Mooncake makeover: from anti-extradition-bill delights to KFC spicy chicken bites
- Many different flavours of mooncake will be available for the Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on September 13 this year, including egg custard with walnut
- Modern twists on the traditional festive treats mean they are in demand more than ever
The slogans, including “no withdrawal, no dispersal” and “be water”, are key rallying cries of protesters who were initially united against a now-suspended extradition bill that would have allowed criminal suspects to be transferred to jurisdictions with which Hong Kong has no extradition treaty, including mainland China. “Be water” was a tenet of martial arts star Bruce Lee’s philosophy to move quickly and fluidly.
“I started making cheeky mooncakes last year, but I usually do quirky designs on my products throughout the year,” explains Naomi Suen, the owner of Wah Yee Tang Cake Shop in the Hong Kong Island neighbourhood of Sai Ying Pun.
“This year, there were some funny phrases [from the protests], so I had the templates made.”
Naomi represents the third generation of her family to run Wah Yee Tang Cake Shop, which was founded by her grandfather in 1984. She runs it with her mother, and sales of the popular, irreverent mooncakes have helped keep the small bakery in business. They are making up to 600 mooncakes a day to keep up with demand, she says.
It’s not the first time mooncakes have been the bearers of political messages. More than 600 years ago, revolutionary notes were stuffed inside the baked goods with the intent to end the Yuan dynasty, when Han Chinese rebels were making plans to overthrow their Mongol overlords.