Autumn Moon Festival: Events in Hyderabad

REVIEW FOR AUTUMN MOON FESTIVAL

Golden Dragon, the Chinese speciality restaurant of Hotel Taj Krishna, is organising a 10-day Chinese food festival of the Autumn Moon, from 5th to 14th October. The most revered and widely celebrated of Chinese holidays, the festival of the Autumn Moon enjoys worldwide popularity, and is defined by a spirit of thanksgiving and exquisite cuisine.

The food fest consists of traditional mooncakes symbolic of the full moon, round pastries filled with lotus seed paste with either one to four egg yolks or the newer varieties with nuts, red bean paste, fruits and coffee flavor. Besides the symbolic mooncakes, Golden Dragon brings the gourmet Choin Si Lamb, La Giao Lobster, Tea Smoked Crispy Duck, Tenderloin Mofu Tofu, Fried Rice and other delicacies, prepared by Chef Hardy Cheung.

Chef Hardy Cheung, the visiting chef from Taj Coromandel, has wielded his brand of culinary magic. This time around, Cheung has put together a menu with the most authentic and popular Chinese delicacies that will both surprise and titillate the palate.

Autumn Moon is traditionally celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, and is marked by a huge feast, dominated by mooncakes. This sweetmeat grew popular in the times when China was under the rule of the Mongols. Leaders from the preceding dynasty, unhappy to live under foreign rule, coordinated a rebellion, where mooncakes were used to bear secret messages to fellow conspirators, thus leading to a coup and the eventual establishment of the Ming dynasty. Today, mooncakes are eaten to commemorate this legend.

Legend also has it that a beautiful but inquisitive woman, Chang-O, disobeyed her husband and swallowed a pill supposed to be the elixir of life. When her husband discovered this and got angry, she ran and took refuge in the moon. The husband Yi built himself a palace in the sun as Yang (the male principle). Once a year, on the 15th day of the full moon, Yi visits his wife. The moon is at its brightest and roundest on this day. And the term round implies family reunion in Chinese. Therefore, it is an occasion for members of a family to get together, and for friendships and romances to be strengthened.

The Autumn Moon festival is offered a la carte for lunch and dinner. Please contact Golden Dragon at 6666-2323 for further details.