Hello all. After a long summer of traveling, partying, and getting married, I have landed safely in China (and have been living two crazy weeks). There are so many experiences that I have not yet been able to capture on camera or in words, but please know that Cathy and I are very joy-filled and satisfied with our new lives.
In the next few months I have a lot to blog about as I explore this strange world called China- but when contemplating where to begin I can think of nothing better than Mooncakes.
I first discovered mooncakes when one of my little Chinese students brought a plastic-wrapped pastry to my desk and said "For you, teacher," she said.
I took the pastry, cautiously, and asked "What is it?"
She smiled and said, "Mooncake".
Often when I encounter new foods in China I pick up my chopsticks and dig-in without asking too many questions, but this Mooncake looked to me like a pandora's box - anything could be inside. I carefully took a nibble and was surprised to find that I did not despise it. It tasted, if nothing else, a little bit like Pecan Pie. Now don't get me wrong, i'd rather eat a pecan pie any day, but this little Mooncake wasn't too bad.
I took a bigger bite and ventured in further. There were seeds and nuts and some cubes of geletin-like substance. It was almost good! I kept chomping when I happened upon a small surprise: a round orange thing about the size of an egg-yolk. I didn't quite know what to do with this globular-treasure. I know that Chinese love to mix up textures as you partake (bubble tea is one example of this), but I wasn't sure about this orange ball stuck in my pecan-pie.
I scraped the orange thing with my teeth. Salty- an interesting flavor to find in a pie. I decided not to finish the ball and ate around it. I proceeded to find first one, then two more of the orange-mysteries and ate around them as well. When I took my last bite, all I had left were three salty spheres (later research would reveal these to be salted duck eggs)
Later, when my student saw me she asked if I had enjoyed the mooncake. I rubbed my tummy and smiled (although I wasn't quite sure if I enjoyed the experience or not). Never-the-less eight new mooncakes had arrived on my desk by the next morning. "For you," she explained.
And now I am a mooncake connoisseur. Those of you Angry-Bird players may have even spent time searching for them in the new Angry-Bird-Seasons update: "Mooncake Festival". Indeed, Mooncakes are the traditional gift given away during the Mid-Autumn festival for lunar-worship coming up next weekend- though, connoisseurs should be warned, the average mooncake packs in 800 - 1200 calories and are not friendly to those looking to drop a few pounds.
More to come!
~Brock
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