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Kuala Lumpur returns to life as the Mid-Autumn Festival glitzes the city

A picture of multicoloured lanterns in Pavillion for the Mid-Autumn Festival in a shopping complex in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
It's Mid-Autumn Festival in Kuala Lumpur! (Photo: Huda Hekmat for Yahoo Malaysia)

KUALA LUMPUR — For Chinese Malaysians, the Mid-Autumn Festival (also known as the Lantern or Mooncake Festival) is the second biggest celebration after Chinese New Year.

Some call it the Asian Thanksgiving, because of the delicious food and colourful lantern displays.

More than two years into the COVID pandemic, Kuala Lumpur is now back to life with relaxed SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), allowing Malaysians to celebrate the festival with greater gusto than before, complete with elaborate lantern displays and an array of delectable mooncakes.

In 2022, the festival take places this coming Saturday (10 September), and even though it's not a national holiday in Malaysia, stores are still brightly decorated with holiday treats for sale.

Red lanterns hanging over the crowd at Petaling Street
Places like Petaling Street are already bustling for the festival. (Photo: Huda Hekmat for Yahoo Malaysia)

Mooncakes, mooncakes everywhere

This year, we are spoiled for choice with all the different flavours, shapes, colours, and gorgeous package designs the mooncakes come in.

Big restaurants and hotel chains have been the top sellers for many years. Hotels like InterContinental Kuala Lumpur, Hilton, and Le Medrian are coming back with their list of traditional and inventive mooncake flavours, including truffle, mixed nuts, longan (a local Malaysian fruit), and even blueberry cheese!

A picture of a generic brown mooncake
There are so many different mooncake options to choose from these days, from sugar free to halal ones. (Photo: Huda Hekmat for Yahoo Malaysia)

While the above mooncakes already have us drooling, it's the local bakeries that Chinese Malaysians will recommend.

One place almost all recommended was a cafe in Chinatown called Fung Wong, which sells delicious traditional mooncakes, with the yam ones being their top seller.

Bakeries also cater to dietary needs, such as guilt-free and low-sugar mooncakes in white lotus, matcha, and purple potato flavours.

You can even get halal mooncakes at local bakeries and stores such as Milky Way at Sentul and Baker's Cottage in Petaling Jaya.

That said, while mooncakes are the highlight of the festival, there are a few other ways to celebrate the day.

A picture of multicoloured lanterns at Kwai Chai Hong at Petaling Street
Kwai Chai Hong is a great place to visit for the Mid-Autumn Festival. (Photo: Huda Hekmat for Yahoo Malaysia)

Colourful lanterns in Chinatown

This year's Mid-Autumn Festival commemorates a new art piece called "Beyond The Moonlit Door".

Located in the Kwai Chai Hong neighbourhood of Kuala Lumpur's Chinatown (near Petaling Street), it is open to the public daily between 9am and 12am.

Visit mooncake fairs in Kuala Lumpur

A picture of the shops at Pavilion, Kuala Lumpur in conjunction with the Mid-Autumn Festival
Shopping complexes like Pavilion are also bustling with the Mid-Autumn Festival festivities. (Photo: Huda Hekmat for Yahoo Malaysia)

If you want to sample a variety of mooncakes provided by Malaysian restaurants and hotels, why not visit the Mooncake Fair in Pavilion Kuala Lumpur in Bukit Bintang?

The event is taking place on Level 2 of Centre Court, where over 20 merchants showcase their signature mooncakes.

Beyond the usual lotus paste and yam there are also durian and other contemporary flavours like passion fruit ice cream mooncakes!

A sea of festive red at Thean Hou Temple

A picture of lit red lanterns at Thean Hou Temple in Kuala Lumpur. (Photo: Getty Images)
Thean Hou Temple's signature red lanterns are still up during the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations. (Photo: Getty Images)

For those looking for a more cultural experience, the Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated annually at the six-tiered Thean Hou Temple in Kuala Lumpur.

On the festival evening, the temple is surrounded by beautifully lit lanterns.

It welcomes worshipers who can pay their respects, light incense coils and make offerings of mooncakes, fruit and Chinese tea to their ancestors.

Keep an eye out for lions!

Not the real ones, of course.

For children and the young at heart, the most prominent attractions during Chinese festivals and celebrations are the lion and dragon dance, and this year's Mid-Autumn festival is no different.

The lion dances will take place in various places in the Klang Valley area, including one on the 10 September at 8pm in Sungai Wang Plaza.

While the festival's highlight is mooncakes and lanterns, it is important to remember that it is a day for Chinese families to get together and celebrate.

People who don't live with their parents try their best to go home and at least have dinner together.

Therefore, expect a heavy traffic jam in the couple of days leading up to the festival.

Huda Hekmat is an educator, content writer, and Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. She is currently doing her masters in Educational Psychology. When she isn't teaching, writing, or trying to armbar her fellow gym mates, you can find her reading a thriller, watching a stand-up comedy, or on the hunt to find the best nasi lemak in KL.

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