Darling Square will celebrate Moon Festival 2025, a two week celebration honouring gratitude and connection with family and friends. From Saturday 27 September until Sunday 12 October, the precinct will come alive with a glowing lantern installation, illuminated lion dancing, live entertainment, free family friendly activities and special food and drink offerings from its retailers.

The Moon Festival (also known as Mid-Autumn Festival) is one of the most celebrated holidays in China and across parts of Asia.  Rooted in ancient Chinese customs, the festival began as a way to express gratitude and encourage a fruitful harvest for the coming year. Today, the Mid-Autumn Festival is about gathering with family and friends, honouring the full moon, and eating mooncakes.

Food retailers across Darling Square are getting involved once again with Moon Festival themed menu items including:

• XOPP by Golden Century with its modern mooncake collection. Handcrafted with a cookie-like crust and indulgent salted egg custard or sweet red bean and lily bulb fillings, it’s perfect for gifting loved ones.

• 15cenchi is bringing back its popular Salted Egg Mochi Moon Cheesecake inspired by traditional mooncakes. Available while stocks last. 

• Lilong by Taste of Shanghai presents an exclusive collection of house-made puff pastry mooncakes. With decadent fillings from sweet to savoury like red bean paste, mochi with purple sweet potato, pork and radish with ham and dried shrimp.

• Gelato Messina is serving its mooncake special gelato, ‘Over the Moon’ from 27 September to 12 October (or while stocks last). The limited edition gelato flavour is made with red dates, caramel, lava custard and mooncake crumbs. 

• Hello Auntie have curated special banquet menus designed for sharing. 

• 789 KBBQ are offering a complimentary serving of chicken thighs when you spend $150 or more during Moon Festival. 

• Auvers Dining is serving its seafood tower for $88 every Wednesday and Thursday from 5pm – 7pm. The tower, an XO seafood boil, includes crabs, pipis, mussels, octopus, cold plate yuzu oysters, boiled prawns, salmon, scallops and marie rose sauce. Normal price is $148. T&Cs: This offer is not valid with other promotions and dine in only.

• Auvers Dining lets kids eat free all day, every Sunday. Diners can order a main dish and access a free kid’s happy meal. Kid’s meals include:  fish and chips; nuggets and chips; scrambled eggs on toast, along with  a free drink.

Hundreds of lanterns will light up Darling Square every night from 27 September to 12 October.  When guests spend $30 or more at any Darling Square retailer on weekdays, they receive a free light up lantern, redeemable at Lillianna Gifts. Illuminated lion dancing will run on Saturday 27 September, 4 and 11 October at 6:30pm. There will also be live music every Friday and Saturday from 6-9pm and free family friendly activities including mooncake clay-making workshops, a Moon Festival scavenger hunt and lantern painting workshops throughout the festive period.