Mooncakes, Peking-duck croissants, plant-based Cantonese cuisine, and more on the menu for Mid-Autumn Festival and beyond
Other holiday highlights include Chinese Restaurant Awards’ updated dining guide for Light Up Chinatown!
Bún Chả Hà Nội, DD Mau Chinatown
Steamed Dai Bao, New Town Bakery and Restaurant.
MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL, the second most important traditional festival in China after Lunar New Year, falls on the 15th day of the eighth month on the lunar calendar. This year, it’s on September 10, the weekend date giving some a three-day holidayfrom September 10 to 12. Celebrated across Asia in countries such as Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, and South Korea, the fest focuses on admiring the full moon, spending time with family, and feasting.
With food being a key part of the celebrations, Vancouver has a plethora of options on the menu. Here’s a taste of a few of them.
Butter Beef, Phnom Penh Restaurant
Light Up Chinatown!
Lanterns and decorations adorn Vancouver’s historic neighbourhood this weekend, the family-friendly community festival running September 10 from 11 am to 9 pm and September 11 from 11 am to 6 pm.
Live entertainment includes performances by Vancouver Cantonese Opera, Lorita Leung Dance Academy, all-Asian improv comedy group Fistful of Kicks, singer Marie Hui, and many more.
Then there is the food. Vancouver’s Chinese Restaurant Awards, the in-kind sponsor of #LightUpChinatown, has the Chinatown Pastry Walk, Chinatown Noodle Pull, and Chinatown Charmers Self-Guided Tours on offer. Plus, CRA and Vancouver Chinatown Foundation have announced two new culinary pillars: Critics’ Choice Top 10 dishes of Vancouver’s Chinatown, curated by CRA’s judging chair Lee Man, and the 5 Chinatown Legends.
Tajarin at Kissa Tanto.
The Top 10 dishes range from staple classics to contemporary creations. They are: BBQ Duck with Noodle in Soup at Chinatown BBQ; Butter Beef at Phnom Penh Restaurant; Bún Chả Hà Nội at DD Mau Chinatown; Century Egg with House tofu at Fat Mao Noodles; Curry Beef Brisket on Rice at Daisy Garden Kitchen; Singapore Fried Noodles at Ming Fong Fast Food; Steamed BBQ Pork Rice Rolls at Sun Fresh Bakery; Steamed Dai Bao at New Town Bakery and Restaurant; Tajarin at Kissa Tanto (263 E Pender St); and White Rabbit Cookie at Kouign Café.
The 5 Chinatown Legends were determined through the spirit of new school honours old school. The CRA and CRF chef Angus An of Maenam, chef Roger Ma of Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar, chef Andrew Han of Kouign Cafe, Douglas Chang of Ai & Om Knives, and Sean Heather of the Irish Heather for their recommendations for businesses and people in the food sector who have been key to making Chinatown what it is today.
Joey Wong, Dollar Meat Store.
“Pulling together the threads of newcomers and old school business is the essence of how Chinatown’s influence is felt throughout Vancouver—how our city creates community and meaning,” Man says in a release. “Here we want to honour businesses and the people who have worked in them for decades. Quietly going about their businesses—resolutely dignified regardless of the challenges they have experienced.”
The 5 Chinatown legends are Cindy So, staff member at Carley BBQ & Hotpot Supplies; Daniel Lui, owner of The Chinese Tea Shop; Jimmy Chiong, owner of Garlock Seafood; Joey Wong, owner of Dollar Meat Store; and Smitty Ho, staff member at Maxim’s Bakery.
Beaucoup Bakery and Chinatown BBQ’s Original Peking Duck Croissant. Photo via Beaucoup Bakery
The Original Peking Duck Croissant
Beaucoup Bakery and Chinatown BBQ are reuniting this year with what has become a cult favourite. Available only at Light Up Chinatown!, the Original Peking Duck Croissant features shredded Chinatown BBQ roasted duck, hoisin sauce, scallions, and five-spice powder on Beaucoup’s classic butter croissant.
“Mid-Autumn Festival is a time to celebrate with loved ones over a feast and delicious treats,” Betty Hung, who co-owns Beaucoup Bakery with her brother, Jacky Hung, says in a release. The pair is also offering Beaucoup’s Mango Crêpe Croissant at the fest. Inspired by a dim sum classic, the croissant has vanilla crème diplomate and fresh mango covered in a thin, soft crêpe. (Beaucoup’s 2022 mooncakes were available for pre-order only.)
2022 Moon Cake Set by Nam Dae Moon Vancouver
Mooncakes are a must for Mid-Autumn Festival and may be the holiday’s most famous food. Nam Dae Moon, which was founded by an ethnic Korean-Chinese family in China out of their desire for healthy, chewy Korean rice cakes that are low in sugar and has expanded to North America—has released a nine-flavour Moon Cake Set to celebrate in the style of traditional mooncake making from the South of the Yangzi River region. Available by reservation until September 10, the set includes Taro Mochi, Peach Oolong, Earl Grey, Yolk Lava, Ham N’Roses, Mung Mochi, Peanut Deluxe, Rum & Grape, and Coconut Garden.
Mott 32. Photo by Leila Kwok.
Mott 32. Photo by Leila Kwok.
42 Days Apple Wood Smoked Peking Duck and plant-based Cantonese cuisine at Mott 32
Giving a duck as a gift and eating duck are common practices for Mid-Autumn Festival. According to legend, people came together to overturn a corrupt ruler whose name sounded like “duck” in the local dialect. So “to eat a duck” implied getting rid of the oppressor.
Available year-round, Mott 32’s 42 Days Apple Wood Smoked Peking Duck has garnered high praise since the restaurant first opened in Vancouver. (It’s adjacent to the new Paradox Hotel, formerly Trump Hotel.) Prepared over 48 hours and finished in a custom-built brick oven, the Fraser Valley duck is hand-carved at the table using precise, age-old techniques and served with light pancakes, while a dish a raw sugar comes for dipping the crackling skin in.
The culinary team has also recently introduced a fully plant-based menu. While the new, ongoing menu isn't tied specifically to Mid-Autumn Festival, it offers vegetarians more options for dining out during the holiday and beyond.
Chef Lee Man Sing, Mott 32’s group Chinese executive chef, has created a lineup of dishes that traditionally feature meat, such as siu mai and lion's head Meatballs, with ingredients such as mushrooms, water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, and tofu. The team has also integrated products developed by OmniFoods, a food-tech company that makes plant-based alternative products based specifically on Asian cuisines and culinary practices.
A dish of crispy tofu fools the biggest fans of crispy chicken into thinking it’s made of meat, the dish bursting with colour and flavour studded with Szechuan red peppercorns, dried chilis, and cashews, while Mott 32's signature Smoked Black Cod is remarkably replicated out of soy protein, pea protein, rice protein, and shiitake mushroom powder in place of fish.
“Our plant-based menu is the result of many months of recipe development, recreating the flavours and textures of traditional dishes,” Sing says in a release. “We are excited to introduce this menu to our guests around the world, marrying true Cantonese cooking techniques with a more sustainable approach to eating.”
More plant-based dishes will be added in coming months, with other meat-free dishes on the menu including Stir Fried Assorted Wild Mushrooms in a lettuce cup with black truffle shavings.
Mott 32. Photo by Leila Kwok
Related Articles
