Blue beauty
This year, Goodwood Park Hotel introduces Blue Pea Flower with White Lotus Seed Paste and Melon Seeds as a star newcomer to its snowskin mooncake collection. The essence of blue pea (or butter fly pea) flower gives it a beautiful indigo tinge, interspersed with brush strokes of white. Within lies the crowd-favourite combination of white lotus seed paste and melon seeds to retain a traditional mooncake taste despite its new-fangled exterior.
The Blue Pea Flower with White Lotus Seed Paste and Melon Seeds mooncake is available from 18 Aug to 24 Sept for $64 (four pieces)/$42 (two pieces). Main image: Almond Beancurd with Longan
Tropical twists
Joining 2018’s artisanal mini snowskin collection by Cherry Garden at Mandarin Oriental, Singapore, is the exotic Mango Puree with macadamia nuts mooncake (pictured), alongside new traditional mooncakes Sea salt caramel with taro and shredded coconut and Pandan with red bean and melon seeds. This year’s boxes are definite keepsakes; a teal chest adorned with flowers and bird motifs, its handles taking the form of Mandarin Oriental’s iconic gold emblems.
Available from 16 Aug to 24 Sept at $38-82 nett
Delicious detox
Hai Tien Lo at Pan Pacific Singapore caters to health conscious with its new baked mooncake flavour, Charcoal Melon Seed with Sesame Paste, a gold-dusted treat filled with nutrients and detoxifying benefits. Fruit-based snow skin mooncake flavours also make their debut this year, along with the return of signature and iconic baked mooncakes.
The Charcoal Melon Seed with Sesame Seed Paste mooncake is available from 23 July to 24 Sept at $69.80 nett for a box of four.
Cream of the choc
If you’re looking for an unconventional alternative to mooncakes, this year’s Venchi draws from its famous Cremino Cake recipe to present its own series of chocolate mooncake truffles. Three delicate layers of hazelnut paste mixed with milk, white and dark Venezuelan chocolate encase a soft “lunar core” of chocolate mousse in the middle.
Available this season at $26 for a 1pc gift box (105g) and $105 for an 18pcs gift box (394 g). Venchi stores can be found in Singapore at Takashimaya, Marina Bay Sands, and The Paragon (opening in Aug 2018).
Healthier choices
With two new low-sugar snowskin mooncakes from Xin Cuisine at Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium, you can now have your cake and eat it, too. The Low Sugar White Lotus Paste with Orange Praline Mooncake is a refreshing citrusy-sweet snack, while the Low Sugar White Lotus Paste with Hazelnut Crunch Mooncake (pictured) features a chocolate centre packed with crunchy morsels of hazelnut to make for an indulgent Mid-Autumn Festival celebration, minus the guilt.
Both low sugar snowskin flavours are each sold at $60 for a box of six. Available as early as 22 Aug at Takashimaya from 22 Aug until 24 Sept at Holiday Inn Singapore Atrium, as well as roadshows held at selected malls.
Turn of the millennium
Hua Ting Restaurant's Millennium Mooncakes return to Orchard Hotel this season with a total of nine mooncake flavours, comprising five classic baked selections and four contemporary snowskin creations. Newly handcrafted snowskin gems include the Mini Fruity Noon Tea with a refreshing green apple filling and a white chocolate core infused with Hua Ting’s premium tea – as well as the Mini Salted Egg Custard mooncake, which comprises a velvety custard paste studded with a savoury salted egg.
Prices start from $69 for a box of 8. Available for sampling and purchase from 16 Aug to 24 Sept at the Orchard Hotel Lobby Kiosk.
Fanning appetites
Signature mooncake creations from Chinese restaurant Madame Fan make their return this year in a combination of classic traditional baked, low sugar and snow skin varieties. Look forward to evergreen classics like the Lotus Paste Double Yolk traditional mooncake, while other contemporary highlights include the iconic Pu’Er Mooncake and Champagne Chocolate.
Prices start from $61.90 for a box of 4. Available from Aug 6 to Sept 24.
With a flourish
Sofitel Singapore City Centre presents its inaugural selection of mooncakes, Les Fleurs de Lumiére Mooncake Collection (The Flowers of Light), in four distinctive flavours. The Traditional is a classic pairing of white lotus paste and salted egg yolk, while The Luxe is inspired by French cuisine. The Singapour Je T’aime mooncake combines red date paste with slivered almonds and the hotel’s signature tea blend. Finally, The Oriental mooncake presents an exquisite combination of green tea paste with melon seeds.
Priced at $72+ per box of four premium mooncakes. Collections/Deliveries will only take place from Aug 27 to Sept 26, with orders to be placed at least five working days prior.
