Liu Minxia

MOON cakes are to the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival what turkey is to Thanksgiving. Some moon cakes, however, look traditional, but the fillings have been Westernized to adapt to today’s health-conscious lifestyles. Those offered by U.S. coffee chain Starbucks demonstrate a perfect blend of Eastern and Western flavors.

Available in separate packages, Starbucks moon cakes contain a paste made from coffee, chocolate, fruit, assorted nuts or green tea enveloped in Momoyama-style pastry, which is much lighter than the traditional lard crust.

There are seven flavors: Columbia coffee milk hazelnut, black sesame green tea chocolate, Kenya coffee cheese blueberry, maple milk mango, Columbia coffee hazelnut, Verona coffee chocolate and black sesame green tea.

The Star Greetings Moon Cake Gift Box (338 yuan, or US$50) comes with four moon cakes in four flavors, while the Star Wishes Moon Cake Gift Box (228 yuan) has six moon cakes in three flavors in six small drawers that can later be used to store jewelry.

Healthy moon cakes from

Shenzhenair International

MOON cakes offered by Shenzhenair International Hotel this year are low sugar, low fat and distinctive in flavor. One of the moon cake sets includes a model of Shenzhen Airlines airplane, making this a special gift of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Four choices are available at the hotel.

The first is a package of six moon cakes along with an airplane model priced at 228 yuan. The set includes not only traditional flavors like egg yolk and white lotus paste, but also new flavors like cappuccino.

Then there is the classic “Seven Stars with the Moon” set. You can expect ingredients such as cheese, purple sweet potato, spiral seaweed as well as classic Chaozhou-style taro and egg yolk.

For those who want a little bit of everything, there is a mini moon cake set, with six moon cakes of different flavors.

Of course there is also the classic double egg yolk and lotus paste moon cake, a childhood favorite of many Chinese.

The moon cakes are available at five Shenzhen Airlines ticket offices, at Diwang Mansion and Shekou, as well as at the hotel itself. Free delivery is available on purchases of over 100 sets.

Tel: 8881-9999(Song Yingwen)

Moon cakes blend East and West