Sweet · dessert
Mooncakes
月饼 · Yuèbǐng
Round dense cakes eaten at Mid-Autumn Festival. Lotus-seed paste with salted egg yolk is the classic Cantonese filling.
Mooncakes are eaten at the Mid-Autumn Festival (15th day of the 8th lunar month). Cantonese-style: thin pastry shell, dense filling (lotus-seed paste, sometimes red bean or mixed nuts), one or two salted-duck-egg yolks at the centre, decorative pressed top. Suzhou-style: flakier puff-pastry shell, sweeter filling. Snowy mooncakes (modern): mochi-rice exterior, ice cream or fresh-fruit fillings. Eaten in slices; a single mooncake is calorically dense (~800 calories).
Where to try
Hong Kong: Wing Wah, Maxim's. Beijing: Daoxiangcun. Shanghai: Xinghualou. All major bakery chains during August–September.
Dietary notes
Wheat; varies by filling. Dairy in modern fillings.
Cities to try Mooncakes
Other national dishes
- Baijiu白酒
China's high-strength distilled grain spirit — the country's dominant drinking culture, ranging from fiery to complex and floral.
- Mooncake月饼
The iconic pastry of the Mid-Autumn Festival — a dense baked or snow-skin cake filled with lotus paste and salted egg yolk.
- Soy Milk豆浆
Freshly ground soy milk — China's everyday breakfast drink, served hot and either sweet or savoury depending on region.
- Tangyuan — Lantern Festival Style元宵汤圆
Glutinous rice balls with sweet or savoury fillings, served in a clear sweet broth — the defining food of the Lantern Festival.