Hundreds of millions of people across Asia are celebrating the autumn harvest. In Hong Kong, a major staple for the festival are moon cakes - traditional pastries that symbolise unity and prosperity.

Kowloon

The mid-autumn festival in Hong Kong has led to a surge in mooncake sales, providing a much-needed boost to the city’s struggling restaurant sector. Traditionally filled with lotus seed paste and egg yolk, mooncakes are a seasonal staple, with over 100 million sold and the market valued at more than half a billion dollars locally.

Despite a sharp decline in mooncake sales across China and ongoing challenges from past protests, the pandemic, and rising operational costs, Hong Kong restaurants are capitalizing on the festive demand. The recent increase in tourist arrivals and the start of a peak period for dining establishments have given operators hope that the mooncake season could signal a turnaround for the industry.

Mooncake mania boosts Hong Kong’s struggling restaurants

It's a celebration of the autumn harvest and a time of family reunion. Mid-autumn festival also means mooncake mania in Hong Kong. The traditional pastries, typically filled with lotus seed paste and egg yolk, are a must for many people here. It's important they're fresh. There are lots of special varieties. This year, pistachios are very popular. More than 100 million mooncakes are sold over the festive period. It's a market that's worth over half a billion dollars in Hong Kong. And it's not just bakeries doing brisk business. Many restaurants are vying for a piece of the pie with their own recipes to capture consumers. This dim sum establishment says it's produced about 5,000 pastries this year. They're selling for about $30 for a box of four and are almost sold out. Ours are traditional and handmade. They're made in Hong Kong. There are no preservatives. The mooncake business is seen as a bellwether for the city's food and beverage industry. Reports say sales of the pastries for the whole of China fell sharply in 2024, coinciding with another challenging year for restaurants in this city. Anti-government protests in 2019, followed by the COVID pandemic, slammed the sector. Many operators struggle to recover. A rise in the cost of labor, inventory, as well as rent since has made matters worse. A tough operating environment has seen restaurant closures far outpace the number of establishments opening in Hong Kong. That's also eaten into employment opportunities for people here. Official statistics showed job losses and hospitality were among the highest across all industry declines over the past year. Ruben Rebez writes for a wining and dining publication and has been closely monitoring the downturn. It was bad months ago, it was bad weeks ago, it was bad last year, the year before, but I think there is momentum right now. Critically, there's been a resurgence in visitors coming to Hong Kong. August marked a post-pandemic record of tourist arrivals to the city. Mid-autumn is also the beginning of a peak period for restaurants. You've got Halloween, Diwali, Oktoberfest is a massive, massive festival these days, Christmas, New Year's. So a bulk of restaurants' money is coming in Q4. Many operators are hoping the mooncake season will be the beginning of things turning around. Patrick Fock, Al Jazeera, Hong Kong.

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