The Mid-Autumn Festival will soon be upon us, and that means it’s time to get those mooncake orders in. You know the drill: a box of red bean paste mooncakes for yourself, and another one with white lotus seed mooncakes for the little ones. You know everyone’s going to gobble them up in a heartbeat. They do it every year. But how about being a little adventurous this time? Innovation never stops, especially when it comes to food, and it shows in the plethora of new mooncake recipes that emerge every holiday season. Bizarre and experimental as some of them are, these novel concoctions may nonetheless surprise you favourably in the taste department. Here are 10 unconventional mooncake flavours from various local brands to ditch the traditional classics for.
(Featured Image: Intercontinental Singapore )
1. Mochi Gingerflower Rojak Mooncake
(Image: HungryGoWhere )
Nestled within Holland Village is 2am: Dessert Bar, a sleek, contemporary fine-dining joint that elevates its food into art. It is the brainchild of Janice Wong, a local celebrity pastry chef, and is known for its experimental, avant-garde offerings – its signature smoked popcorn root beer cake is one of our favourites. Treat yourself to a gastronomic adventure this Mid-Autumn season with its new line of mochi mooncakes, featuring Singapore-inspired flavours such as chili padi, gingerflower rojak, and bak kwa praline poprocks. It’s hard to imagine what the last one would taste like, but not knowing is half the fun of trying something new, right?
2. Crystal Durian Mooncake
(Image: 155southbridge )
Never has a durian dessert looked so elegant and exquisite. This unorthodox rendition of a classic treat takes the well-loved D25 durian and incorporates it into snowskin mooncakes, finishing them off with a glass-like translucent skin unlike any other. These are crystal durian mooncakes, found only at 155 South Bridge, which is a cafe and retail outlet in Singapore that ironically isn’t located at its namesake address, but at 39 Pagoda Street.
3. Black Gold Mao Shan Wang Durian Mooncake
(Image: Shopify)
Home’s Favourite offers another version of a durian mooncake, except this time it uses Mao Shan Wang durians, or Butter durians – the perfect choice for those who prefer a stronger, more bittersweet flavour, as compared to the more neutral D24. Appearance-wise, these mooncakes boast a rich, ebony skin, sprinkled with gold dust. Almost too pretty to eat, it’s needless to say not what you’d expect to see when you think of durian mooncakes.
4. Salted Green Bean with Taro Mooncake
(Image: Shopify)
When we head to Changi Airport, we usually do it for the sole reason of catching a flight overseas. Now, we have another reason. Available at Changi Airport Terminal 3’s Crowne Plaza Hotel are these salted green bean with taro mooncakes. With crusts the colour of jade, these green bean-flavoured desserts feature a purple yam centre, and come with a mini metal suitcase to keep the treats in.
5. Ruby Mooncake, with Ivory Palace Tea
(Image: TWG)
Trust a fine, illustrious establishment like TWG to produce tea-infused mooncakes for those who can’t do without a cuppa a day. Available in a box of four different flavours, TWG’s mooncake collection includes an almond paste mooncake with blackcurrants, cranberries and Blue Lotus Tea, a brown lotus mooncake with roasted melon seeds, salted egg yolk, and Singapore Breakfast Tea, a dark chocolate mooncake with white lotus paste and Paris-Singapore Tea, as well as our favourite brown lotus paste mooncake with a bright crimson crust. Known as the Ruby mooncake, it is infused with Ivory Palace Tea, and is also made with lemon zest, dried mango chunks, kaffir lime and almond paste.
6. Salted Egg Custard Mooncake
(Image: The Peak Magazine )
For fans of salted egg yolks, this new mooncake recipe is a must-try. Served at Li Bai, an award-winning Cantonese fine-dining establishment located at Sheraton Towers, the mini salted egg custard mooncake impresses with its delightful mix of the sweet and the savoury. When tucking into one of these fragrant treats, however, the highlight comes when you break into the centre of the mooncake and witness the glorious golden lava oozing out of it.
7. Custard and Bak Kwa in Crispy Charcoal Filo Pastry Mooncake
(Featured Image: Connoisseur)
Among the many new mooncake offerings in Golden Peony’s 2017 collection, the custard and bak kwa in crispy charcoal filo pastry mooncake intrigues the most. Filo mooncakes, a popular Golden Peony treat, are nothing like your average mooncake. Forgoing the classic thick, glossy crust topped with a distinguishable imprint (usually an auspicious Chinese phrase), these mooncakes are encased in filo, a flaky, crunchy, paper-thin type of pastry popular in Greece and the Middle East. They look more like buns than anything else, but taste like nothing you’ve ever had.
8. Roselle and Red Date Mooncake
(Featured Image: Intercontinental Singapore)
Filled with an aromatic red date paste that juxtaposes the light smoky taste of roselle, this exotic mooncake is no doubt a treat for the tummy. Pair that with the stunning presentation of the pastel-coloured dessert that’s been carved and shaped into a rose, and it becomes a treat for the eyes too. Brought to life by chef Kwan for InterContinental Singapore’s Man Fu Yuan restaurant, the roselle and red date mooncake is one of four new flavours in this year’s flora-inspired mooncake collection.
9. Pineapple and Pink Peppercorn Mooncake
(Image: Regent Hotel)
This year, Regent Singapore has concocted a unique line of spice-flavoured mooncakes. The pineapple and pink peppercorn mooncake is one of the newest, and most experimental creations. Its skin is laced with chilli, made from pink peppercorns, which are dried berries from the Baies rose plant. Inside, the flavour of the pineapple paste leaves a nice, complementary sweetness. Each of these mooncakes are individually encased in golden tins, which are packed in collectible wooden boxes with rope handles, meant to emulate the spice carriers of the bygone eras.
10. Chocolate Salted Toffee Snowskin Mooncake
(Image: Alvinology)
A product of Shangri-La Hotel and its pastry chef, Herve Potus, the chocolate salted toffee snowskin mooncake gives the traditional Chinese baked delicacy a flavour makeover that no one can resist. Savour the sweetness of the milk chocolate, as well as the richness of the dark cocoa, coming together to make up the French chocolate blend. Add to that a bit of sea salt toffee, and you’ve got yourself a winning mooncake recipe that you won’t soon forget.
