Mid-Autumn Festival In Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most charming and colourful annual events that celebrates, among other things, harvest time with the biggest and brightest moon of the year. One of the favorite cake is mooncake.

On this festival, parents allow children to stay up late and take them to high vantage points such as The Peak to light their lanterns and watch the huge autumn moon rise while eating a moon cake. Public parks are ablaze with many thousands of lanterns in all colours, sizes and shapes. There are lantern carnivals and lantern exhibitions over Hong Kong every year.

For the three nights straddling the Mid-Autumn festival, visitors can also see one of the most spectacular sights imaginable. It’s a 67-metre-long ‘fire dragon’ that winds its way with much fanfare and smoke through a collection of streets located in Tai Hang, close to Victoria Park in Causeway Bay.

Over a century ago, Tai Hang was a coastal village whose inhabitants lived off farming and fishing. A few days before the Mid-Autumn Festival a typhoon and then a plague wreaked havocon the village. While the villagers were repairing the damage, a python entered the village and ate their livestock. According to some villagers, the python was the sonof the Dragon King.

A soothsayer decreed the only way to stop the chaos was to stage a fire dance for three days and nights during the upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival. The villagers made a huge dragon of straw and covered it with incense sticks, which they then lit. Accompanied by drummers and erupting firecrackers, they danced for three days and three nights –and the plague disappeared.

Source: http://sgholiday.com/2010/08/moon-cake-festival-2010/

Mooncake recipe – A recipe for mooncakes, the Chinese snack traditionally served during the Moon or Mid-Autumn Festival.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• Filling:
• 1 pound red azuki beans
• water
• 3/4 cup lard or oil
• 1-3/4 cups sugar
• Water-Shortening Dough:
• 2 cups flour
• 5 tablespoons lard
• 10 tablespoons water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Flaky Dough:
• 1 cup flour
• 5 tablespoons lard
• red food coloring for design

Preparation:

Filling Instructions: Soak red beans in water to cover 2 hours. Drain and discard the water. Cover with 8 cups fresh water and bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat 1-1/2 hours or until skins open. Strain the beans and discard the skins. Place the strained beans in several layers of cheesecloth and squeeze out any excess water.

Place in a saucepan with the lard or oil and the sugar. Cook, stirring continuously, until almost all the moisture has evaporated. Let cool.

Dough Instructions: You will need 2 cups of filling for the mooncakes. Divide this into 20 portions and shape into balls.Mix ingredients for the water-shortening dough and the flaky dough separately until smooth. Divide each dough into 20 equal portions.

Wrap one portion of flaky dough inside each portion of water-shortening dough. Roll out each piece of dough, then fold in thirds to form three layers. Roll out again, and once more fold in thirds to form three layers.

Flatten each piece of dough with the palm of your hand to form a 3″ circle. Place one portion of filling in the center. Gather the edges to enclose the filling and pinch to seal. Place the filled packet in the mold, gently pressing to fit. Invert and remove the mold.

Dilute red food coloring with water and pour onto a damp paper towel on a plate. Take some food coloring onto the cookie-design stamp, then press on top of the moon cake.

Repeat process for remaining mooncakes. Arrange mooncakes on a baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool before serving.

Source: http://chinesefood.about.com/od/foodfestivals/r/mooncakes.htm

Creating more efficient structures in natural stone
In tune with environmental consciousness, more architects nowadays design around resonant geological forms to connect to the natural environment. Creating an evocative symphony in stone, harmonious and in tune with the elements, modern design blends many forms into a fine structure, building upon it to create a resonance that evokes an enduring sense of beauty. Like a good symphony, today’s design tends to the senses, whilst also flawless, efficient and simple in structure.

With profound understanding of natural stone and its evocative language, aided by insights into technical structure and design, architects use the inherent potential of natural stone to its best advantage. To say that natural stone evokes a sense of authentic beauty is, perhaps, an understatement, but its innate properties in this technology driven age allow its use in many applications more cost-effectively than any other material.

Sophisticated mining techniques like water-jet-cutting improve recovery rates of granite and reduce operational costs of quarrying everyday. This, together with advances in fabrication and finishing styles and competitive global trade make natural stone very cost effective. Synthetic, manmade materials find it difficult to compete with natural stone – the price differential is simply not enough to merit a compromise on the aesthetics and qualities of natural stone.

Granite, for example, is becoming increasingly affordable, with fine specimens from China and India available freely in the market today. One of the strongest stones in the world, its impressive resistance to abrasion, makes it an exceptional choice in long lasting high traffic flooring. Granite does not stain, or scratch easily, and is chemical resistant; these qualities allow for easy, low-cost maintenance. Additionally, granite is economical in the long run, lasting for decades on end, and eliminating replacement and re-modeling costs.

Absorption rate, an all-important factor when it comes to using stone in contact with soil, is good in granite. Because it is “breathable”, it allows moisture to escape in freezing cycles and remains unaffected by efflorescence.

Granite’s inherent qualities make it very versatile, cost effective and ideal for use in many applications. Its ability to resist bending force, flexural strength, for instance, is high, between 100 and 400 lbs per square inch. This factor is vital in establishing the permissible span of a dimension stone panel in a given thickness subjected to given loads, and allows use of granite panels in a wide range of thicknesses (30 mm to above 50mm) for many applications, spans and loads. This becomes cost-efficient as it reduces both curtain wall cost and dead load for the building frame. In addition, its exceptional dimensional ability, its tolerance to constant changes in temperature and moisture without a significant change in its size, make it ideal for use outdoors, and in many industrial applications. A 5′ granite panel changes by only 0.026″ in a 100F temperature change.

Marble’s beauty is legendary, and its variety plentiful. Properties between different marbles vary, but generally do not match those of granite. However, it is popular, in demand, and widely used on floors, as wall claddings and much more. Polished marble will scratch in high traffic areas and stains easily, so it is best to use granite here. Marble panels need to be thicker than granite to account for span and load effectively. You also need to check its properties to ensure it performs well in freeze/thaw cycles, and allow for greater thickness of panels in this case. The right marble, however, will do your job effectively. .

Marble is very cost effective in many ways. With care, it is low on maintenance. Durable (you just have to look at the immense pillars of the Parthenon to see just how true this is), marble is available from all over the world today at very competitive prices.

The beige and pale yellow hues of limestone are very trendy nowadays, but limestone’s flexural strength demands thicker panels for wall cladding, as much as 3″- 4″. This is a small sacrifice; limestone looks stunning on exteriors. Limestone in applications exposed to soil need an alternative stone for the base course to solve the problem of its high absorption rate and low stain resistance. You will need to check the properties of the limestone you’re using to ensure it is appropriate to the outdoors.

Limestone is economical because it is very affordable, and additionally easily fashioned into cornices and molding pieces.

The haunting beauty of sandstone makes for very attractive cladding, flagging among other uses, as it has done for centuries. You will need 3″ panels or more for effective cladding.

Slate combines its unique ability to spilt easy into thin sheets with its high flexural strength to produce ideal roofing tiles. Just check to ensure the tile you’re using will not crack in freeze/thaw conditions. Versatile, creating a rustic feel with its hues when used on out door walls, and as flooring or flagging. Some slates lose color outdoors, so it’s best to use the “non-fading” types.

Creating a home out of natural stone retains authenticity. It brings harmony, blending ancient feels and textures, crafting them melodiously into a home–one modern, yet in tune with its environment.

Source: http://www.floweradvisor.com.sg/lifestyle/interests/music/130269/a_natural_symphony_in_stone/

See Also : Mooncake, moon cake, Mid autumn festival