It is still a little early for mooncakes (Its in the 8th Lunar Month while we’re presently only partway through the 6th) but in this fast paced world, it is never too early for celebrations. The Mooncake festival is one such upcoming celebration and here’s something that brought back all my nostalgic memories of childhood.
Ahh! What I call the “Pig in the Basket”
Does this bring back any memories for those of you who might be familiar with this? 🙂
These are essentially the leftover dough used for making the skin of the traditional baked mooncakes. It usually has no filling. The dough is rolled out into lengths, baked and then placed inside colourful plastic baskets. Its these colourful baskets, hanging from the traditional confectionery stalls or shops, that attracted us kids more than the contents 😛
When I was younger, there was no shape or design to the dough. It was just literally a long piece of baked good that has the texture of a slightly sweet soft biscuit. These days however, they are made in the shape of a little piglet or sometimes, a fish. The more authentic looking ones even have black beans for little beady eyes.
My dad would buy me these pigs in a basket for a treat and I still buy them now and again for old times sake, whenever the mooncake festival comes around. I got these for about RM1 each. As a kid, they used to be 50 sen so I guess inflation hasn’t hit that hard 🙂
Raise your hands if you remember these or still buy them whether for yourself or for your kids 😉
Enjoy the weekend!
Paris B
Scrumptious Saturday: One day of the week where I indulge in my other love – Food! It will feature my cooking experiments or eating and travel adventures.
They look fun, I’ve never bought them 😉 but I think they are like “Pan de muerto” (bread for Day of the Dead) (now you can buy it a month before and fifteen days after). Now I have a whim of one, but I have to wait until October.
I’ve heard a lot about Pan de Muerto – maybe you should post us a picture when the time comes! 😀
I love those too! My mom would buy them for me without fail when I was young. It’s SGD1 over here.
Moon cake festival is my favorite festival after Chinese new year. 🙂
Its certainly fun isn’t it? I’m told that in Korea its even more important a festival than the Lunar New Year! 😀
I love these! In fact, I like them more than mooncakes themselves. 😀 Some of them even have red bean paste in them. Yummy!
Don’t know if it’s just me, I find that the ones being sold by the commercial mooncakes companies are not as nice as the ones sold by the aunties aunties. 😛
Mmm I’d love to have the ones with bean paste in them! The ones I get are usually plain. I know what you mean about the mooncake quality. I find myself gravitating more to the home made mooncakes or those made by small bakeries. They taste so much better!
I love these! I used to pick the ones that had plastic flowers and tassels. Somehow I feel that the ones now don’t taste as good as when I was young. But I still love my mooncakes. Paris do you like the snow skinned version or the baked ones? I’m a traditionalist, baked with two yolks.
I am a traditionalist too! So its baked mooncakes for me 😀 My personal fave is the red bean mooncakes with the kuaci inside but for some reason we don’t get them very much anymore. Do you go for the new fangled flavours? I find it too weird 😛
Paris, I’m totally against the new fangled flavours, it is just too strange for me to accept. I’m a lotus paste girl all the way. I hate it when they try to mess with what is already good. I don’t mind the snow skinned versions though. Call me silly but I always liked the mooncakes from Bengawan solo.
Ah *high5* for disliking new fangled flavours! I just don’t get it I guess 😛 I am a tau sar girl myself which is increasingly hard to find. I never quite understood why. Does no one eat tau sar anymore?! 😛 I haven’t tried the ones from Bengawan Solo but they do nice layered cake! 😀
I remember these but was not a fan even as a kid – much prefer the mooncakes themselves!
Proper mooncakes do taste better thanks to all that lovely filling 🙂 But when I was younger, I’d eat the skin off the mooncake and leave the filling. I think that’s why I ended up only having these LOL!
Oh my gosh, these are so adorable! I want to try one now!!! 😀
I don’t know if you’ll get these at your local Chinatown but I hope you do get to try them – cute and yummy! 😀
Oh how I miss the traditional mooncake : tao-sa filling with lots of kuaci and yolk….. I can’t find it anymore that taste the same. The ones available now are either tooooo sweet or replaced with new flavours every year… 🙁
Yes I too, like this pig mooncake better… ^_^
Oh Bugs! We like the same mooncake! Its so hard to find tau sar moon cakes that are really good these days. Everyone goes for the lotus paste ones and I’m not a fan of them 🙁
Guess we are from the “same generation” then… >_0
btw, I too sometimes will eat the skin 1st, then dig out and eat the kuaci from the paste, then only pop the tao-sa into my mouth… ahh, childhood memories.
Haha! “same generation” I think so too! 😀
Wow, this really brings back memories. My grandparents stayed in Pudu so we got this every year from Pudu market. I used to sit up on the counter (grandparents had an old fashioned kedai runcit) next to the weighing machine and nibble on the pig (from nose to tail) while listening to the local gossip.
Ahhh those were the days, weren’t they? 🙂
I LOVE PIG IN THE BASKET!!! Where to find?
Hmm… I found this at a small economy rice stall actually. I’ve also seen it at some smaller bakeries. I don’t think the bigger or commercial confectionaries do it though. You should start seeing them pop up as the mooncake festival gets closer 😀
Oh piggy baskets! I remember these fondly. My mum used to buy these as a treat whenever Mooncake festival came around. I liked them but now I find them a little too dry. These days, I’m just in for the snow skin sort.
I find the snow skin ones very refreshing but like Jaqueline above, I’m a traditionalist 😀
I have fond memories of my mum buying them for me n my brother when we were kids 🙂 My mum still buys them now every mooncake festival but for herself hehe
Haha that’s cute! 😀 It sure brings back memories doesn’t it 😀
I love these. They are the winners for me back then. Still are. I only like the skin but not the filling. The other type of moon cake i like is the traditional skin with chopped nuts filling. Tasty.
Oh yes the chopped nuts one. I never got the hang of eating those for some reason. It might be because I’m not so into nuts 😉
i remember these! but i think i didn’t quite like them because it was either too sweet or very very dry >..<