Jennifer Sung

Jennifer Sung has lived in New Zealand for about 23 years.

This active mother and grandmother keep both her mind and body active by learning new things. What she doesn’t know, she will find out from books and magazines, and she is adept at many crafts. At a time when many women her age are winding down and relaxing, Jennifer challenges herself to learn new crafts and skills. As well as being part of the Crime Patrol in her area, she has recently taught herself how to make mooncakes.

Generous with her time and knowledge, Jennifer and her friend Jean Pan were busy making mooncakes when we went to visit. We watched as the experts kneaded and stretched the prepared outer layers of the delicacy to receive the fillings that had been made with duck egg yolks wrapped with taro or lotus flour bases. The moon cakes were then wrapped with the outer layer and put into a mould bought from Taiwan. This simple mould had an ingenious mechanism which pressed the cake out with the beautiful moon cake patterns imprinted on them, ready to be baked.

Jennifer has two sons, one of them lives in Taiwan with his family but she doesn’t feel lonely during celebrations like the Moon Festival. She invites her friends around to make moon cakes. She says, “The mooncake reflects tradition and legend since about a thousand years ago. The full moon represents perfection and union, so the autumn full moon is a time for family reunion.

In Taiwan it is a big family event. Here, we can only do this among friends”.

When asked why she thought it was important to still celebrate the Moon Festival, she stated: “I am Chinese.

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