Mid-Autumn 2013 Part II

Today is the 1st day of the 8th lunar month, which means Mid-Autumn Festival is just 2 weeks away. Fret not if you are still undecided on what mooncakes to get this year because here, I highlight a few noteworthy ones from samples tried at Takashimaya Mooncake Fair 2013. For those who have settled on your choice, see Mid-Autumn 2013 Part I for local bank credit card discounts. Having already eaten traditional baked mooncakes from Hua Ting Restaurant by Orchard Hotel and sampled a couple from Man Fu Yuan by Intercontinental Singapore, these were posted on my Facebook page. Of the traditional baked mooncakes I tried from Jiang Nan Chun by Four Seasons Hotel, Silver Lotus Paste with Honey and Pine Nuts as well as Silver Lotus Paste with Cassia Flowers, Oolong Tea and Melon Seeds stood out for their faint aroma. I liked Mini Snowskin White Lotus Paste and White Lotus Seed Paste with Black Sesame from Ritz Carlton too.

Other than Traditional Baked White Lotus Paste with Melon Seed, Summer Palace by Regent Singapore also got its recipes right for Mini Snowskin Mooncakes with Signature Black Sesame Paste, Granny Smith with Lemongrass Chocolate, Il Dolcetto and Durian. Nice aroma of black sesame, green apple, coffee and durian respectively though I am neither a fan of lemongrass nor that of mooncakes with chocolates or truffles. Both the Mini Snowskin Granny Smith with Lemongrass Chocolate and Very Berry reminded me of candies while Traditional Baked Parma Ham and Pork Floss with Assorted Nuts was savoury with an interesting texture. Sweet Potato in Filo Pastry from Golden Peony by Centennial Singapore meant people who do not like yam could also enjoy deep-fried crispy Teochew mooncakes. While its Traditional Baked White Lotus Paste had a charred aroma, it was too dry for my liking.

Grand Hyatt is another that jumped on the bandwagon of black and white sesame paste and seeds. There was a nice aroma in its Snowskin Black Sesame Yuzu Truffle with a refreshing citrus taste whereas the Traditional Sesame Lotus Single Yolk with Bamboo Ash had a tad sweet but smooth filling of lotus paste with sesame seeds. From Shangri-La Hotel, I preferred its Mini Baked Red Bean Paste with Almond to Mini Baked Plain White Lotus Seed Paste which was smooth but a tad sweet. An interesting flavour was Traditional Baked Yellow Lotus Seed Paste with Black Dates, Dried Longan and Wolfberries from Li Bai Cantonese Restaurant by Sheraton Towers – sweet with a nice aroma. Though I liked the aroma of pine nuts in Baked Roasted Pine Nuts in White Lotus Paste from Sze Chuan Court by Fairmont Singapore, could not say the same of its mini snowskin mooncakes. And I left after buying Kee Wah Bakery's Chinese Sweet Crispies and SunnyHills' pineapple cakes.