How to Eat Moon Cakes during Mid-autumn Festival: Traditions, Pairing Tips and More

Written by Natalia | Updated August 26,2025

Mid-Autumn festival is one of the four traditional festivals in China along with Spring Festival, Qingming Festival and Dragon Boat Festival, which is on August 15^th in lunar calender. And the mooncake is the traditional food of the festival. It is an offering for the moon worship ceremony originally and now, it has become a classic pastry of the festival with the symbolic meaning of reunion of families. Then how to eat a mooncake? Follow this article to learn about the edible methods and traditions.

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• Why Do People Eat Mooncakes on Mid-autumn Festival?
• What’s Inside a Mooncake and What It Tastes Like?
• When Are Mooncakes Eaten?
• How to Properly Eat Mooncakes?
• Do you eat mooncakes hot or cold?
• What to Pair with Moon cakes? – Tea and Other Delicious Drink Pairings​​
• Should You Buy or Make Mooncakes?
• Can I eat mooncakes at other times of the year?
• How long do mooncakes usually last?
• How to store mooncakes? Should I Keep It in the fridge?
• How Much Mooncake Should I Eat? Is It Healthy?
• Where to Buy Authentic Mooncakes While Traveling in China?​
• Mooncake Etiquette Beyond Eating
• Are there clothing etiquette for eating mooncakes?
• Other Mooncake Related Information and Legends
• FAQs about Mooncakes
• Travel with Us for in-depth Culture Experiences in China

Why Do People Eat Mooncakes on Mid-autumn Festival?​

This custom originates from Zhou Dynasty, when the mooncake is used as offerings when worshiping the god of moon. After the ritual, the whole family will share the mooncake, believing that they can be protected by the god after eating the offerings. It has become a fixed custom since Tang and Song Dynasties, and till now, mooncake is endowed with symbolic meaning of reunion and happiness. So in Mid-autumn Festival, Chinese like to share a mooncake with families.

What’s Inside a Mooncake and What It Tastes Like?

The fillings of mooncake are very abundant, including the traditional fillings of lotus seed paste, sweetened bean paste, five kernels, meat and ham and the innovative fillings of flowing custard, fruit and tea-flavored filling. So the taste is various, but the two major flavors are sweet and salty.

When Are Mooncakes Eaten?

In general, Chinese eat the mooncake in the evening after moon rises in the day of Mid-Autumn Festival. While in the aspect of heath, the daytime is the best time. Besides, Chinese also eat at other time when they want to do so.

How to Properly Eat Mooncakes?

Is it okay to eat a whole mooncake?

In tradition, it is shared with families, while nowadays, the eating method is more casual and free, both sharing and eating a whole Mid-autumn mooncake directly is acceptable. In north China, people especially prefer to eat in a whole. But in south China, they like to cut one into four same pieces and share with others. Besides, the size of some mooncakes are small now and can be eaten whole by one person.

The proper way to serve and cut mooncakes

First, cut vertically along the center line to divide into two halves, and then rotate 90°, cut vertically again to form four equal portions. Then reassemble the portions into the original shape in the plate to showcase the golden crust and layered fillings. You can also place pomelo segments or osmanthus branches along the edge of the plate as garnish. The first piece is usually offered to the elders to show respect and filial piety. And remember to use serving tongs to take so as to avoid direct contact the filling with hands.

Do you eat mooncakes hot or cold?

In fact, it depends on the types of mooncakes. So how to eat mooncake of different types. For most normal mooncakes, you can eat directly after tearing the wrap. While for snow skin and other chilled mooncake, storing in the refrigerator is required to avoid it melting. If you put it in the refrigeration block, it can be eaten directly, but if it is in frozen block, heat on a low microwave heat for 10 seconds. And for meat, ham and lava mooncake, heating is a must. After heating, you can taste the most delicious flavor.

√ Related reading: Top 10 Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival Foods

What to Pair with Moon cakes? – Tea and Other Delicious Drink Pairings

Tea is the most traditional and recommended. And the types of mooncake will influence the choice of tea. For example, for sweet mooncake, green tea is the best, and for greasy mooncakes, Pu’er and Oolong tea is recommended. Red tea is suitable for light mooncake and scented tea is for snow skin mooncake. Besides, syrup of plum and fruit vinegar drinks are also nice choices. For salty mooncake, eating with red wine is becoming popular now.

Should You Buy or Make Mooncakes?

In the past, most families make mooncakes by themselves. But now, for convenience and curiosity of the innovative mooncakes, most people will buy directly, but there are still some families who make mooncakes. If you want to make the mooncakes yourself, below is a common mooncake recipe for your reference.

Mooncake Recipe for Sweetened Bean Paste Mooncake

Ingredients: 200g medium-gluten flour, 140g invert sugar syrup, 50g peanut oil, 4g alkaline water, 300g ready-made sweetened bean paste

• Step 1: mix and pour inverted sugar syrup, alkaline water, and peanut oil into a bowl and stir until emulsified.
• Step 2: Sift in the flour, stir and mix with a silicone spatula until no dry flour remains (do not knead the dough). Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 2 – 3 hours.
• Step 3: Divide the sweetened bean paste into 25g portions and roll into balls.
• Step 4: Divide the dough into 20g portions and roll into balls.
• Step 5: Flatten the dough into a bowl shape with palm, place the sweetened bean paste ball in the center.
• Step 6: Hold the bottom of dough with your left hand, press the paste with your right thumb, and use your index finger to push the dough closed
• Step 7: Coat the wrapped balls with a thin layer of starch, press into the mold evenly, gently tap to release from the mold.
• Step 8: Spray water on the mooncakes, bake at 180℃ for 8 minutes, brush the protruding pattern with egg liquid, re-bake at 170℃ for 12 minutes
• Step 9: Store at room temperature for 48 hours, then you can have a taste directly now.

Can I eat mooncakes at other times of the year?

Of course, mooncakes are essentially baking pastries, so you can eat at any other times of the year you want. However, as a specific food for Mid-autumn Festival, mooncakes usually becomes more widely available in cake shops and food markets across the country about one month before the festival. This period is when you can easily find all flavors and types.

But, surely, you can buy and eat it at other times.

How long do mooncakes usually last?

The shelf life of mooncake is mainly based on the type of filling and the preparation method. Usually, the packaged mooncake can be stored for 2 – 3 months and the homemade mooncake can be stored for 7 – 15 days.

When stored at room temperature, the shelf life of five kernel and multinuts moon cake is 2 -3 months, that of lotus seed paste, sweetened bean paste, flaky crust mooncake is 1 – 2 months. While the snow skin, meat and ham mooncake can be kept for 1 – 2 weeks in refrigerated preservation condition.

Note: In case of food poisoning and health damage, it is not recommended to eat expired mooncakes.

How to store mooncakes? Should I Keep It in the fridge?

For most mooncakes, you can store by category at the room temperature, protected from light and moisture, and tightly sealed. But for snow skin, meat and ham mooncake, it is need to be kept in the fridge.

How Much Mooncake Should I Eat? Is It Healthy?

Because the calories, sugar and fat content of mooncake is high, it is advised to share with others. Then for different people, how to eat a mooncake? For a healthy adult, no more than 100g per day is the best. For children, elders and diabetic patients, the limit is less than 50 g per day. And for patients with cardiovascular diseases, eat no more than 25g each day.

Different mooncakes have different amounts of calories

Where to Buy Authentic Mooncakes While Traveling in China?​

In fact, there are representative places to buy mooncake in all cities in China, you can search the stores in the cities you are located on the internet. During your China tour, if you want to taste the mooncake, here are some recommended shops in some major cities.

• Beijing: Daoxiangcun, Guixiangcun, Dashunzhai
• Shanghai: Shendacheng, Ruilifang Restaurant
• Guangzhou: Lin Heung Tea House, Taotaoju Restaurant, Wing Wah Restaurant
• Suzhou: Changfa Cake, Castle hotel, Cai Zhi Zhai
• Yunnan: Jiahua, Guimeixuan, Kunming Guanshengyuan
• Shaanxi: Maky, Yu Pin Xuan

Mooncake Etiquette Beyond Eating

1. About gifting etiquette during Mid-Autumn Festival, it is advised to send the mooncakes on the day of festival or one or two weeks earlier. And usually, even numbers of mooncake indicate auspiciousness. When giving the mooncake, offer with both hands and bow slightly.
2. Receive the gift with both hands and do not open the package in person.
3. As long as the mooncake is cut into pieces, remember to share with others, otherwise, it will be regarded as unluckiness due to its metaphor of separation.
4. Pointing to the moon is prohibited during the worship ceremony, which is considered as an offense to the god of moon and will bring bad luck.

Are there clothing etiquette for eating mooncakes?

In ordinary scenes, there is no requirement for clothing. But in a moon worship ceremony, Chinese will dress traditional Chinese clothing. If you join in the ceremony, please dress appropriately and avoid white, black and red clothes.

Other Mooncake Related Information and Legends

The history and origin of Mooncake

From Former Qin to Han dynasties, it was used as offerings, and the round pastry filled with walnuts were created until Han Dynasty. In Tang Dynasty, it was still royal pastry. And it was said that when Concubine Yang Yuhuan admired moon, she thought the shape of the round pastry resembled moon, so suggested calling it mooncake. From Song to Ming Dynasties, it has been a national custom and become the traditional food of Mid-Autumn Festival.

Legends

See some of the most popular legends and stories about Mid-autumn Festival for a better understanding of traditional celebrations.

Chang’e Flying to the Moon

In the legend, due to the ten suns on the sky, the weather is extremely hot and all people are struggling to survive. To save all living beings, Houyi, the husband of Chang’e, shoots nine sun.  Then the immortal grants him elixir of immortality. To prevent the thug from seizing the medicine, Chang’e swallows it in a panic and ascends to the Moon Palace, where she lives forever. To commemorate her, people worship the moon every year with mooncake as the offering.

Jade Rabbit Pounding Elixir

Three immortals transform into old man and beg for food. With nothing to offer, the rabbit jumps into the fire to offer itself. Moved by its selflessness, the immortals send it to the Moon Palace to accompany Chang‘e where it makes the elixir of immortality to save lives.

FAQs about Mooncakes

Are Mooncakes Vegetarian?

The recipe of most traditional mooncakes typically includes pork lard. However, the types of vegetarian moon cakes are becoming more and more in recent years with fillings of sweetened bean paste, spiced sesame seed, rose, fruits and so on.

What should I do if gifted mooncakes?

You can accept with both hands politely and present a gift in return, such as fruits, tea, etc. If you can not eat due to diet control, disease or other reasons, just express you gratitude and explain the reason clearly.

What are some modern and healthy alternatives to traditional mooncakes?

To meet the diverse demands, now, plenty of varieties of mooncakes are created and sold in many places, including the less sugar and less fat mooncakes, potato mooncakes, herbal mooncakes, fruit mooncakes, ice-cream mooncakes, vegetarian/vegan mooncakes, etc. So you choose the one you like.

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