# What's In an August Moon Cake?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-an-august-moon-cake/736769>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [November 6, 2015, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-an-august-moon-cake/736769 "2015-11-06T01:54:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-an-august-moon-cake/736769/1 "2015-11-06T01:54:29Z")

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I had dinner in Chinatown (Boston) last night. Afterwards, I walked into a bakery shop for something sweet. I remembered that there is a special kind of pastry, made for the August Moon (Harvest festival), so i asked for one. I am not sure the lady behind the counter understood me (she had little English), but I did buy a pastry. It seems to have a date filling0is this an August moon cake? there is also another pastry with a lotus seed fillingwhat is it called?

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**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-an-august-moon-cake/736769/2 "2015-11-06T02:20:20Z")

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> **[Mooncake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mooncake)**
>
> A mooncake (simplified Chinese: 月饼; traditional Chinese: 月餅) is a Chinese bakery product traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節). The festival is about lunar appreciation and Moon watching, and mooncakes are regarded as a delicacy. Mooncakes are offered between friends or on family gatherings while celebrating the festival. The Mid-Autumn Festival is widely regarded as one of the four most important Chinese festivals.
> There are numerous varieties of mooncakes consumed within ...

Did it look like any of the pictures on the Wiki page?

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**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\
**Post date:** [November 6, 2015, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-in-an-august-moon-cake/736769/3 "2015-11-06T04:09:12Z")

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The moon festival was at the end of September; looking for a mooncake now would be kind of like looking for Easter eggs in July.