Food

6 Best Places to Do Your Last-Minute Mooncake Shopping So You’ll Impress Your Girlfriend’s Family

2016-09-02 , 10:41 am

I love cakes. Cheesecakes, birthday cakes, you name it, except fruit cakes. And I like to have my cake and eat it too. Ok, I am being “lame”.

Mooncakes can be as good as their western non-lunar counterparts and here are some really good and unusual ones (which I have personally tried, of course) that are not from overpriced hotels.

Emicakes

This year there is quite a number of recommended durian-flavoured mooncakes from Emicakes.

First is the Snow Skin Mao Shan Wang ($48/box of 2; $46/box of 5 mini) is made from the freshest and finest Mao Shan Wang durian that gives its signature faint bitterness but sweet and buttery finish.

The Snow Skin D24 Durian mooncakes ($38/box of 2; $36/box of 5 minis) promises to give you the feeling that you are tucking into real durian rather than a mooncake.

In contrast, there is the traditional Baked Skin D24 Durian mooncake ($30/box of 2; $28/box of 5 minis) with D24 durian filling that is wrapped in smooth white lotus paste with melon seeds and perfectly baked and browned crust.

Hong Kong Mei-Xin Mooncakes

Usually, I religiously avoid yam, lotus, and durian mooncakes but with Hong Kong Mei-Xin’s new Lava Chocolate mooncake ($33.80/box of 4) would definitely catch my attention.

Encased in dark chocolate mooncake crust, the thick chocolaty but rich and runny centre could only promise optimal enjoyment when the mooncake is microwaved for 5 seconds. Hmmm…warm chocolate mooncake!

Seems like Mei-Xin’s Mooncakes might show some promise to me after all. Its mini “Snowy Polar Lights” ($55/box of 16) has the following fun and interesting flavours:

mango
mango crunch
mango with pomelo dessert
mango chestnut, strawberry crunch
blueberry duo
pink guava & apricot
angel chocolate crunch
devil dark chocolate crunch
premium green bean paste
green tea & red bean
chocolate with hazelnut
double chocolate
cookies & cream
sesame with macadamia nuts
peanut butter & sesame.

Aren’t you going to go “woohoo”?

If you are looking for mooncakes with premium packaging, then do consider Mei-Xin’s “Mooncake Exclusive Selection” ($88/boox of 8), which has gold designs with Mid-Autumn elements like lotus flowers, rabbits, and a full moon.

The “Assorted Mooncakes -Bright Moon” ($52/box of 6) features a colourful tin with fireworks pattern, while its exclusive Star Wars Set has an Egg Custard and Lava Chocolate mooncake in tow different Star Wars-themed tins!

Imperial Treasure Restaurant Group

Traditionalists should totally flock to Imperial Treasure where they can get the Mixed Nuts mooncake ($58/box of 4) that has a medley of apricot kernels, walnuts, almonds, pumpkin and lotus seeds, white sesame, candied winter melon, and sun-dried persimmon for a nutty but gastronomically balanced blend of interesting textures and flavours.

Neo Garden Catering

I must be living under some rock because I am completely unaware that Neo Garden sells mooncakes and they are guilt-free ones!

Their classic Assorted Fruits and Nuts mooncake ($58/ box of4) would be a bestseller for health-conscious people like me because of its generous portions of fruits and nuts.

Another guilt-free indulgence is the Red Bean mooncake ($55/ box of 4), a new concoction of Neo Garden, and is well packed with wholesome and nutritious vitamin B goodness!

Even better is the Snow Skin Blueberry that makes a great afternoon treat with anti-oxidants!

Old Seng Choon

Red bean salted egg yolk, and pine nuts in a mooncake might make me scratch my head in puzzlement.

But the mooncake that is inspired by a Hong Kong dessert has a unique blend of saltiness and a refreshing hint of combined orange peel and pinenut sweet-bitterness.

Puzzling but very interesting taste, I would say!

Another recommendation would be the Wu Ren mooncake ($68/ box of 4). The thick paste boasts a pleasing myriad of melon seeds, walnuts, almonds, sesame, and cashew nuts.

But it has a SECRET to it. There is a surprising but personally pleasing hint of saltiness that originates from thin slivers of Chinese ham!

Mooncakes from Old Seng Choon are packed into boxes of vibrant midnight blue and fuchsia that evoke nostalgia and festive celebration, which makes it a rather presentable gift.

Peony Jade

Living up to its reputation as a Bib Gourmand winner, Peony Jade has some new flavours that will stimulate your taste buds.

The Baked Mooncake in Tumeric Skin with Ginger, Lemon Grass, and White Lotus Paste ($66/ box of 4) is zesty, delicious, and rich in manganese, iron, fibre, potassium, and vitamin B6.

The Baked Mini Mooncake with Molten Matcha and Salted Egg Yolk ($62/ box of 8) has a unique but harmonious blend of refreshing matcha bitterness and savoury salted egg yolk that melts easily in your mouth.

The Mini Snow Skin with Rose Lychee and Raspberry Centre ($62/ box of 8) provides a nostalgic flavour of Bandung (rose syrup with milk) and tangy raspberry that provides a natural fruity sweetness while the Mini Snow Skin with Dark Valrhona Chocolate, Sea Salt, Peanut Butter, Banana Bits, and Feuilletine is absolutely sinful to the max!

Chocolaty goodness, delightful saltiness (I love salty flavours, sue me!), and crunchy yet sweet caramel-like Feutilletine are excellent reasons to put on a bit (hopefully not a lot!) of weight this month.

If the last one has you stunned, wait until you bite into the “Stunned-Like-Vegetable” mooncake ($72/ box of 4).

Boasting a tastebud-blasting salted dark Valrhona chocolate, Feutilletine, and milk Rocher, biting into a culinary masterpiece is a forgiven sin that lets you experience what heaven truly is like. Metaphorically, of course.

Featured Image: straitstimes.com

This article was first published on goodyfeed.com