俗话说：“八月十五月正圆，中秋月饼甜又香。”月饼最早只是一种饼形食物，后来，人们逐渐把中秋赏月与品尝月饼结合在一起，寓意家人团圆。

　　这些年，月饼的花样越来越多，比如小龙虾月饼、三文鱼月饼，还有各种口味的流心月饼、桃山皮月饼、冰皮月饼、冰淇淋月饼、鲜果月饼……不过在杭州，不管什么月饼，都无法撼动鲜肉榨菜月饼的地位。

　　为月饼排队只因迷恋“现吃现做”

　　很多杭州人吃月饼只认鲜肉榨菜的，其他的一律不买账。记得小时候，浙二医院对面的老大房，每到中秋前夕都要排长队，现烤现卖的鲜肉榨菜月饼，还没出炉就香气四溢，让人馋涎欲滴。

　　杭州最早卖榨菜鲜肉月饼的，据说是西湖边的采芝斋。上世纪80年代初，鲜肉榨菜月饼只卖8分钱一个，后来慢慢涨到6角钱，现在又涨到了3块钱。但到了吃榨菜月饼的季节，很多杭州人首先想到的还是他家。

　　在这个颜值当道的时代，为什么其貌不扬的鲜肉榨菜月饼，能独得杭州人的恩宠？

　　据说，杭州的鲜肉榨菜月饼和康熙皇帝还有关系。当年康熙来杭州，一个糕点师傅给他做了鲜肉榨菜月饼，受到称赞。从此，鲜肉榨菜月饼开始盛行，一直到现在，成为杭州人老底子里的记忆。

　　还有一种说法，鲜肉榨菜月饼其实是苏式鲜肉月饼的改良版，杭州人往里头加了榨菜，就成了现在的样子。

　　鲜肉榨菜月饼最大的特点是咸的，吃起来不会腻，而且刚出炉时香味特别诱人。笔者吃过肯德基的鲜肉月饼，还有“全家”今年新出的蛋黄鲜肉月饼……但吃来吃去，还是觉得鲜肉跟榨菜最配。

　　说起好吃的鲜肉榨菜月饼，很多人会想到杭州老牌的甜品店，开业15年的“九月生活”。

　　原本九月生活只在每年中秋节前卖鲜肉榨菜月饼，现在，他们在杭州每个区域都保留两三家店，基本上全年供应。

　　负责营运的胡经理告诉笔者，平时过来买鲜肉榨菜月饼是不用排队的。中秋节前半个月左右，各家门店就开始排队了。他们家的鲜肉榨菜月饼，由工厂配送半成品到门店，然后由门店自行烘制。制作一箱月饼耗时23分钟，对于这款月饼，杭州人特别迷恋“现做现吃”的口感，所以导致队伍排得很长。

　　今年九月生活的鲜肉榨菜月饼售价4元。作为多年的爆款，卖这个价自然是有道理的。胡经理介绍，他们店的月饼全部选的是腿肉，更有弹性和嚼劲。因为需求量太大，榨菜由厂家定点供应，胡经理说，“因为受外界腌制环境的影响，榨菜批次不同，咸度上会有细微的差异。”

　　就笔者个人的感觉，这几年杭州的鲜肉榨菜月饼比早年的要清淡一些。胡经理说确实如此，一个产品的口感不会一成不变，他们每年都会根据市场情况作出微调。整体而言，杭州人的口味是越来越清淡了。

　　在杭州找月饼这几家老字号值得尝

　　除了“九月生活”，杭州在卖鲜肉榨菜月饼的多是老字号，味道也都不错。

　　友好饭店一楼的平海路53号茶餐厅，他们家的鲜肉榨菜月饼售价6元，比别家稍贵一些，但吃过以后，觉得值。

　　首先外形看上去就要大上一圈，掰开月饼，鲜肉颜色还是红润润的，榨菜条条分明。后来一问，猪肉用的是平日拿来做火腿的金华两头乌，榨菜则是人气较高的涪陵榨菜。咬上一口，又薄又酥，入口完全不会有“实饼饼”的口感。这家店的鲜肉榨菜月饼每天只卖300个，中午11点开卖，卖完为止，不过可以提前预订（20只起订）。

　　仁和路的知味观总店，鲜肉榨菜月饼每只售价3.5元。作为杭州的老字号，来这里的本地人和游客都很多。鲜肉榨菜月饼也是他家的爆款，每逢中秋节，都是要排长队的，而且全是现烤现卖，不会留到第二天。皮够酥脆，轻轻一掰，层层叠叠的酥皮就往下掉屑，馅也足够大。做法比较特别，肉馅被细细打成了肉糜，口感特别粉嫩，但也少了韧性，更适合老人家吃。

　　杭州采芝斋，是苏州人金智轩创立的，自1928年7月13日在延安路开业以来，已经在西湖边屹立了90年。他们家的鲜肉榨菜月饼售价3元，看起来要比别家小一圈，看上去也是其貌不扬，但入口有惊喜，皮薄肉多，肉有嚼劲，最重要的是，榨菜味鲜明浓郁。饼虽小了点，但价格也相对便宜，两口一个，刚刚好。

　　还有就是笔者小时候吃得最多的老大房。他们家卖的九芝斋鲜肉榨菜月饼，每只售价3元。一进门，隔老远就能闻到香味，拿到手还是烫乎乎的。掰开月饼，榨菜和肉粒分明，美中不足的是外面的月饼酥皮层次不够分明，咬下去有点实，虽然肉馅也不少，但入口总觉得“皮厚肉少”。

　　今年盒马鲜生也加入了鲜肉榨菜月饼的大军，每只售价7元，比别家差不多贵一倍。我之前吃过他们家的三文鱼月饼，第一感觉就是馅特别实在，用料足。鲜肉榨菜月饼也是如此，肉馅大粒，非常新鲜，而且用的应该是后腿肉，非常有嚼劲。不过，就笔者的感觉，不算太好吃，主要问题在于皮不够酥，吃起来感觉特别厚实。

　　（本文图片提供：毛若皓 宋赟）

The first historical mention of the moon cake can be traced back to , a book penned by Wu Zimu about the Southern Song (1127-1279). The 20-volume tome goes to great lengths to record the dream and glory of the life in the capital city, which is present-day Hangzhou, of the Southern Song. Though the author’s life is little known to readers of today, the luxuries of the life in Hangzhou are meticulously documented in the book. Though the moon cake of the Southern Song as recorded in the book was nothing special, it evolved and gained a cultural significance after the cake got intimately associated with the full moon of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Hangzhou has seen a full variety of moon cakes marketed long before the festival every year over the past few decades as the country began to enjoy wealth. Today, moon cakes feature all kinds of trendy ingredients such as salmon, ice cream, lobster, walnut, and fresh fruit, just to name a few among the full variety, but many Hangzhou people still favor the moon cake with (pickled and sliced mustard) and pork stuffed inside. The passion for such a delicacy goes back at least to many decades ago. Back then, the moon cake with  and pork was baked in roadside shops and the alluring flavor allured people to line up to buy. Cai Zhi Zai, a candy and cake shop located near the West Lake, is presumably the first business that launched the cake. The alluring baking odor always pulled buyers in. In the early 1980s, a  and pork moon cake cost 8 cents. Gradually it sold at 0.6 yuan. Today it sells at three yuan or more. However, it has remained the favorite moon cake for many local people.

Why is it so popular in Hangzhou? Some folk historians say that the  and pork moon cake had something to do with Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). It is said that a master baker presented the visiting emperor with a and pork moon cake and the emperor liked it. The moon cake became popular with local people. Some folk historians, however, disagree. They say that the  and pork moon cake is a Hangzhou variation on the pork moon cake originally made in Suzhou style.

One outstanding feature of the moon cake is the salty flavor of , unlike overly sweetened ingredients in most other moon cakes.

September Life, a cake shop franchise in Hangzhou, exemplifies the popularity of the  and pork moon cake. At first, the bakery made and sold the cake only in weeks up to the Moon Festival. Nowadays, it is the franchise’s bestseller, which sells for about nine months a year (not available during the Spring Festival and June, July) at its retail outlets across the city.

Different bakeries in Hangzhou make the local people’s most favorite moon cake in different ways and different styles. Gourmets can talk for a long while about different appeals of these moon cakes and customers enjoy the variety of flavors and tastes. A tea restaurant on the ground floor of Friendship Hotel in downtown makes and sells 300 Zhacai and Pork moon cakes a day. The cake sells at 6 yuan. Zhi Wei Guan, a time-old restaurant, is famed for its  and pork moon cake, which sells at 3.5 yuan. The restaurant is one of the most popular moon cake makers in the city. Customers and tourists usually line up to buy as the bakery sells what it makes directly out of flat-bottomed woks.