With this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival coming up on Oct 4, the mooncake season is upon Singapore once again. Classic, beloved creations are all well and good, but we always find ourselves looking forward to the unique (although sometimes bizarre) new flavors that restaurants, hotels and bakeries come up with.
So if you’re a traditional mooncake purist, best you look away now. Otherwise, browse through our list, which features out-of-the-box flavors including everything from salted yolk chicken floss and cheesecake-inspired mooncakes to alcohol-infused ones like root beer and passionfruit with martini mint.
Antoinette
This year, the patisserie introduces what it calls Singapore’s first ever Salted Yolk Chicken Floss mooncake ($58/four), made with low sugar white lotus paste and pumpkin seeds for that familiar taste of the Mid-Autumn Festival. If you’re not interested in traditional type mooncakes, try the assortment of mini snowskin ones ($54.50/eight) that feature a molten core – options include salted egg truffle, white chocolate matcha truffle and dark chocolate truffle.
Available from now till Oct 15 at two outlets, including 30 Penhas Rd.
Cat & the Fiddle
Cheesecake-inspired snowskin mooncakes, anyone? The popular cheesecake shop joins in the festivities with its first such series ($68.80/eight), featuring four sweet cream cheese and lotus paste creations – strawberry with a white chocolate martini ganache, chocolate with orange vodka-spiked dark chocolate, blueberry with cranberry-studded white chocolate, and cookies and cream with biscuit crumbs.
As for durian lovers, just head straight for the box of Mao Shan Wang durian ($68.80/eight) that’s blended into lotus paste with a cream cheese-filled white chocolate shell center.
Available online from now till Oct 4.
Cherry Garden
Inspired by what’s been hailed as Singapore’s national cake – the pandan chiffon – the new baked mooncake on offer pairs pandan with lotus paste, mixed in with dried cherries and crunchy pistachio bits ($68/four). If snowskin is what you’re after, look for the mini mooncakes ($72/eight) with creamy custard paste, chestnut chunks and rose petals; zesty passionfruit and pistachio; or refreshing osmanthus and walnut.
Available from now till Oct 4 at Cherry Garden, Mandarin Oriental, Singapore.
Creme Maison
Anyone on a healthy diet would appreciation the low sugar pandan jade and white lotus baked mooncakes in Creme Maison’s collection. But if you’re all about sweet-as-sin specials, go for the Belgium Charcoal truffle or the Lychee Rose; otherwise, the Matcha Salted Egg is a savory treat studded with toasted melon seeds for a crunch in every bite. Each box ($68) comes with four different types of mooncakes, so you can sample a bit of everything.
Available for pre-order from now till Sept 24 at #08-03B, 30 Tai Seng St.
Crystal Jade
Crystal Jade teams up with Disney this year for a Mickey and Minnie snowskin collection ($78/eight) packed in a sleek lacquered House of Mouse box, which you can probably use to keep your jewelry after you’ve cleared out the mooncakes. The four pastel-colored treats include sweet and tangy options such as Pandan Lotus with Gula Melaka, Chocolate Manuka, Raspberry Truffle and Chocolate Japanese Yuzu.
Available for pre-order online from now till Oct 1; available from now till Oct 4 at all outlets.
Goodwood Park Hotel
More boozy creations abound with Goodwood Park’s new snowskin mooncakes that include strange-sounding yet tasty combinations like the slightly sour Prickly Pear with Bergamot, the sweet and tangy Apple Cider. The Root Beer mooncake is an office favorite, made with vanilla beans and a splash of rum.
Available from now till Oct 4 at the Deli at Goodwood Park Hotel.
Häagen-Dazs
Quite honestly, these are just mooncake-shaped ice cream, but they’ll do the job for anyone who wants to be part of the festivities without going near anything snowskin or lotus paste. The Twinkle Night Mix ($75/six) is a basic box of chocolate-covered ice cream “mooncakes” in flavors like chocolate, mango, green tea and vanilla, while the Twinkle Crispy ($29.90/five) offers vanilla, caramel and green tea ice cream stuffed into wafers.
If you’re gonna go for the frozen treats, we’d recommend the Harmony Mochi ($75/four), which wraps strawberry and mango ice cream in a delightfully soft and chewy mochi skin.
Available now at all Häagen-Dazs outlets, including #02-K2 Great World City.
Old Seng Choong
Sure, the baked mooncake collection includes interesting flavors like Wu Ren with Bakwa and Kaffir Lime Leaves ($68.80/four), as well as Black Sesame with Yolk and Melon Seeds ($64.80/four).
But what we particularly enjoyed was the alcoholic snowskin series with truffle centres ($60.80/eight), featuring coffee with chocolate and Macallan whisky, cranberry with choya, passionfruit with martini mint and, best of all, chocolate with rum. For durian die-hards, there’s also a snowskin version with Mao Shan Wang ($80/eight).
Available online from now till Oct 3; and at five booth outlets from now till Oct 4, including B2 Takashimaya Square.
SweetSpot
For a different take on traditional classics, head to MBS to try new flavors such as the Brown Sugar Longan Ginger Tea, Caramel Lotus or Lychee Rose ($70/four). Alternatively, if you prefer snowskin mooncakes, get the new Attap Seed & Yam one, or go for returning favorites like the Dark Chocolate Orange Grand Marnier and Salted Caramel Almond Crunch ($68/eight).
Available from now till Oct 4 at Marina Bay Sands’ Hotel Lobby Tower 3.
Thye Moh Chan
The light and flaky Teochew-style mooncakes come in pretty pastel boxes, with a savory new concoction that’s infused with the chef’s secret XO recipe ($40.80/four), blending shallots, dried shrimps, scallops and chilli. Other popular favorites include Mao Shan Wang Durian ($40.80/four) and Salty Tau Sar with Salted Egg Yolk ($29.80/four).
Available from now till Oct 4 at three outlets, including #01-45/46 Chinatown Point.
Bonus: PrimaDéli
Continuing on with the chendol craze, PrimaDéli has created a snowskin mooncake version, made of coconut purée, red beans and gula melaka in a white chocolate filling with pandan. Too unconventional for you? Go for D24 Durian Chocolate or Mango Cream Cheese instead. Other options ($5.80-$6/piece) include Black Sesame Almond and Red Velvet with cream cheese and chocolate.
Available now at all PrimaDéli outlets.
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