Watching my grandparents bake mooncakes used to be my favorite pastime”, remarked Jim Young, a former Malaysian chef that makes an impressive living baking mooncake in Sydney.
The ambitious baker recalls how he was influenced by his grandparents and helped them bake mooncakes in Malaysia during the moon festival but it was only meant for the relatives. Thus, he was introduced to the art of mooncake baking very early in his life. Jim says that he had never thought that the best part of his childhood would turn out to be the source of income for him today.
Hailing originally from Malaysia, Jim has acquired the reputation of the best mooncake baker in Sydney. Mooncake is a Chinese delicacy, pastries in general with symbols of fortune and prosperity topped on it. “May the full moon bring blessings and happiness from our home to yours” Jim Young, the passionate baker at Jim’s Malaysia greets his customers with these words and serves them his famous home baked mooncakes.
I can’t think of my restaurants without mooncakes, “says the passionate baker popularly known as ‘the mooncake baker’.” People assume ‘Mooncakes’ are two latter words, but it is one, like total completeness “explains Jim. “It is hard to resist the golden hue of the mooncakes with the intricate patterns. The soft little cake feels very delicate to hold, but as one digs into it, one can feel the creamy smoothness of the dense texture, the subtle flavors dance on your taste buds. “The cakes – teasing and titillating – will welcome you to the world of mooncakes as you enter Jim’s Malaysia.” Jim further added.
Before he became a renowned chef in Sydney, Jim started learning cooking at a very young age. He began working in his family business in Malaysia, as a kitchen hand. His Brother-in-Law taught him the basics of running a restaurant business, these included taking orders, supervising accounts and eventually cooking. At that point, he developed a real love with Asian Cuisine and worked his way becoming a head chef before he even reached 20.
Jim later proceeded to work with some top of the line Malaysian eateries. While in his late 20s, he moved to China and dealt cooking for some of the authentic Chinese Hotels. As years went by, Jim regularly explored the world and during a family trip in Australia, he fell in love with the place and chose to move to Sydney in the year 2000. From that point forward, he has set up three joints in Sydney, Jim’s Malaysia at Chatswood Westfield, Uncle Jim Malaysian Kitchen at Mossman and Old Jim Kee at Kensington Lane, Central Park.
Among the numerous mouth-watering, authentic Malaysian cuisines that is pleasantly served in his restaurants, today, he is the only chef in Sydney who makes authentic Malaysian-style mooncake, keeping the inherent theme intact.
I’ve observed the Australian customers accompanied by their Asian friends and looking at the mooncakes with fascination and amazement,” stated Jim. He chose mooncakes as a prime interest of business as mooncakes made Jim feel connected to his childhood and grandparents and these rekindle his childhood memories. He is, in fact, the first to start mooncake business in his family.
Jim speaks passionately about the Moon Festival and its significance. He is well aware of how the festive time can make the Chinese and South Asians living abroad long for their country. “Like other South Asians living abroad, we like to travel home to spend the festive times with our family,” says Jim. Many generations of Chinese and South Asians have been living in Sydney for many years. Baking Mooncakes is a good way of connecting with one’s traditions and feel at home.
Jim is always ready to discuss the MoonFestival. Jim tells that although different tales run behind the festival, the most famous one is that of Chang-E, wife of Hou Yi, the emperor responsible for saving the earth from ten suns circling it.
Legend has it that after shooting the ten suns down with his arrows, Hou Yi possesses the ‘elixir of life,’ which makes him tyrannical. To save the people, his wife Chang-E drinks the elixir after stealing it from her husband, ascends to the moon, and turns into the moon goddess. After eating a mooncake presented and blessed by the Queen Mother of the Western Paradise, Hou Yi was able to withstand the sun’s heat. This allowed him to visit his wife to the moon every month on the 15th day when there is the full moon,” said Jim
Other legends include that of the rabbit, which was resurrected by Lord Buddha after he sacrificed his life for the Lord by throwing himself into the fire. The third legend is, during the 14th century, the rebels defending Yuan China from the Mongols were able to do so by sending secret messages to the rebels in the mooncakes and instigate the rebellion,” continued Jim.
Today, the festival is celebrated to commemorate the victory of the rebels,” stated Jim.
Additionally, Jim tells that what is familiar to the festival is that everyone makes mooncakes and enjoys them with his or her family and friends. The little cake is symbolic of prosperity and fortune and given as gifts. Chinese people believe that when the moon is at its maximum brightness, it is a sign of completeness. Jim recalls excitedly how during his childhood, the families stayed up past midnight, took to the streets to moon-gaze, and parade the multi-colored lanterns. They prayed for a happy life and extended best wishes to their friends and relatives.
Jim can talk for hours discussing the Moon Festival, which also works as a fun social gathering and a way of cultural education in colleges and universities. According to Jim, it does not matter if one is a Chinese or not or if they can speak Chinese, it is fun to get together and enjoy those mooncakes in different flavors.
“People celebrate the festival in various ways; some light lanterns, some conduct lantern procession under the full moon and others sometimes even search for love. The basic theme of the festival, however, remains the same hanging out with family and relish mooncakes” said Jim.
In Sydney, Australia, the mooncake festival has grown in popularity, which has also increased the demand for the mooncake. Today, he is the only chef in entire Sydney who makes authentic Malaysian-style mooncake keeping the inherent theme intact.
Jim uses coconut and taro, lotus root and salted duck yolk blend and red bean infused with rose petal to bake the mooncake. All these ingredients were used to make the traditional mooncake, and Jim has kept the tradition intact although different variations are available.
Jim’s niece,Daphne Young, who helps him in the baking of the mooncake if she’s not busy with her schoolwork, said, “My Uncle Jim has a large number of fans because of his mooncakes.” “It’s also a time when we meet new people and establish a strong bond,” she further added.
The niece, however, expressed that she has not felt the same enthusiasm in Australia regarding the festival. According to her, the popularity of the festival and the mooncake, in particular, is just starting to grow, and she is happy about it.
When asked whether Jim prefers the modern or traditional way of celebrating the festival, Jim smilingly said that it is all about enjoying, be it traditional or contemporary. He says that it gives him immense pleasure to bake mooncakes as he feels close to his grandparents with whom he had spent the best mooncake celebrations.
When it comes to celebrations of mooncake festival in Malaysia and Australia, Jim finds the Malaysian atmosphere to be more energetic than the Australian atmosphere is. He, however, adds that he enjoys serving mooncakes to the Australians, as he can observe their reactions and responses to the stories associated with the mooncake.
Concerning profit, Jim states that during the Mid-harvest festival, the majority of his earnings come from the mooncake sales. He bakes thousands of mooncakes during the festive. The most relished flavor for the people is the duck egg yolk custard filled mooncakes.
This year, Jim claims that he had hit his record margins with over 300 mooncakes being sold in a single day. Talking about his plans to popularize his mooncake further, Jim reveals that he included an added menu for mooncakes especially with the legends related to the cake and the festival inscribed in it.
Richard Tonkin, one of the customers on his usual visit to the restaurant remarked about the mooncakes baked at the restaurant, “I love the way they serve those tiny little dumplings with a brief background about it,” “apart from the legend, the taste of the Jim’s cake is a ripper!”
It is incredible to see that a festival belonging to an entirely different region and ethnicity is celebrated with interest in Australia. Jim Young, the man responsible for popularizing the mooncake in Sydney feels excellent to introduce his traditional cuisine in Australia and more importantly, people liking it.
He feels that by continuing baking mooncakes, which his grandparents had thought him, he is offering a tribute to them. He also feels grateful that he had the opportunity to learn the art of baking the mooncake from his grandparents and then his aunt. At the end of the interview, Jim offers one of his best mooncake delicacies and ends the discussion with the phrase, “Forget your worries and enjoy the mooncake as we shall meet again.”
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