Fancy is the name of the game with this year’s slew of mooncakes—the City News team sacrifice their waistlines to bring you the highlights.
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| PHOTO COURTESY OF FAIRMONT SINGAPORE |
Truffle Treasures
Besides all-time favorites such as the Champagne Truffle & Chocolate Ganache, Baileys Chocolate and Rum & Raisin Chocolate Truffle (from S$50 for a box of 8), which taste as decadently good as they sound, Fairmont Singapore’s (80 Bras Basah Road, 6338 8785) new creation, the Baked Mooncake with Chuan Xiong, Wolfberry & Fig in White Lotus Paste, teases the Eastern palate with the distinctive flavor of the Chinese herb Ligusticum Chuan Xiong Hort and the tart, sweet-and-sour flavors of figs and wolfberry.
Ever the green advocate, Fairmont Singapore will slash S$10 off your next mooncake purchase if you bring an old mooncake box to them for recycling purposes.
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| PHOTO COURTESY OF GOODWOOD PARK HOTEL |
Fantasy Finds
If there’s an award for the most adventurous mooncake creations, Goodwood Park Hotel (22 Scotts Road, +65 6737 7411) will come out tops. First, there’s the Almond Beancurd with Longan Giant Snowskin Mooncake (S$11 per piece), with juicy bits of longan in smooth almond beancurd paste, and then there’s the Apple Caramel Snowskin Mooncake (S$24 for 2 pieces), an attention-grabber in itself with a bright green skin encasing caramelized green apple amid a tangy green apple puree.
Those who are slightly less adventurous will be more than satiated with the ever-popular Mango with Pomelo, the D24 Durian Paste and the two-thumbs up Cempedak Paste snowskin mooncakes (S$28 for 2 pieces, S$50 for 4 pieces).
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| PHOTO COURTESY OF BAKERZIN |
The Thinner The Better
If you’re a hardcore lover of snow skin mooncake, Bakerzin’s (www.bakerzin.com) range of mini snowskin mooncakes (from S$48 for a box of 6), with their thin, delicate skins, are surefire pleasers—a thin snow skin not only indicates a higher level of mastery but shows that they aren’t cutting corners.
With a pale pink exterior and core, the Pink Champagne Truffle is as pretty as it sounds, engulfing the mouth with dreamy whiffs of strawberry ice-cream flavor when you bite into it. The Midnight-Sesame Truffle, the jet-black skin of which is made from bamboo charcoal powder, oozes subtle, roast-y sesame notes with a complementary ganache centre while the Divine Durian is a more muted but no less scrumptious version of the love-it-or-hate-it durian mooncake. It comes in a beautiful orange tin box with floral motifs, complete with little touches like wet tissue packets and dry ice—perfect as a gift.
Purists will love the Mooncake Traditional (S$11 per piece), chockfull with crunchy melon seeds embedded in premium white lotus paste. Tip: The rule of thumb for gauging the quality of lotus paste is in the bite—if a bite leaves well-defined teeth marks, it means that only pure white lotus paste is used, as opposed to those mixed with bean paste as fillers.
The Mooncake Magic (S$13 per piece) takes the cake for being the most “equitable” mooncake, as its egg yolk is evenly spread between the lotus paste, thus ensuring you get salted egg yolk in every bite.
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| PHOTO COURTESY OF COVA PASTICCERIA |
Dual Sensation
COVA Pasticceria (Paragon Shopping Centre #01-20A, +65 6733 0777) goes one up on its peers by pairing two flavors in each of its snow skin mooncake variety. It’s a gamble, but one well worth it, especially when we bit into the Rose and Vanilla Snowskin Mooncake, which is reminiscent of the bandung drink. The delicious Peanut and Chocolate Snowskin Mooncake is crunchy with three layers of diced peanuts and chocolate confection—following in the failproof footsteps of Snickers, perhaps. The robust flavor of the Mocha Snowskin Mooncake makes it a winner with chocoholics, even more so with a cup of coffee. The unique Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Snowskin Mooncake, we have to admit, was surprisingly good—each bite left a lingering, natural sweetness (S$38.50 for a box of 4).
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| PHOTO COURTESY OF DELCIE’S DESSERTS AND CAKES |
Sugar-Free Zone
Thanks to confectioners like Delcie’s Desserts and Cakes (www.delciesdesserts.com), weight-watchers and those with special dietary needs can join in the mooncake party as well—Delcie’s diabetic-friendly mooncakes uses maltitol, a naturally occurring sugar alcohol that not only has a low glycemic index, but contains only two to three calories per gram, compared to almost four calories per gram for normal sugar. We love the light nutty flavor of the sugarless White Lotus + Black Sesame while the Pandan Lotus + Salted Mung Bean (S$68 for a box of 4) is a delectable balance of sweet and savory with every bite. The mooncakes are also egg and dairy-free, making it perfect for those who are lactose-intolerant.
