Dinner & Ice Cream Mooncakes Promotion @ Swensen's

I had dinner at Swensen's yesterday with my family and also bought a box of 4 ice cream mooncakes as there are early bird discounts of 20% off a box of 4 mooncakes if you purchase before 31 August 2010 and a complimentary singe scoop ice cream. I checked with the service staff and was informed that i can keep the mooncakes in the freezer for 6 months and i plan to keep it till the mid-autumn festival (lantern festival) in October :>

There are 8 cool flavors to choose from and i got the sticky chewy chocolate, durian, salted caramel cheesecake and yam flavored mooncakes.

For those who are not familiar with the mid-autumn festival, the Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, which is usually around late September or early October in the Gregorian calendar. It is a date that parallels the autumnal equinox of the solar calendar, when the moon is supposedly at its fullest and roundest. The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake, of which there are many different varieties. Traditionally on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes and pomelos under the moon together.

The most famous legend surrounding the mid-autumn festival concerns its possible role in Chinese history. According to a widespread folk tale, the Mid-Autumn Festival commemorates an uprising in China against the Mongol rulers of the Yuan Dynasty (1280–1368) in the 14th century. As group gatherings were banned, it was impossible to make plans for a rebellion. Noting that the Mongols did not eat mooncakes, Liu Bowen (劉伯溫) of Zhejiang Province, advisor to the Chinese rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang, came up with the idea of timing the rebellion to coincide with the Mid-Autumn Festival. He sought permission to distribute thousands of moon cakes to the Chinese residents in the city to bless the longevity of the Mongol emperor. Inside each cake, however, was inserted a piece of paper with the message: "Kill the Mongols on the 15th day of the 8th month". On the night of the Moon Festival, the rebels successfully attacked and overthrew the government. What followed was the establishment of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), under Zhu. Henceforth, the Mid-Autumn Festival was celebrated with moon cakes on a national level.

(Source: http://www.swensens.com.sg/promo_aug13_imooncake.html)

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-Autumn_Festival)