Will eating glutinous rice cakes make you a top scholar?
Glutinous rice cakes, also known as "Top Scholar Cakes," are a typical Cantonese dessert. Originally a traditional New Year's food in Zhongshan, they are usually filled with sesame or peanuts. Later, with continuous improvements and the introduction of creativity, different flavors such as mango and ice cream have emerged.
Legend has it that a young man went to take the imperial examinationto bring honor to his village. Each household in the village offered him a small gift - glutinous rice cakes - as his dry food on the way to Beijing. In the end, he excelled in the examination and achieved great success. He presented his hometown's specialty glutinous rice cakes to the emperor, who had never tasted such food before. The emperor praised the glutinous rice cakes and named them "Chung Yung Chai," which means "top scholar cakes."