Darling Square Celebrates Moon Festival
From Friday 6 September until Sunday 22 September, Darling Square will celebrate Moon Festival, a two week celebration honouring gratitude and connection with family and friends. During the festival, Darling Square will come alive with a colourful lantern installation, music, illuminated lion dancing, free kids’ activities and special food and drink offerings including mooncakes and giveaways.
The Mid-Autumn Festival (or Moon Festival) is one of the most significant holidays in China and it is now celebrated in various countries in Asia including Korea, Japan, Vietnam and Malaysia. It’s a time to honour our blessings, happiness, family and friends. Moon Festival was derived from the ancient custom of worshipping the moon in thanks for the harvest, falling on the 15th day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar when the moon is believed to be at its fullest.
Darling Square is home to over 20 cultures and together they unite to celebrate the wonderful meaning of Moon Festival. Food retailers across the precinct will create Moon Festival themed menu items including:
- XOPP’s mooncake collection takes a modern twist on the traditional mooncakes. Choose from their classic egg custard with egg yolk filling and red bean with lily bulb filling.
- IIKO Mazesoba’s Moon Festival menu is inspired by tsukimi or ‘looking at the moon’ featuring golden round ingredients resembling the full harvest moon and includes tsukimi mazesoba, tuna cup kakiage and gelato with mochi taiyaki.
- Gelato Messina’s limited edition mooncake gelato is made with red dates, caramel, lava custard and mooncake crumbs. Freshly made in store and available from 17 September for up to a week while stocks last.
- Lilong by Taste of Shanghai has golden puff pastry mooncakes with white lotus seed paste and salted egg yolk, red bean paste, abalone and pork fillings.
- Auvers Dining are offering a limited-edition Moon Festival inspired menu including duck and wagyu fried rice and deconstructed mooncake toast. They are also doing $15 matcha pancakes and KIDS EAT FREE on Sunday nights.
- Matcha-ya are serving a fun jiggly bunny pudding in milk or strawberry flavour. You can also add a jiggly bunny pudding on any ice drinks.
- 15cenchi’s special, salted egg mochi moon cheesecake is inspired by the traditional mooncakes and available for a limited time only.
- Dopa by Devon is offering diners a free mochi for dessert with any main meal purchase.
- Bubble Nini’s delicious mooncakes include custard lava with salted egg yolk and lotus seed paste with double egg yolks and come in a luxury gift box of 8 for $129.
- Ume Burger and Batch Brewing have teamed up to bring you the Batch Burger Box featuring a burger, fries and beer for $25. Batch Brewing also runs a happy hour promotion Monday-Friday from 4pm to 6pm.
Hundreds of colourful lanterns will light up Darling Square every night from 6 September to 22 September, with visitors invited to take a photo amongst the lanterns, post it along with the tag #dsqmoonfestival and ensure they are following @darlingsquare to go in the running to win a $500 Darling Square gift voucher.
Acrobatic LED lion dancing will light up the night on Saturday 7 and 14 and Tuesday 17 September at 6:30pm. There will also be live music every Friday and Saturday and on Tuesday 17 September from 6pm to 9pm. In addition to live music, every Saturday there will be free family friendly activities including mooncake clay-making workshops from 1pm – 5pm and moon festival themed face painting from 5.30pm to 8.30pm.
Mooncakes are traditional Chinese desserts made specially during the Mid-Autumn Festival and are considered a delicacy to be enjoyed with loved ones. During Moon Festival, XOPP will have a pop up stall outside The Exchange selling their decadent, limited-edition mooncakes. Choose from their classic egg custard with egg yolk filling or red bean with lily bulb filling. The pop up will be open from 12pm to 8:30pm, Friday to Sunday from 6 September to 22 September and on Tuesday 17 September.
Head to Darling Square to check out the raft of activities taking place in celebration of the Moon Festival. The two week long celebration has something for everyone, from music to entertainment, free family-friendly activities and special food offers.
