Capital Bites: Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

It’s Mid-Autumn festival, and thus time to bust out the mooncakes (yuebing) that delight some and disgust others. (For a complete breakdown on this dessert, see this post.) For those of us that aren’t too fond of these cakes, there are other options. Lollipop Bakery is offering moon(cup)cakes as an equally sweet alternative to the traditional yuebing. (Minimum order of one dozen, RMB 280 a box, contact 1355 277 2683). In other cupcake news, Colibri Café is opening today in honor of Mid-Autumn festival at Sanlitun Village North. This cafe offers more than 20 types of cupcakes, all made fresh daily. A little less sweet than the city’s other cupcake offerings, and oh-so-pretty.

For those of us who do like mooncakes and want to help out some worthwhile charities, the Shangri-La hotels (China World, China World Summit, Kerry Centre, Traders) are donating RMB 50 for each box of mooncakes they sell to the Dandelion and Hua Ao Shijinshan schools for the children of migrant workers (RMB 138 for a box of four).

As for special dining options this holiday, if you feel like moon-watching in the great outdoors, head out to Mutianyu where Xiaolumian is hosting a special buffet dinner with live folk music. The options include a variety of hand-pulled noodles and sauces as well as locally-grown vegetables. (RMB 188, call 6162-6506 for reservations.) In town, Summer Palace at the China World hotel is featuring Cantonese and Huaiyang set menus in celebration of Mid-Autumn festivities, including Cantonese favorite suckling pig and delicacies such as sea cucumber and abalone. For Western fare, Terra is hosting a dinner with Dean Hewitson, the owner and winemaker of Hewitson Estate on September 24. Five courses will be paired with six wines, and it should be an enjoyable and educational experience. (To rsvp, contact events@thewinerepublic.com or 5869 7050).