Mooncakes!

Mooncake eating festival is here again! Yippie. I love such chinese festivals 'cuz that will give me a reason to eat. Just like our Lunar Chinese New Year is the time to binge bak kwa, shrimp rolls, love letters, pumkin seeds, pineapple tarts, yadayada...

Mooncakes are nice, if we get the right ones. But the Straits Times has to spoil it all by running an article on the calorie count of a beautiful, yummylicious mooncake.. grrr...

TRUE or false: One mooncake contains a whopping 1,000 calories?

Bad news - it's true.

The Health Promotion Board's website ( www.hpb.gov.sg ) lists just how calorie-laden these pastries are.

A lotus seed paste mooncake contains 716 calories
A lotus seed paste mooncake with one salted egg yolk has 790 calories
If it has two salted egg yolks, that's 890 calories
If it has four salted egg yolks, you're looking at 975 calories.
The average recommended daily intake of calories is 2,500 for men and 2,000 for women, so eating an entire mooncake could take up almost half your daily quota.

Ms Cyndy Au, a regional nutritionist with a multi-national food corporation, says mooncakes are very high in calories because of their high sugar and fat content.

A lotus seed paste mooncake with two salted egg yolks contains the equivalent number of calories found in 45 teaspoons of sugar. Its total fat content of 55g is equivalent to 11 teaspoons of oil.

But she adds that it is still possible to enjoy mooncakes without guilt. As always, moderation is key.
Have just a quarter piece per day as a dessert or snack, she says. Or cut the mooncake into eighths instead of quarters, so you can enjoy more varieties. Then, eat it slowly and savour it.
She adds that there are many lower-fat, lower-sugar mooncakes available that taste like, if not better than traditional ones.
Even low-sugar desserts can taste good, she says. 'Remember, train your tongue. Tastes are acquired.'

Starbucks came up with their range of moonies this time and i got to sample it at the starbucks outside my workplace!

Moonies @ starbucks!


3 different flavours

Caramel Macchiato
Multi-layered sensations of smokey caramel-like coffee with bits of almond.
Cranberry Hibiscus
Bits of cranberry and hibiscus flowers in a smooth bean paste accented with a tinge of berry aroma.
Orange Citron
Slivers of orange peel and lemon rind combined perfectly in bean paste.

I like the Cranberry Hibiscus best! Sourish berrish... teehee.. but it's freaking ex! If i didn't remember wrongly, it's 6 small pieces for $35. Daylight robbery! Just sample enough lah~