Mooncakes 月饼 | Learn Chinese with Yoyo Mo

Learn Chinese with Yoyo Mo

上次我们聊了秋天和中秋节

Shàngcì wǒmen liáole qiūtiān hé Zhōngqiū Jié

Last time we talked about autumn and the Mid-Autumn Festival.

今天我们就来聊聊月饼

Jīntiān wǒmen jiù lái liáoliao yuèbǐng

Today we are going to talk about mooncakes.

月饼是中秋节期间吃的食物

Yuèbǐng shì Zhōngqiū Jié qījiān chī de shíwù

Mooncakes are food eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

但是现在人们大都不喜欢吃月饼了

Dànshì xiànzài rénmen dàdōu bù xǐhuān chī yuèbǐng le

But now most people don't like eating mooncakes anymore.

也许是因为好吃的东西太多了

Yěxǔ shì yīnwèi hǎochī de dōngxi tài duō le

Maybe it's because there are too many delicious things (to choose from).

而且月饼太甜，不太健康

Érqiě yuèbǐng tài tián, bù tài jiànkāng

Moreover, mooncakes are too sweet and not very healthy.

小时候，我的姑姑，也就是我爸爸的姐姐

Xiǎoshíhou, wǒ de gūgu, yějiù shì wǒ bàba de jiějie

When I was a child, my aunt, who is my father's elder sister,

在糖果厂工作

Zài tángguǒ chǎng gōngzuò

worked in a candy factory.

所以那时候我和堂姐一起吃了很多的月饼

Suǒyǐ nà shíhou wǒ hé tángjiě yīqǐ chī le hěnduō de yuèbǐng

So at that time, my cousin (my father's sister's daughter) and I ate a lot of mooncakes together.

我们常常只吃月饼外面的面皮

Wǒmen chángcháng zhǐ chī yuèbǐng wàimiàn de miànpí

We often only ate the outer crust of the mooncakes,

留下里面的馅儿不吃

Liúxià lǐmiàn de xiànr bù chī

and left the filling inside uneaten.

现在我年龄大了

Xiànzài wǒ niánlíng dà le

Now that I'm getting older,

更是不喜欢吃里面的馅儿

Gèng shì bù xǐhuān chī lǐmiàn de xiànr

I like the filling even less,

因为太甜了

Yīnwèi tài tián le

because it's too sweet.

最经典的月饼就是莲蓉蛋黄月饼

Zuì jīngdiǎn de yuèbǐng jiù shì liánróng dànhuáng yuèbǐng

The most classic mooncake is the lotus seed paste with salted egg yolk mooncake.

现在的商家做了非常多的乱七八糟的馅儿

Xiànzài de shāngjiā zuò le fēicháng duō de luànqībāzāo de xiànr

Nowadays, merchants make a lot of messy and random fillings.

好吃的很少

Hǎochī de hěn shǎo

Very few of them are delicious.

中国传统节日美食还有端午节的粽子

Zhōngguó chuántǒng jiérì měishí hái yǒu Duānwǔ Jié de zòngzi

Another traditional Chinese festival food is zongzi for the Dragon Boat Festival.

也是被做成奇奇怪怪的口味了

Yě shì bèi zuòchéng qíqíguàiguài de kǒuwèi le

They have also been made into weird and strange flavors.

它们主要的功能是送礼

Tāmen zhǔyào de gōngnéng shì sònglǐ

Their main function is to be given as gifts.

这就要说到月饼的重要属性了

Zhè jiù yào shuōdào yuèbǐng de zhòngyào shǔxìng le

This brings us to an important attribute of mooncakes,

那就是礼品

Nà jiù shì lǐpǐn

which is being a gift item.

月饼礼盒

Yuèbǐng lǐhé

Mooncake gift boxes—

商家们把月饼礼盒做得非常精美

Shāngjiāmen bǎ yuèbǐng lǐhé zuò de fēicháng jīngměi

merchants make these gift boxes very exquisite,

就是为了在中秋节前大家送礼

Jiù shì wèile zài Zhōngqiū Jié qián dàjiā sònglǐ

just so that people can give them as gifts before the Mid-Autumn Festival.

一盒月饼里面最贵的部分就是盒子了

Yī hé yuèbǐng lǐmiàn zuì guì de bùfen jiù shì hézi le

The most expensive part of a box of mooncakes is the box itself.

通常是商务上的礼尚往来

Tōngcháng shì shāngwù shàng de lǐshàngwǎnglái

It usually serves as a token for reciprocity courtesy for business

一盒月饼你送给我，我送给他

Yī hé yuèbǐng nǐ sòng gěi wǒ, wǒ sòng gěi tā

You give me a box of mooncakes, I give it to someone else,

谁都不想吃

Shéi dōu bù xiǎng chī

and no one actually wants to eat them.

有时候我们家中秋节前

Yǒushíhou wǒmen jiā Zhōngqiū Jié qián

Sometimes before the Mid-Autumn Festival,

会收到好多盒包装精美的月饼礼盒

Huì shōudào hǎoduō hé bāozhuāng jīngměi de yuèbǐng lǐhé

our family receives many beautifully packaged mooncake gift boxes.

最后实在是送不出去了

Zuìhòu shízài shì sòng bù chūqù le

In the end, when we really can't give them away anymore,

就只能自己吃了

Jiù zhǐ néng zìjǐ chī le

we have to eat them ourselves.

吃到恶心

Chī dào ěxīn

Until we feel sick of eating them.

在几十年前，物资匮乏的年代

Zài jǐ shí nián qián, wùzī kuìfá de niándài

Decades ago, in the era of material scarcity,

一年能吃一次月饼，应该是很期待的事情

Yī nián néng chī yī cì yuèbǐng, yīnggāi shì hěn qīdài de shìqing

being able to eat mooncakes once a year was something to look forward to.

而现在，好吃的零食太多了

Ér xiànzài, hǎochī de língshí tài duō le

But now, there are too many delicious snacks,