I mentioned, in an earlier post, how the made-in-Sarikei Foochow pek guek tong chiew pia or the 8th Month Autumn Festival biscuits…
…are more expensive this year with a jump in prices from RM3.50 or RM4.00 in 2009 and in 2010 to RM5.00.
I’ve had these made-in-Sibu ones before…
…sold at one of the stalls at the Sibu Central Market. For one thing, they’re only RM4.00 a packet, RM1.00 or 20% less than the Sarikei ones…and if you’re buying 4, you would have saved enough to buy another packet already. I understand that if you’re a regular customer or if you’re buying a lot, you may even get a special discount.
This year, I also got to try these…
…that were also made in Sibu and selling at RM4.00 a packet, also cheaper than the Sarikei ones. This one does not state outright that there is any lard content but frankly, I feel that all of them taste more or less the same.
Between the two, I think I prefer the latter as it is not as hard and the texture is like one of those that would crumble at first bite the moment you put it in your mouth. Seeing that the prices are the same and the taste, more or less, likewise, if you prefer it a little bit harder…
…then you can go for the former instead but if you think you would like to give the latter a try, you can get those at a kompia shop in the vicinity of the Dewan Suarah (Civic Centre) here – not the one beside the wet market but the one in the same block of shops as the bakery (Aroma) that sells the most awesome chicken pies and if I remember correctly, there is a chicken rice and roast meats shop next door now.
That day, I also bought the chu-nu-miang, the sweet version of the kompia…
… at 4 pieces for RM1.00 to try. These aren’t exactly sweet, just that they’re not salty like kompia (and softer/more cushiony too) but with a very slight hint of sweetness unlike plain bread. Even the texture is supposed to be different than bread…and usually, it would be a little bit more dense than what you can see in the above photograph. The ones here aren’t all that different from bread as far as the texture goes and if that is what I want, I might as well go and grab a sandwich loaf from the bakery or one of the grocery stores or the cake stalls scattered all over in that commercial area.
As for the real mooncakes per se, I’ve yet to try the ones I received from my friend, Annie-Q in KL…and I have not dropped by the shop here in Sibu that sells comparatively pretty good ones yet. Maybe I will…but maybe, I won’t. We’ll see…
...STILL CRAZY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS! 
It looks like Biskut Kacang, never knew it’s name was Kek Bulan.
It has mentega kacang in it – tastes a little like the peanut biscuits.
Pork-lard cookies? No thank you. :p
The authentic pineapple tarts have that in the pastry too, yunno… 😉 Anyway, they have the lard-free ones too…but I would not go and buy those as they’re not as nice…naturally! 😉
I hear that the ones with pork lard taste better but these days most mooncakes use vegetable oil.
I guess they want to get the business of those concerned but I seem to notice that they would stick to their own these days – even bread, cakes and (uncooked) noodles. They would not want to buy from others.
Good morning Suituapui…
Morning.
mooncake festival is around the corner once again 🙂
It is. Next week… Btw, thanks for dropping by and commenting. Sorry, can’t comment in yours – not proficient in the language.
This peanut biscuit seems to have all year round. Though not a fan of mooncake but I did buy one or two pieces to keep on the tradition. My most favourite is “hong chio pia”.
Not really. But they will appear several months before the 8th month…and I know one place here that will make around Ching Ming as many people coming back from elsewhere and they would want to buy to eat!
The last one looks like butter bread to me!!! =]
Too bad, you’d have to add your own butter. 😦
Oopps.. My comment missing… I was saying the others look unfamiliar to me except the last one which I had the privilege to try….
A lot more here that is unfamiliar to you… Time to come again!
Have you tried the mooncakes from Seng Kee Agencies? My favorite. In fact, brought back a pack and am down to my last piece. They’re ridiculously cheap too, four pieces in a pack and only RM9 a pack.
Not fond of our old school mooncakes – there are some pretty nice ones around. If I had known that you love them, I’d have bought some for you when you were home.
these would be great for teatime treats, right … during the 4pm period when we’re feeling a little but hungry after lunch but it’s too early for dinner 😀
Yes, I usually have these for tea…or as a night cap sometimes for calling it a day.
Somehow I only look at the moon cakes during the autumn festivals….The rest not interested…..haha haha. I’m very choosy.
Hi Arthur, these “guek pia” are different from what we get here in Singapore. Anyway, I’m not a big fan of these mooncakes and find them too sweet and overpriced.
A friend’s family is in the pastry industry and he told me the sales during the moon cake festival alone is enough for the shop to survive the whole year!
Yup! Overpriced indeed…and some are really too sweet. I wonder why the low sugar ones are even more expensive – when they are using less of the stuff? I’ll eat a bit to uphold the tradition but not beyond that – unlike in the past when they were a whole lot cheaper.
Interesting Foochow biscuits..yet to try any 😦
The kek bulan is like peanut biscuits, is it?
Something like those but with a strong fragrance of lard plus the sesame. Very nice.
Looks interesting…and kinda oily?
Not really – something like those rich buttery cookies or Scottish shortbread.
Those Bread/Rolls look and sound great!
They’re very nice actually…but not the ones here – we’ve others a lot better elsewhere.
You know, I actually prefer buns/bread over cookies/biscuits, hehe.
I think I’m the opposite…but it depends on the filling – ham or bacon will win me over anytime. Hehehehehe!!!! 😉
wah, I have never seen or heard of all of the above before leh… interesting…. I learnt something new again today from your blog… 🙂
Local Foochow delicacies… You’ll have to come over to get these or if some kind soul brings some over for you.