Hong Kong Says Mooncakes Are Too Calorific

By Lauren Hogan

Mid-Autumn Festival arrives next weekend and with it, so does its traditional delicacy: The mooncake.

Except this year, Hong Kongers are saying 'stop the fatness'.

Packed with sugar, sweet paste and egg yolks, these pocket-sized bundles are more often than not insanely calorific.

Tests by the HK government found 100 grams of the classic lotus paste mooncake with two egg yolks is almost a third sugar and 22.3 grams of fat. At a weight of 184 grams, another popular brand's 'double-yolk' mooncake contains 776 calories!

That's nearly half of the recommended daily intake for women! And you thought it was those extra slices of fruitcake packing on the pounds...

Being a traditional treat, it's unlikely locals will cut back on mooncake habits says the Shanghai Daily, but it is something to consider cutting it down to a waning crescent every once in a while.

As the Hong Kong city's Centre of Food Safety reminds "maintain a balanced diet and avoid excessive eating of mooncakes."

[Image via Tguide.org]

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