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Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Mochi, Mooncakes and MFest09

The past weekend was a busy one, filled with festivals, food and fun.

First up, Malaysia Fest (aka MFest) is an annual get-together organised by the Malaysian students' organisations in Sydney. It was held in Tumbalong Park at Darling Harbour and consists mainly of food stalls, live entertainment and a cultural stand (there may have been a Malaysian tourism stand in there, too).

We come for the food, though, and there is a wide range to be had. I played it safe (and didn't want to queue at too many stalls) by getting my lunch from Mamak - roti telur, satay chicken and teh tarik - amazingly good considering they are preparing the food outdoors on non-restaurant stoves.

Click on the picture below to see larger:
(top to bottom, L to R): Crowds in the (windy) sun at Tumbalong Park; great singer on stage; eating with the city backdrop;
wandering tiger; goods at the Ayam stall; Mamak stall;
making roti at Mamak; roti telur with egg filling and dipping sauces; teh tarik;
cendol drink from Cafe Kasturi; chicken satay from Mamak

Later we wandered to the Shushinbou mochi stall in World Square where I got a strawberry mochi - straight out of the freezer, which the salesgirl said was best. It was strawberry icecream with berry bits, covered in an icing sugar-dusted chewy ball - refreshing and delicious and cool.

Mochi for gift-giving; bite taken out of my mini strawberry mochi ($1.75 limited offer!)

Getting ahead of myself there, before World Square, we stopped at Market City to check out the mooncake stands. There was a large variety for sale though I do like the red bean or white lotus ones with 1 or 2 egg yolks. The Moon Festival is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese calendar, which is on 3rd October this year.


I got some mooncakes for personal eating (my birthday is on August moon this year! how 'bout a moon birthday cake?) and some for giving:

There was also a night of eating burgers after all of this, but it doesn't fit in with my Mochi Mooncake MFest theme, so I'll tell you about that another time...

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10 comments:

  1. penny aka jeroxieSeptember 30, 2009 at 7:34 AM

    So much fun! I love mochi mooncakes. This is my new addiction. I particularly like the greentea version. To die for!

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  2. Helen (Grab Your Fork)September 30, 2009 at 9:33 AM

    Looks like a food-filled day all round! The strawberry ice cream mochi looks good and ooh your birthday in on August moon? A mooncake birthday cake sounds ideal :)

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  3. RilstaSeptember 30, 2009 at 9:34 AM

    Mmmm... mooncake as a birthday cake! I like your thinking!

    Looks like you had fabulous weather for the day. That frozen strawberry mochi looks goodddd!

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  4. Betty @ The Hungry GirlSeptember 30, 2009 at 9:56 AM

    I've never tried a mochi mooncake before. Mooncake is something that I used to hate when I was younger, but now I can't get enough of them - which is actually a bad thing, considering how calorie dense they are! hehe..

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  5. A cupcake or twoSeptember 30, 2009 at 10:23 AM

    When I was in Japan I used to walk past the Mochi stand. Oh they are so delicious. Black Sesame Mochi is my favourite.

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  6. Lorraine @ Not Quite NigellaSeptember 30, 2009 at 8:34 PM

    I think I prefer mochi mooncakes to regular ones! They do look rather good :D

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  7. AnonymousOctober 1, 2009 at 1:17 AM

    Hmm mayb I should've gone again haha but last year was a bit meh. Did mamak bump up the prices like last year?

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  8. TrishaOctober 1, 2009 at 11:37 PM

    I just had a breakthrough, Belle! I just had my first ever Zumbo cake and all the time I was eating it I thought of you because I knew I just had to tell you! :D Hahahahaha yes I know I'm weird hihihi

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  9. OohLookBelOctober 2, 2009 at 11:57 AM

    hi Penny - aren't the mochi mooncakes fantastic? I love the pastel colours they come in, too.

    hi Helen - yes, I'll try and source a BIG mooncake this year!

    hi Rilsta - I love outdoor festivals but you are at the mercy of the elements. Nice sunny day for MFest, though.

    hi Betty - I can feel the kilos piling on when I bite into mooncake, so I try to limit myself to a quarter of one only. Haha, never works!

    hi A cupcake or two - gosh, black sesame would be unbelievable. I saw a peanut butter one at the shop that I should have gotten.

    hi Lorraine - mochi mooncakes are a bit lighter than the traditional lard-y ones. I think they each have their own charms!

    hi FFichiban - I didn't think the prices were too bad - $6 for the roti and $6 the satays. It's the flavour that makes them stand out, so it was worth it!

    hi Trisha - congratulations! I hope it was a good one. Will you become a Zumbo addict like me, hehe??

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  10. Arwen from Hoglet KOctober 8, 2009 at 10:01 AM

    I like the ayam tiger. The icecream mochi sounds amazing, and very refreshing.

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