This year’s Moon Festival takes place on September 10th. “MOON, Let’s Meet” party hosted by Ireland Taiwan Association in Green Dragon Well restaurant (Killiney Shopping Centre, Dublin) on September 3rd had shown its guests a good time in advance through programs such as Taiwanese Tea Tasting, DIY Dumpling Workshop, face painting for kids, and a drawing which the biggest prize is a 100 Euros worth dining voucher.
It was a rainy afternoon, but the warm welcome from the head of the association, Dr. Angel Cheng and her team, and the abundant fragrance of Formosa Oolong from the opening of the Tea Tasting had driven away the dark cloud and lightened up everyone's mood. Four signature Formosa Teas were introduced in a line with their oxidation levels by the chairwoman of the Taiwanese Specialty Tea Society in Europe, people were surprised by the changes in a tea's notes and flavors when comes to different oxidized states; a Handmade Dumpling Workshop followed thus energized people more, in which participants had to wrap the filling into dumpling skin with their own hands using only flour and water. "The dumplings of our guests' creations are not going to be served in our Moon Festival feast, in order to avoid any food poison case." joked the host Dr. Cheng.
After the workshop, the Moon Festival feast began. Many guests had been wowed by the authenticity of the taste of Sliced Cold Chicken with Scallion Oil, GuaBao (bun wrapping braised pork belly with pickled vegetables), and Taiwanese Style Hot and Sour Soup. This was no coincidence. Dr. Cheng and her team had done the dish tasting twice and immense communications between them and the restaurant had happened to satisfy the palates of the Taiwanese foodies. The vice president of the Ireland Taiwan Association, JJ O'Connor, Dr. Liu Guo-Su of Jing-Dian Traditional Chinese Medicine Clinic, and Su, Ya-Hue, a member of the council of the Taiwanese Ireland Relief Association were attending with a small speech.
Moon Festival is one of the most important holidays of the year for people who live in the Sinosphere. It is grandly celebrated in Taiwan, China, Vietnam, Japan, and Korea. Traditionally, families and friends would arrange gatherings during the evening and share food, moon cakes, pomelo, and tea together. In the last decade, outdoor grilling had become very popular amongst the Taiwanese community. Though the sunny grill weather did not appear in Dublin on September 3rd, this well-organized gathering the Ireland Taiwan Association had put hearts into, made every of its guest feels at homeland.
