A takoyaki cake, Mapo tofu served like a banana split and French butter cookies seasoned with chicken wing spices are among the unusual creations coming to Kai Tak as AIRSIDE puts an unconventional spin on this year’s Mid Autumn Festival.
The commercial complex will host its “Strange Cuisine” carnival from September 24 to October 4, bringing together more than 30 local food vendors and more than 100 experimental dishes. The programme will spread across the ground floor open plaza and shopping corridors on the third and fourth floors, turning parts of AIRSIDE into a temporary food market built around unexpected combinations.
The festival comes as Hong Kong prepares for the Mid Autumn holiday, a period traditionally associated with mooncakes, lanterns and family gatherings. AIRSIDE’s approach is markedly different. Instead of focusing solely on familiar festive flavours, participating food makers have been asked to rethink everyday dishes and desserts through unusual combinations.
The carnival will run from noon to 8pm during its scheduled dates, according to event information.
Familiar ingredients meet unexpected ideas
The food lineup is designed around the idea of crossing boundaries between sweet and savoury dishes.
Circle Bakery, for example, will bring a series of savoury cakes that turn the visual language of dessert into something closer to a Japanese street food stall. Its miniature octopus takoyaki cakes are topped with mentaiko and flying fish roe, while its experimental cookies combine dried scallop, salted fish and chilli oil.
Milk Patisserie is taking a French pastry classic in another direction. Its Parisian style sablés will be made with flavours including salted plum, pork floss and seasoning inspired by spicy chicken wings. The combinations draw on ingredients more commonly found in Hong Kong and Asian kitchens than in a traditional French biscuit.
Cake For You will push the concept further with desserts influenced by molecular gastronomy. Its menu includes a fermented bean curd mille feuille and ice cream rolls incorporating candied peanuts and fresh coriander.
Casabakehk will also reinterpret familiar local flavours. One of its savoury tarts takes inspiration from sweetcorn and diced pork gravy, while another dessert combines the idea of a baked tart with peanut filled soup dumplings.
For visitors who prefer something colder, Kai’s Gourmet will serve Italian cheese gelato with olive oil and cured prosciutto crudo, creating a combination that places cheese, cream and savoury cured meat in the same dessert setting.
The unusual pairings continue beyond cakes and gelato. Visitors can expect Korean chilli paste butter rice cakes, herbal tea gelato and street style pancakes topped with coriander.
Local bakeries bring their own signatures
Several independent bakeries will use the festival to introduce creations that move beyond their regular menus.
Bread Space, a bakery from Oi Man Estate in Ho Man Tin, will serve rose cream cheese croissants alongside ciabatta filled with coriander cheese and sun dried tomatoes.
33cubread, founded by actress Natalie Tong, will bring Japanese style laminated pastries featuring ingredients including salted egg yolk, red bean mochi and Chinese cured pork sausage paired with smoked tomato cheese.
Bagel specialist Perseverecake will offer filled dough creations featuring spiced Mexican chicken, pickled chilli cheddar and Sichuan mala beef.
The range gives the market a distinctly Hong Kong character while drawing from culinary influences outside the city. Japanese, French, Italian, Korean, Mexican and Sichuan flavours appear alongside ingredients closely associated with local food culture.
Rather than presenting these combinations as conventional festive dishes, the event positions them as food experiments for visitors willing to try something different.
South Korean cheesecake brand arrives in Hong Kong
The food programme will also feature the overseas debut of Golden Cheese, a South Korean cheesecake brand that has attracted attention at Seoul’s Hyundai Department Store.
The brand will open its first overseas pop up at AIRSIDE on September 24. The store will operate on the second floor at Shop 227B and will introduce cheesecakes combining aged cheese with Korean ingredients such as mugwort and sweet red bean.
One of the store’s main attractions will happen in front of customers. Staff will sprinkle sugar over the cakes before using a high temperature caramelising iron to torch the surface. The process creates a crisp, golden crust similar to the topping of a French brûlée.
Golden Cheese will ship its cheesecakes directly from South Korea, with a limited daily allocation of 100 boxes. The restricted quantity means availability will be limited each day, adding a practical consideration for visitors planning to try the brand during the pop up period.
A five metre moon takes over the plaza
Food will not be the only attraction at AIRSIDE this Mid Autumn season.
From September 22 to October 11, the ground floor open plaza will feature a five metre tall illuminated moon installation. The spherical structure is designed with surface details that recreate the appearance of lunar craters and textures.
White jade rabbit figures and warm star lights will surround the installation, creating an outdoor setting intended for evening visits and photography. The installation will remain in place beyond the main food carnival, giving visitors additional time to see it during the Mid Autumn period.
The location also makes the event accessible to visitors travelling through Kai Tak. AIRSIDE is at 2 Concorde Road and can be reached from Kai Tak MTR Station through Exit C.
A festive programme built around experimentation
The combination of food stalls, international dessert brands and the outdoor moon installation gives AIRSIDE a programme that extends beyond conventional Mid Autumn shopping.
The culinary carnival is scheduled for September 24 to October 4, while the giant moon installation will continue until October 11. The timing allows visitors to encounter the food market during the main festival period and still return later to see the outdoor installation.
AIRSIDE is also hosting other seasonal activities during the same period. Its programme includes the CHIIKAWA ARTIVERSE Moon Lantern Fest from September 21 to October 4, with a themed merchandise collection and a redesigned photo zone on the second floor.
For food enthusiasts, however, the main draw will be the sheer range of combinations on offer. Takoyaki becomes cake. Chicken wing seasoning moves into French biscuits. Fermented bean curd enters a mille feuille. Cheese gelato meets prosciutto. Each dish asks visitors to reconsider where the boundary between dessert and savoury food should sit.
The result is a Mid Autumn programme built less around preserving familiar recipes and more around trying something that may not appear on a conventional festive menu.
With more than 100 experimental creations, a South Korean cheesecake pop up and a five metre illuminated moon waiting outside, AIRSIDE is giving visitors plenty of reasons to spend an evening at Kai Tak this autumn. Which of these unusual food combinations would you be willing to try first?