09-Sep-2019
I love mooncake season, and as always, there are lots of styles to choose from (here is a quick look at some of this year's mooncake fashions).
We kicked off our mid-autumn celebrations with a wonderful little bit of Sarawak fusion: kek lapis mooncakes. Below is the blueberry version (the picture at the top is the durian variant).
But this year's mooncake season -- as so often -- has coincided with an out-of-control burning season.
Poor old Kuching seems to be particularly badly hit by the ghastly acrid smoke. Friday was bad already, but the subsequent days have been much, much worse, with air quality readings way over 200 (categorized as "very unhealthy").
The carcinogenic murk that is enveloping our beautiful city at the moment
You just don't want to be out in that.
Hence, we've been in the malls a lot, particularly Vivacity (where each lap of a floor racks up about 1,000 paces).
And this is where we came across Hong Kong Bay's mooncakes. The "Moon of Emperor" (black sesame and salted egg) has successfully undergone testing, and a brilliant white "Royal Snow Skin Musang King" is waiting its Tern(s) in the freezer (we tried a sample at the stall, so we're pretty confident it's heavenly).
As well as mooncake-appreciation, our mall activities have enabled us to:
-- fill in some more of the gaps in the household inventory
-- check out Pho Master (nice)
Having dutifully decided not to order dessert and make do with just coffee, we were amused to discover that Vietnamese caramel egg pudding comes for free with the coffee between certain hours...
-- try kueh chap.
As a non-offal person, I'd always been put off by the spare parts that are a key element of this dish. But the food court at Vivacity does a version without innards (pork, tofu, egg, and the characteristic broth and flat noodles). Very tasty
The pollution situation is a huge, huge shame, though. There's a mid-autumn festival happening down on Carpenter Street, and we'd watched the preparations with interest. But I'm not sure we'll be going, given the acrid atmosphere.
Tidying up Jalan Carpenter ready for the festival
Welcome to the Intercultural Mooncake Festival, in true Sarawakian style
We're hoping for a rapid resolution. But we're also planning to leave town for a while, in searcher of fresher air and bluer skies.
POSTSCRIPT 10 September
Marginally clearer air today gave us the opportunity to pop in at the festival. A massive array of food, various kinds of entertainment, and a visiting lion (with traditional accompanying figures) made for a great atmosphere.