OPENING: Well, It’s March again. We have been seeing signs of spring everywhere. The lovely small pink flowers are blooming now and decorating the streets of DC. ...

OPENING: Do Chinese couples — especially in recent decades — really plan pregnancies in advance (by the end of the third month of the lunar year), aiming to have dragon babies? You will find this very much of a misconception if you read the data regarding birth rate…

OPENING: The Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節) is just around the corner(!). The Chinese Street Market Community has prepared stories and traditional snacks for the year. We thought it was interesting to mention that this is the year of the rabbit and the rabbit is one of the important mythological creatures in the Mid-Autumn Festival stories…

HISTORY: The Pearl River Delta area is in south China. It mainly includes Guangdong, Hongkong and Macau etc. …

HISTORY: The almond flour cakes were further developed and expanded through the establishment of Liji Bakery in Macau …

OPENING: This year, our inspiration is to feel the sentiments as described in the Chinese classic literature and poetry - after the pandemic lockdown period, expressing our feelings towards life for its high or its low. “ It is like the Moon changing from the crescent moon to the full moon repeatedly” (人有悲欢离合，月有阴晴圆缺). Chinese Street Market will prepare traditional literary mooncake flavors described in a Fall party in Yihong Garden from the Chinese classic novel The Dream of the Red Chamber (红楼梦), suggesting pairing with the “hairy crab tea and osmanthus blend” (毛蟹茶, a type of Oolong Tea, read more on our website why it is called “hairy crab tea”) from our friends at Teaism DC. More highlights about this year's collection: We have fermented our own duck eggs which were freshly picked from local Amish farmers at Pecan and Meadows Farm. We are also collaborating with our guest chef who has designed the gluten-free version of the mooncakes with various exciting ice-cream fillings.

OPENING: At Asian cultural events, ethnic food is always the center of the attention, people stand in long lines just to wait for their turns of instant satisfaction. What is not instant is the thoughts with regards to why these dishes are served in certain ways only and in certain seasons only? Are people only interested in food itself or are they also intrigued by the cultural aspects of these dishes? Being a cultural farmers market vendor myself, I have seen so much interest regarding to what we have brought to the markets. I believe people are excited at experiencing the culture at our tent and food is just one of the great vehicles to do so. …

HISTORY: As the celebration of the “Flower Fairies Festival” began from the upper class, many traditions popular among the people were initiated by the political elites, even the imperial family …

HISTORY: People tend to associate Temple Fair in China with the Chinese New Year. Indeed, at this time of the year, the temple fair is a depository of the scents of Lunar New Year …

HISTORY: Chef Jing’s Vegan Mochi Shortcakes: A Cookie of “Year,” A Bite of “Life” Inspiration: Rice cake — a sticky block prepared from steamed glutinous rice — is one of the most popular in East Asian (Lunar) New Year cooking repertoire …

HISTORY: The story goes that Dandan, or 担(Dàn)担(Dàn), were invented 100 years ago during the Qing Dynasty by a street peddler in Zigong…

HISTORY: More than a hundred years ago, the teahouses in Shanghai served only tea and water. Later, patrons began to seek out "tea desserts" as a snack…

HISTORY: Hong Kong milk tea gains the nickname “silk stocking milk tea” from the special filter for tea colliding — not the stocking, I promise you! To filter out the tea as clear as possible, milk-tea vendors in the 1940s and 1950s looked to dense fabrics…

HISTORY: The Mid-Autumn Festival is based around ‘moon worship’, or the making of offerings to the mysterious moon, in a centuries-old Chinese celebration…

HISTORY: The story of “the Cowherd and the Weaving Girl” was selected as one of China's Four Great Folktales by the "Folklore Movement" in the 1920s — the others being the Legend of the White Snake, Lady Meng Jiang, and Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai…

HISTORY: Mapo tofu originates in Chengdu, Sichuan Province’s capital city. The dish has become one of the most well-known offerings from Sichuan cuisine…

HISTORY: As the Chinese characters for Hakka (客家, “guest families”) indicate, today’s Hakkas are the descendants of immigrants from Central Plains (中原) to southern China…

HISTORY: The Dragon Boat Festival is one of the four major festivals celebrated by Han Chinese…

HISTORY: The ancient Tsing Ming—or 清明 (Qīngmíng)—Festival takes place every year on April 4th and is a time for honoring one’s ancestors…

HISTORY: For many Cantonese people, drinking morning tea is the most important routine of the day, followed by tea at lunch and then in the evening…