Do you know that we have a kind of pastry called “Wife Cake” (老婆餅, or Sweetheart Cake)
in Hong Kong? Actually not just in Hong Kong, but the Guangdong region.
Judging from the name, can you guess what the cake is made of?
Yup…our gentle and lovely wives! In other words, human fles…
Nah, just messing with you.
Wife cake is a traditional Cantonese pastry with a thin layer of
flaky pastry. It is mainly filled with sweetened winter melon paste, sometimes sprinkled
with sesame. It’s not only popular among Cantonese speaking population, but also a great choice of souvenir for tourists as well.
Then…what does it have to do with “wife”?
There are many versions of story about its name. A pretty famous one
had a wife in ancient China trying to buy medicine for her sick father-in-law.
However, her family was so poor that she couldn’t afford the medicine. She had
no choice but to sell herself as slave in order to get the required money. Her
husband was so touched by her selflessness and dedication, so he made the pastry
as a means to memorize her and sold the
pastry on the street. The wife cake was so popular that he made lots of money
out of it, which allowed him to but his wife back. Thus the cake was named
after her. Well, not her real name, but her role as a loyal and considerate
wife.
So, don’t worry. Just eat up.
There’s nothing weird inside.
Unless you are allergic to sweetened winter melon, or sesame, or love!
#Cake #WifeCake #HongKong #Hongkongers #Eat
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