The annual Mid-Autumn Festival is a gastronomic haven for foodies with an adventurous palate. It is a time when chefs all over Singapore flex their creative muscle and come up with a selection of exotic, unique flavours made with premium and rare ingredients. Here are some interesting mooncakes that are sure to delight and surprise.
1. Macapuno snowskin mooncake from Regent Singapore
This flavour is the closest thing we can get to a tropical getaway these days. Dreamt up by Manhattan head bartender Sophia Kang, it comprises rum (drawn from the bar’s impressive rum collection), spiced coconut and yuzu and is equal parts refreshing and heady. Another intriguing offering is the Pistachio, Fig and Amarena Cherry snow skin mooncake by Basilico‘s executive chef Angelo Ciccone, who created this mooncake using quintessentially Italian ingredients. Prized Amarena cherries from Bologna is married with Sicilian pistachios and dried figs. The result: A sweet, luscious, tangy confection that comes with a satisfying bite. The mooncakes are housed in an elegant oriental box that transforms into a lantern (fairy lights included).
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2. Baked single yolk lychee lotus paste mooncake from JW Marriott Singapore South Beach
Here, the traditional baked mooncake is elevated with a fruity boost with the addition of lychee in the creamy lotus paste. The aromatic lychee helps to cut through the richness of the lotus paste and salted egg yolk core and is pleasantly light and floral. If snow skin is more up your alley, their Bird’s Nest with Japanese Sweet Potato Mini Snow Skin is a pretty little thing, with the luxurious ingredient encased in a soft marbled turquoise skin.
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3. Chocolate-covered sweet potato mooncake from Marina Bay Sands
Encased in a purple-hued dark chocolate shell, this indulgent creation is a delightful mix of flavours and textures, with a smooth pandan coconut ganache layered on top of velvety Japanese purple sweet potato lotus paste and a crunchy Japanese purple sweet potato roll biscuit base. The chocolate shell, made from Guanaja 70%, is speckled with golden flakes for an added touch of luxury. For something a little nuttier, try the chocolate-covered black sesame mooncake that has layers of hōjicha crémeux, creamy black sesame mousse and a buttery banana biscuit housed within an Araguani 72% dark chocolate shell. With sustainability in mind, MBS is going with a lightweight box this year made of high-quality Forest Stewardship Council® Mix certified paper.
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4. Rose lingzhi spores with longan mooncake from Resorts World Sentosa
Health and wellness take centerstage in the mooncakes offered by Resorts World Sentosa (RWS) this year — the brainchild of RWS executive pastry chef Kenny Kong and head chef Li Kwok Kwong of Feng Shui Inn. This delicate pastel pink mooncake incorporates spores from lingzhi (an edible mushroom and medicinal fungi), known to promote longevity by regulating blood glucose levels and the immune system, with a lotus seed paste that is sweetened with natural longan honey and dried longan imported from Taiwan. The addition of roasted pine nuts gives the mooncake a smoky crunch while the snow skin is dusted with raspberry powder. Try the equally wholesome Matcha with tangerine peel snow skin mooncake if you prefer a nutty, tangy mouthfeel. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, aged tangerine peel is known to regulate the digestive system and soothe the throat while matcha is packed with antioxidants.
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5. Orange with grape snow skin mooncake from Goodwood Park Hotel
The hotel is known for its fruit-based snow skin creations (its collection of durian mooncakes is unrivalled), and this year’s new concoction is a refreshing combination of familiar fruits – the zesty orange and sweet grape. Citrusy mousse enlivened with fresh orange juice and peppered with juicy chunks of grape is cocooned in a soft pale yellow snow skin, presenting an airy, barely-there sensation. The blue pea flower with white lotus seed paste and melon seeds, a favourite from its 2018’s collection, returns this year and is also worth a mention because of its aesthetically pleasing exterior that features strokes of blue on white snow skin.
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6. Caramel sea salt mooncake from Fairmont Singapore
More commonly found in brownies, cookies and ice cream, Chef Mandy Yeo of Szechuan Court has given this popular flavour a twist and encased the sweet and savoury combination in a delicate pale orange snow skin cover. If you prefer some texture, the Pu Er with chia seed mooncake has a strong tea flavour and comes with a light crunch.
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7. Chendol mooncake from Man Fu Yuan
The old-time favourite local dessert of chendol has been condensed into a flavour-packed morsel in this creative concoction. Ingredients such as gula melaka with red bean, coconut, and chunks of pandan jelly are packed into a feathery light green-hued snow skin that has been carved into a lovely blooming rose. The pulot hitam snow skin is another dessert that has been crafted into a mooncake, with dark glutinous rice bits, candied longan and coconut wrapped in a pastel purple snow skin. The mooncakes are presented in elegant pink and mint green tingkat carriers – traditional tiered lunch boxes – for a traditional touch.
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