Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the moon festival, falls on the 15th day of the 8th month in the Chinese lunisolar calendar. This year it takes place on 25 September, and as always it is celebrated with moon gazing, family feasts, and sumptuous mooncakes. The London Cantonese eatery Bun House is prepped and ready to dish up the latter, in an array of four flavours.
Co-founded by Alex Peffly and Z He, the Chinatown hotspot is best known for its soft, pillowy steamed bao buns and molten salted-egg custard lava buns. To celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, the second most significant date in the Chinese calendar after the Lunar New Year, Bun House presents a playful twist on the mooncake, with two new flavours inspired by nostalgic Asian desserts, along with two classic Cantonese flavours.
Discover Bun House's mooncakes
The mooncake set offers one of each flavour. Lava custard, which is a sweet and creamy take on traditional flavours, while the red bean mooncake stays true to the classic. New editions include the mango sago mooncake and the mango matcha, which unites earthiness with a fruity profile.
The sets can be enjoyed at home, or at Bun House in Chinatown with a complimentary tea. Bun House Disco, the sister site which offers a retro disco theme in Shoreditch, also has mooncakes available.
For those unfamiliar with the festival, it dates back to ancient times and began with the worshipping of the moon and thanking it for a bountiful harvest that year. The custom of eating mooncakes during this time has a much more intriguing story. According to historical records, the first mooncake was introduced during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). On the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, General Lijing, commanded by Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty, led his troops to victory against the Turks. As a token of appreciation, a Tibetan trader offered the emperor some round cakes which quickly gained popularity and were named ‘mooncakes’.
These parcel-sized treats were also used to overthrow the government centuries later. In the 13th century, the Mongols succeeded in invading China, with Kublai Khan establishing the Yuan dynasty. The new rule was oppressive, and many Chinese people were monitored under close guard and expected to give up their own food and wine. Liu Bowen, a rebel leader, decided to plan a rebellion during the Mid-Autumn Festival, and distributed mooncakes to Chinese residents in the guise of a blessing to the longevity of the Mongol emperor. As Mongols didn’t eat mooncakes, a hidden message was placed within each pastry parcel saying, ‘attack the Mongols on the 15th day of the 8th month.’ This simple plan succeeded, and the Mongols were overthrown.
Now, it is a time for gathering, sharing food, and, of course, mooncakes; the festival is celebrated across Chinese communities and in countries including Singapore and Malaysia.
The mooncake collection is available at both Bun House locations and online bun.house