Bread, cakes and pastries are baked and eaten all over the world. Every region has its own favourites. And with travel getting easier and people getting more and more eager to discover new textures and flavours, local specialities are gaining popularity. This might explain the rise of East Asian bakeries.Discovering new flavours and ingredientsPeople all over the world are continuously on the lookout for new flavours. They want to be surprised. Asia offers a lot of unknown, exotic ingredients and flavours. They’re processed in baked goods, but also in desserts. Some have become quite common, like pandan, black sesame, salted egg yolk and lychee. Other Asian ingredients have recently become more popular, like matcha green tea, taro root, yuzu citrus, the purple sweet potato ube and the nutty adzuki red bean. Of course, there are Asian ingredients quite unknown in the Western world, like Sudachi, Sakura or Durian. Critics dismiss these ingredients as too exotic, but foodies are more than happy to discover this whole new world of flavours, textures and experiences. Eastern or western?East Asian bakeries can be found in almost every Chinatown in the world. In Asia, they are not seen as Asian bakeries, however, they’re referred to as Western bakeries. Influenced by the British who once colonised Hong Kong, Western bread specialities marched into Asia. The offer was altered to please the Asian palate: light and not too sweet. Sugar was decreased, butter reduced, crisp baguettes turned into soft buns and rich cakes and pastries were lightened. Western classics turned into – often more healthy − Asian variants. Asian classicsMost East Asian bakeries offer a variety of sweet and savoury baked or steamed bread buns, with varied fillings and toppings. When it comes to pastries, you’ll find decorated sponge cakes, egg tarts, beautiful layer cakes, pineapple buns (without pineapple) and probably coconut buns, tuna buns, moon cakes, fried sesame balls, almond cookies and many other surprising treats. You can actually find different types of bread products on:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Chinese_bakery_productsThe whole article is from https://www.puratos.com/blog/the-growing-popularity-of-east-asian-bakeries The photos are from  On the Full Moon FestivalOne of our event sponsor (Wong Wong Bakery & Café) actually offers a wide range of Asian bakery in Manchester and they are having a food stall on the Full Moon Festival! It would be a great chance for you to actually taste the difference between the western bakery and eastern bakery!Website: http://www.wongwongbakery.com/Also, they are running MFDF AWARDS 2019. It would be appreciated if you can vote them through the link: http://foodanddrinkfestival.com/awards/   

On a full moon back from history, the perspective can be very different between the East and the West.   In the Western world, the legend - werewolves will come out on a full moon and may cause some deaths. However, in the Eastern world, the full moon is the symbol of family union. Nowadays, people celebrate the full moon in some part of the world.   So what can you do on a full moon? Some suggestions are actually very interesting and can definitely try out: 1.      Go Crazy – celebrating A full moon is a great excuse for you to chill and join a wonderful celebration. More than 5 countries in Asia celebrating Mid-Autumn Festival every year and with up to 30,000 people, the most well-known full moon party is in Koh Phangan, Thailand.   2.      Get your hair done To be honest, not sure how this fits into a full moon day from a science point of view. But I suppose if you are attending a celebration/party, you may want to get the hair done. (how a full moon affect your hair, read here: https://starsignstyle.com/moon-beauty-lunar-hair-care)   3.      Absorb the moonlight Skin may be more absorbent during the phase of the lunar cycle. The Alila hotel in Bali offers very special moonlit treatments in an outdoor spa tent, harnessing every drop of lunar energy available! So if you are out for a celebration, you are already under the moonlight.   Above are just suggestions of what you can do on a full moon day and we are going to celebrate the full moon on September 14 and 15 this year! Come and join us not only you can immerse yourself under the moonlight, but you will also find yourself under many beautiful lanterns and you got various food stands to choose.    

Lantern Making is a traditional Chinese craftmanship which was originated from more than 2000 years ago during the Chinese East Han Dynasty.During the East Han Dynasty, the Emperor Liu Zhuang promoted Buddhism which has the tradition of watching the Buddhist Relics and lighting up for Buddha on the fifteenth day in the first month of lunar calendar. As a result, he ordered to lit up lanterns around the Imperial Palace and city temples to show the respect to Buddha and forced their citizens to hang lanterns at their doorsteps. Since that period, people have started to hang up red lanterns to signifying the meaning of family reunion and build up the festive atmosphere on this specific day of the year. Apart from the Lantern Festival, Chinese have gradually started to hang lanterns during other traditional Chinese festivals to enhance the festive atmosphere, such as mid-autumn day (the moon festival).Through the inheritance and development of the lanterns through generations, the lanterns have evolved in various forms and design.Types of Chinese LanternThe traditional Chinese lantern types are mainly Palace lantern and Gauze Lantern.The Palace lanternThe palace lantern is one of the distinctive handicrafts in Chinese lanterns. It is famous for its graceful and full of palace style. The craftsmanship is complicated to producing. The fine wood is used as the skeleton, and then the crepe and the glass are set between the skeletons, with various patterns drawn on it. Because they were long-term use in the imperial palace, they were designed with elaborate decoration to show the rich and luxurious of the emperor.The Gauze LanternGauze lantern is a type of lantern which were mainly wrapped with gauze. In the past, these lanterns were framed with bamboo with a candle inside. Nowadays’ lanterns are mainly framed with steel wire and lit up by bulb. Because they are easier and cheaper to produce, gauze lantern is widely used for many Chinese festival.Giant lantern displayModern lantern has developed from traditional handcrafts into creative artworks combining unique elements from different parts of China. The production of giant lanterns is especially complicated, using a wide variety of materials and covering a wide range of real-life topics. In addition, their production requires state-of-the-art skills and knowledge such as structuring, mechanics, electricity, aesthetics and material science as well as creativity, and therefore has become one of the most challenging artistic creations. With their stunning beauty and exquisite craftmanship, they attract millions of visitors to lantern shows every year in China.