Over The Moon At Golden Dragon Restaurant

CHENNAI:  Moonlight and good food are inseparable for mankind. The Chinese worship the moon celebrating their harvest festival, also called Moon Festival, says a senior chef at a star hotel here.

And there is nothing like hearing a heroic-cum-romantic story linked to the moon while having good food, Radi Prakash. S, sous chef at the Golden Dragon restaurant at the Taj Coromandel Hotel added serving the roasted pumpkin fish soup.

The yellowish soup in a big round bowl will certainly remind one about the moon.

"The Chinese consider fish to be lucky. It signifies bounty to them. The Chinese believe fish would bring them good things in abundance," rationalised Prakash for the fish in the soup even though he can offer chicken or vegetable variants of the yummy appetiser.

He also suggested pairing of white tea in tiny Chinaware cups with the soup.

"A good Chinaware will be translucent. One can see the liquid mark inside the cup holding it to the light," Prakash added.

Coming back to the romantic story behind the Moon festival, once upon a time there lived a couple, Houyi - a great archer - and his wife Chang'e.

One day ten suns rose in the sky bringing in disaster. Houyi shot down nine of them and left one. An immortal gave Houyi the immortality elixir. Houyi did not drink it as he did not want to leave his wife Chang'e.