Good grief! What month is it in the Chinese lunar calendar right now? If I’m not mistaken, it’s the 5th Month right now and it’s not even the 7th Month yet – the month of the Hungry Ghosts…and yet some people/ladies are already talking about mooncakes and making them.
The Mooncake Festival, also known as the Zhongqui (Tong Chiew Chek) Festival, is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month with the eating of mooncakes that are available these days in all kinds of shapes and flavours and at shockingly astronomical prices. In keeping with the tradition, I may buy a few of the not-so-nice local-made ones which are usually nothing to shout about…or I can just eat our very own Sibu Foochow Tong Chiew p’ia (Mid-autumn biscuits) or Pek Quek p’ia (8th Month biscuits)…
A couple of weeks ago, my missus bought these very nice ones (Kinsen) which were made in Sarikei…
Yes, they’re already out in the shops…and some may even expire before the festival draws near, just imagine that! Unfortunately, she could not remember where she had bought them from (Gosh! Her memory seems to be failing her more and more these days. I certainly hope that she will not forget her way home one fine day!), so I went and bought these made-in-Sibu ones…
Tiang Chuon is one of the very old and established shops in Sibu and some say their loong ngor (kuih bahulu) is the best in town. For one thing, theirs are cheaper than the rest, at only RM3.80 a packet. However, in my honest opinion, they were not as nice, with hardly any fragrance from its lard content and were a bit too salty for my liking.
Then, I went and bought these…
Sin Hing Leong, also made in Sarikei and selling at RM4.00 a packet. As a matter of fact, I have been buying the ones from this particular confectionery for the past couple of years now…and I find that they are quite good.
Whatever it is, at around RM4.00 a packet, they’re definitely more affordable than those overrated mooncakes that are worth their weight in gold. No matter how nice they may be, one thing’s for sure, I am definitely not going to buy any again this year. Period.
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 