A traditional Chinese dessert everyone gives and no one eats got a new twist we’re not sure makes it better or even worse: juicy beef filling.
With the mid-autumn festival approaching, hotels and restaurants are trying to up their games – and sales – with creative twists to the traditional mooncake. And there’s where one Thai chef has gone full galaxy brain, swapping the usual sweet or savory ingredients with a juicy beef wellington filling.
This meat-stuffed mooncake is the brainchild of Attasit “Big” Pattanasatienkul, a graduate student from the Culinary Arts Academy in Switzerland and former chef at Gaggan. Big now runs Yak Tum Mai Yak Gin (“Wanna cook, but don’t wanna eat”), a private chef’s table and Facebook page of the same name, after the pandemic put a pause on his dream of chasing Michelin stars in established kitchens.
To make his beef wellington mooncakes, Attasit sears a butter-soft, pricey cut of wagyu tenderloin to perfect medium-rare, finely chops porcini mushrooms into duxelles, and stir-fries spinach until it’s crispy. That all gets wrapped in pastry dough made with black truffle and cinnamon wine-infused cake flour.
As a final touch, he adds an orange zest-kissed palo demi-glace to accompany the mooncakes. His two beef wellington mooncakes are then packed into a classic gold and red package he makes himself.
Want to give it a try, or even better, give it to the folks you despise? You can pre-order now as Attasit has limited the offerings to 168 boxes. The price is THB2,345 for two mooncakes. Pre-order via Line Shopping now through Sept. 25.
This story originally appeared in BK.
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