When we think of the Mid-Autumn Festival, we think of reunions. Celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month, it grew from ancient Chinese harvest traditions into one of the calendar’s great occasions for gathering, marked, of course, by the full moon and the exchange of our beloved mooncakes. Folklore would only deepen its meaning, from stories of Chang’e on the moon to the disputed Yuan-era tale of rebels hiding messages inside the pastries. In the Philippines, Filipino-Chinese families mark the season through family dinners, mooncake gifting, and pua tiong chiu. Today, mooncakes circulate widely as gifts among friends, clients, and colleagues. This month, Makati Shangri-La, Manila gives that tradition a fresh local touch through its 2026 Mid-Autumn collection. It pairs together Shang Palace mooncakes and gift hampers with a collaboration featuring Philippine chocolatier AURO. The homegrown tree-to-bar chocolate maker has spent years placing Filipino cacao in unexpected..
