hope to share slices of this ‘taste of home’ with
..my close friends thriving in this home away from home pursuing our education here in Sydney.
..my Australian collegemates I live with to show them my culture- This delicacy families enjoy under the full harvest moon together,with butterfly and paper lanterns from my childhood memories
..my family during our video conference (Skype) staying true to my roots and ensuring them I am happy in a world alien to them
=) Thx
i will be sharing the mooncake with myself! okok, and at the risk of a heart attack, my work folks.. my mum just sent me mooncakes from singapore.. but i only got the tin box! ALAS, the mooncakes she sent me has yoke in it..
so pls?? will you share yours with me?
with my five kids, we love our cakes but we have never tried anything like this before yummm cant wait…
First tasted Moon Cakes in Kuala Lumper with my sister, so I would share it with her to remind us of a great trip we shared.
I’d share my mooncake with a anyone who has just completed a 10-course degustation meal. And I’d be over the moon at being given more than the half share. Sneaky, but worth it.
I would share these mooncakes with my mum who has been making the traditional lotus and red bean mooncakes for me ever since I was little. Time to give her a break and let her try these new modern flavours!
Newly married and with my parents moving overseas, i will be sharing the mooncakes with my food loving hubbie and his parents who are now my new family!
As I am here for one year course and many of my classmates come from different parts of the world, I would like to share this box of mooncake with my classmates! Tell them the story and let them taste the mooncake. That’ll be lovely.
I will take the Mooncake up to my family who live far away from me. Sharing the mooncakes with the people closest to you makes them more special.
Being far away from my homeland, I would celebrate the rich cultural history of this festival with my closest friends and families. Sharing the mooncake with them under the moonlight whilst running around carrying lanterns brings the most nostalgic of memories. Also, this is part of the tradition and brings together friendship and love. I myself am born in the Year of Rabbit, and having friends of varying nationalities; love to relay the history behind the day and share the joy of mooncakes, as well as stories of Chang E and her hare. Frankly, i just really miss these wonderful events at home and would love a close gathering with the loved ones here.
Mooncakes for Mid Autumn Fesitval:)
The Earth will quake if my family cannot share
They may try one if they dare!!!!
I will share the mooncake with my 3 years old boy. I used to live in a country where mooncake festival to get together and spend family time. It would be heart warming to have this box of mooncake to share with my boy and explain to him the origin of the festival and stories on mooncake
I MISS mooncakes. I had those yummo mooncakes about 3 years ago. And I wish to share with my 3 year old boy, who has yet to taste a yummo mooncake. I can imagine him savouring it and asking “What is this mummy?”, then he’d continue “This is the best mooncake ever”. He’d be even more delighted if the filling is green. Green is his favourite color. It is always so good to see him enjoy and appreciate food. It is so comforting to hear him say “I like your dinner. You are the best ‘cooker’ ever.” So…it’ll be really exciting to hear him say “This is the best mooncake ever” this mooncake festival.
Heard of a little city named Townsville far far away up in North Queensland ? Where unlike you lucky lot in big cities down south, we few Chinese here have little access to authentic Chinese restaurants, Asian supermarkets , not to mention Chinatowns.
BUT at least the little group of us (2 Taiwanese, 1 Singaporean, 1Malaysian 1 Hong Konger)will have access to a decent box of mooncakes if you pick us to win…. we will throw a Mooncake Festival Party in your honour!
I have chemotherapy every fortnight and there are always new people to meet. I would love to share these amazing mooncakes with new friends.
Thats a really sweet gesture
I sincerely hope u get a winning box. My gma went thru the same process and i know how tough it was on everybody. She’s now cleared and I wish the best to u too =) Happy mooncake festival in advance!
Happy MooncakeFest! =) Hope u do get to enjoy this delicacy with your friends and feel fully over the moon! =)
My mum. She is really skinny and doesn’t eat much!
With my son and daughter. Both of them love the sweetness and being in NT it is not easy finding a good, tasty mooncake.
Will definitely share it with my colleagues at work. Having lunch break with them is the one thing that I always look forward to every day
My chilean neighbour turns 70 soon and I would love to share this with his family and mine. He is forever making gorgeous toys for my young boys.
Will share with my ladies dieting
group!Don’t you know that everything tastes better when you’re on a diet?
With my brothers and friends as it has been years since we last celebrated mid-autumn festival. We always had to wait till end of the year, when we head back to our home country to taste good mooncakes. We would really like to have the real mid-autumn festival sensation with yummy mooncakes on the real day.
With my astronaut boyfriend because he’s coming back from the moon next week.
with my kids, I will tell them I got them from a spaceman and we are eating moon food, we could even pretend we are on the moon eating mooncakes
I would share it with a wonderful commuity volunteer
I know who always share her mooncake with us, and gives us lucky coins for Chinese New Year each year.
Happy Mid Autumn Fest!
This always reminds me of childhood playing with lanterns of all shape & sizes, enjoying moon cakes with the family .. not to forget those yummy mini taro as well..ahh…all the fond memories breezing thru.
We are celebrating Mooncake Festival this year in Central Vic in the bush. There are only 18 kids in the school. The kids are having a lantern parade and we are giving a prize to the best lantern. The adults will be eating, drinking and waxing poetry as was traditionally done when started 3ooo years. This is the first time it is happening in this part of our world! We have brought our tradition here to share with our new friends. It would be absolutely wonderful for us to share it all together as we gaze at the full moon.
i’m going to share this with my bf, his cousin, and friends because they’ve invited me over their place to celebrate the mooncake festival and i think this package is the one i’ve been looking to bring along!
with my family so we can talk about and share the tradition!
No one – mine…all mine!!! Will sit and eat them outside under the moon
I will share the mooncake with my brother because he can not tell the difference between a sister and a girlfriend today. Here is the difference – a girlfriend bite the same cake you bite and a sister will cut the mooncake using a knife. Mission complete.
I will give them to my mum to try and cheer her up as we just lost our beautiful sister to cancer.
I generally don’t get the choice but to share with kids aged 5 1/2, 4 and 2 1/2 so I won’t deny the envitable and I will say my children and if he’s lucky my darling husband
My mooncakes are so sweet just the perfect afternoon treat!I love my mooncakes so does
….
my family together we eat happily… Under my
huge garden tree altogether picnicing with our yummy mooncakes….try them today you won’t be sorry
With my family of course, but they will be used as prizes for a quiz I will run!
My 105 year old greatgrandmother. Tai tai may be old but she’s still enjoying the finer things in life, and bringing her memories back to childhood in China is sure to please her. Happy Mooncake Festival everybody!
Let’s see …
partner? no single
kids? no haven’t cleaned their rooms
parents? too far away
afraid that just leaves … ME !
With my boyfriend’s family. Why?
Because these mooncakes look DELICIOUS, and last year when I bought them mooncakes, they ate them, but his mom actually vomitted because she didn’t like the yolk (they are australian).
Hopefully with these gorgeous mooncakes I can convince them to give mooncakes a try again!
My daughter who is experiencing many delicious food sensations for the first time…mooncakes would be just the treat to tickle those little taste buds.
Sharing with hubby, my in laws and fortunately my parents this year too! It is a very special year for us as my parents are arriving from overseas on Mooncake Festival, we havent celebrated one together for the last 12 years – so it will be very meaningful indeed!
With my best friend, along with her hubby and kids as she has just given me the cherished honour of becoming a godparent to their first born son.
I would relax lying on the banks of Moon River with my friends Keith Moon and Peter Moon, reading pages from ‘Moon’ by James Herbert. But stay calm – we never Mooned anyone
I live in hall, so I would share them with the other international and domestic students. Facilitate Cultural Exchange!
I would share this with my wife who has just migrated to Melbourne from Malaysia. She always liked Malaysia Mooncakes over others and I want her to feel she is as close to home as possible!
A mooncake is best shared,
with someone whom you’ve cared,
cute size and delectable taste,
more shared =smaller waist!
I would love to win these gorgeous Moon Cakes to share with Husband as we haven’t seen each other for the past 18months as he’s been working overseas and what a perfect reunion it would be ! Thanks for a great giveaway