It’s time for mooncakes again! And with just about every hotel and restaurant pushing out more and more innovative flavours, it’s so hard to choose – or to stop oneself from gorging. From traditional baked mooncakes to pungent Maoshan Wang to crowd-favourites chocolate, trendy melting lava or even savoury ones, there seems to be a flavour for every palate.
This year, we’ve let the little ones do the choosing, and rounded up some of the most adorable and child-friendly mooncakes around.
Go on a musical carousel with Mickey and Friends at Crystal Jade
Even if you don’t like the taste of lotus paste, you may not be able to resist Crystal Jade’s new centrepiece. A gorgeous rose gold gilded musical carousel tin, it features Disney characters that turn to the tune of the Mickey Mouse March and even lights up from the inside! $88 for a box of 8 petite mooncakes, it comes in two flavours, the sweet White Chocolate Manuka Honey for the little ones, and an Asian-inspired Pandan Lotus with Gula Melaka for Granny.
Also available: Low-sugar premium white lotus paste with melon seed, with both single and double yolks
How much: From $58 per box. Jadeite members, DBS/POSB and Citibank cardholders enjoy 10% off.
Where: Online (till Sept 18) or any Crystal Jade outlets
Even Chang Er will be hardpressed to resist these Peony Jade Rabbits
Peony Jade’s done it again. As though last year’s piggies weren’t cute enough, they’ve upped their game with these absolutely adorable bunnies. The Peony Jade Rabbit ($74 for a box of 4) comes in white and pink, and is filled with sencha green tea melon seeds or salted egg custard. There’re two of each flavour per box, so you can look forward to a set of two matching white and pink cottontails.
Also available: Choc-A-Rock, an innovative baked molten lava mooncake filled with Varlhona dark chocolate, crunchy chocolate pearls and feuilletine
How much: $74 for a box of 4
Where: Peony Jade restaurants or roadshow booths at Chevron House, Takashimaya, VivoCity, Suntec City (East Atrium), Jurong Point, Century Square and Junction 8
Stay cool with Häagen-Dazs’ Line Friends Collection
Häagen-Dazs has long been known for its ice-cream mooncakes, but they’ve outdone themselves this year with its Line Friends Collection ($64 for a box of 4). Featuring the different Line characters, they look good and come in interesting flavours too. Look out for Pumpkin White Chocolate, Hojicha, Purple Potato White Chocolate and Green Tea Chocolate coatings with Macadamia Nut, Vanilla, and Green Tea ice cream fillings.
Also available: Lune et Etoiles (dark chocolate-coated assorted flavours in a moon shape surrounded by seven stars), Twinkle Night Mix (white, milk and dark chocolate coated assorted flavours), Harmony Mochi (strawberry and mango ice cream wrapped in Japanese mochi skin), and Crispy Collection (crispy wafer sandwich of assorted ice cream covered in smooth chocolate)
How much: $64 for a box of 4
Where: All Häagen-Dazs outlets, Tangs, or at roadshows in Takashimaya, VivoCity, NEX and Parkway Parade
Hello Kitty, anyone?
Hello Kitty fans, these are for you. The kawaii mooncakes ($33.80 for a box of 2) are not just pretty faces. Pink Passionfruit Punch (tangy passionfruit ice cream) and Butter Me Up (a rich salted butterscotch ice cream with cookie crumble bits), please all palates, while the white and gold oriental floral tin they come in makes for a nifty souvenir.
Also available: Traditional baked mooncake with lotus seed paste, single yolk and lotus seeds
How much: $33.80 per box (2 pieces)
Where: Hello Kitty Orchid Garden, #01-22 Arrival Hall Central, Changi Airport Terminal 3
It’s eggs-quisitely Gudetama
If you’re a fan of Sanrio’s lazy egg yolk character, you’ll love these Gudetama-shaped tins. Plus, they come with a set of four mooncakes in different flavours (Double Yolk White Lotus, Single Yolk Pandan, Pu Er Tea and sesame).
How much: 1 box at $50; 2 boxes at $78 (from Sept 18)
Where: Gudetama Cafe or The Soup Spoon Outlets
Celebrate Mile Zero at The Fullerton Hotel
A delicious celebration of The Fullerton Hotel’s 90th anniversary, its Milo Dinosaur Snowskin Mooncakes ($61 for a box of 4) is definitely a standout amongst the innovative offerings this year. It contains smooth, milk lotus seed paste and crispy Milo bits to give you the Milo Dinosaur experience in a compact bite. You won’t find a Milo Dinosaur as ‘gao’ as this in your local ‘kopitiam’!
Also available: Yuzu with Chia Seeds Snowskin Mooncake, with a tangy paste, as well as the more locally inspired Pandan with Gula Melaka Snow Skin.
How much: $61 for a box of 4
Where: The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, The Fullerton Cake Boutique (online and in-store)
Chill with Swensens’ new flavours
Mention ice-cream mooncakes, and Swensens is sure to come to mind. This year, they’ve brought in five new flavours: Sedap Chempedak, Feel Good Passionfruit, Wild Floral Honey Crumble, Salted Butterscotch Crumble, and Mao Shan Wang, as well as the perennial favourite, Sticky Chewy Chocolate ($39.80 per box of 4; $10.90 per piece). You can mix and match four flavours together, and it comes with a blue chiller bag too if you choose not to dine in.
How much: $39.80 per box; $10.90 per piece. 15% discount for Swensen’s members, and 10% discount for Citi, Diners, HSBC, Maybank, OCBC and StanChart cardholders
Where: Any Swensen’s and Earle Swensen’s outlets or Foodpanda
PLUS
If these are not enough to have you or your little ones over the moon yet, here’re the usual suspects:
