By Ashley Sim
KUCHING, Sept 7: Food, lanterns, and mooncakes! The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Mooncake Festival, is upon us, and as early as 4.30pm, people can be seen flocking to the 19th Kuching Intercultural Mooncake Festival (KIMF) to visit the food stalls and pop-up stalls.
After a two-year hiatus, the 19th KIMF is back, stronger than ever with more than 170 stalls along Carpenter Street and Ewe Hai Street.
The festival brings together people of all races, cultures, and walks of life to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, with many non-Chinese locals not only attending as spectators and patrons, but also as vendors and competitors, demonstrating Sarawak’s inherent multiculturalism.
As the hallmark food of the Mid-Autumn Festival, mooncakes are typically eaten when the moon is in its full glory, symbolising family prosperity and reunion.
While there are numerous variations on the market, classics like white lotus, salted egg yolk, and red bean can never go wrong.
Contemporary flavours include durian, chocolate, matcha, alcohol-infused treats, and more.
Mooncake lovers will find a wide variety of traditional and modern variations to suit their tastes at the 19th KIMF.
The more unusual variations that are offered there are the Taiwan Mooncake, Kek Lapis Mooncake, Shanghai Mooncake, and Jelly Mooncake.
The Shanghai Mooncake is known for its robust buttery flavour and slightly crisp and crumbly crust, whereas the Taiwan Mooncake is spherical and has a pale and flaky crust.
In addition to mooncakes, this year’s KIMF includes fried baby crabs, BBQ sweet corn, Japanese sashimi oysters, and local craft beer, to name a few.
Those with an adventurous spirit can also sample “balut” (fertilised duck egg) from the Pinoy Cuisine stall.
The 19th KIMF is held every day from 5pm to 11pm until Sep 10.
Visitors are urged to keep in mind that the roads leading to Carpenter Street are understandably congested, and parking can be difficult to come by. — DayakDaily
