Celebrate Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival with Moon Cakes and a “Once in a Blue Moon” Resident’s Rate at The Fairmont Vancouver Airport
Executive Chef Geoff Carkner is taking culinary license and adding a dash of BC to the mooncake recipe in the bakery of the Fairmont Vancouver Airport. Home-grown honey from the hotel’s apiary, dried BC cranberries and blueberries, mixed nuts, white lotus seed paste, and salted duck egg yolk give a local spin on a tradition that dates back centuries.
“Our mooncakes are a one-of-a-kind and were created after consulting with my counterpart at the Fairmont Peace Hotel in Shanghai where it’s mooncake madness! Each pastry will be individually wrapped and boxed, and presented in an elegant red and gold gift box, specially ordered through our sister property in Beijing,” explains the chef. The delicacies are $88.88 for a box of six and orders can be placed by calling Fairmont Vancouver Airport at 604-207-5200 or by emailing cakes.fva@fairmont.com.
Rich and dense, the round pastry can be cut into wedges to share with family and friends and is usually accompanied by Chinese tea. The traditional mooncake has a filling of red bean or lotus paste, with a salted egg yolk stuffed inside to symbolize the full moon it honours.
The Moon or Mid-Autumn Festival holds an esteemed place on the Chinese calendar and is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar when the moon is at its brightest. A description of the festival first appeared in Rites of Zhou, a written collection of rituals of the Western Zhou Dynasty from 3,000 years ago. In 2012, the Moon Festival takes place on September 30.
In keeping with the lunar theme, The Fairmont Vancouver Airport is offering a special Blue Moon rate from $199 that includes a complimentary upgrade to a Deluxe room, valid from the Blue Moon on August 29 to the Harvest Moon on September 30 for BC residents (identification required). Guests can howl at the moon in their award-winning sound proofed rooms, or simply gaze at it through spotting scopes or binoculars that are provided in each room. For reservations, call the hotel at 604-207-5200 or toll free to 1-800-441-1414.
