Mid-Autumn 2015

The light-up ceremony and fireworks displays for Chinatown Mid-Autumn Festival 2015 on Sunday marked the first day of the 8th lunar month, though its festive bazaar and carnival started one day earlier. At the month-long Takashimaya Mooncake Fair that runs 'til 27 Sep, there are a few new participants such as Mandarin Orchard and Pantler. While some seemed to have used the same packaging as previous year(s) or made such minor tweaks that I was oblivious to, Tung Lok Group has new ones this year for its Perfect Duo and Bite-Sized. Loved Man Fu Yuan by Intercontinental Singapore's tin box where local illustrator Jacqueline Goh captured the hotel's rich heritage, arts and culture in the multifaceted façades of the historic Bugis district. Interestingly, Sze Chuan Court by Fairmont Singapore's boxes reminded me of cheongsams and The Cookie Museum's resembled large books.

Mid-Autumn 2014

I have tried the traditional baked white lotus paste mooncakes in previous years and highlighted a few noteworthy ones including new creation flavours. As such, I only sampled a few at Takashimaya Mooncake Fair 2014 which runs from last week to Mid-Autumn Festival on 8 Sep. The white lotus paste this year was generally not too sweet with Cherry Garden by Mandarin Oriental's Traditional Mooncake with Low Sugar Silver Lotus Paste that stood out as the best for people who really do not have a sweet tooth or are not supposed to eat sweet stuff. Its Oriental Mooncake with Silver Lotus Paste, Yuzu and Melon Seeds was a tad sweet as regular (and not low sugar) white lotus paste was used. But none of the samples had such thin skin with a nice aroma that my eyes lit up. Most were just palatable, with some too thick and one even reminded me of the piglet in basket – a new flavour from Summer Pavilion by Ritz Carlton, Purple Sweet Potato with Pumpkin.