With the Mid-Autumn Festival coming up next week, it's time to get ready to stuff our faces with mooncakes. From traditional, sweet lotus-seed-paste pastries to fusion varieties with funky fillings, here's some of this year's best choices.
Wing Wah
What: white-lotus-seed paste with double yolk. Price: HK$55 each. Claim to fame: in business since 1950, Wing Wah was the first to use white-lotus-seed paste as a mooncake filling. Good gift for: the in-laws. Verdict: Wing Wah mooncakes are favourites and with good reason. The straw-yellow paste is fragrant and sweet without being cloyingly heavy. The real star of the show, however, is the bright orange egg yolk, which is moist and savoury, with a beautiful sandy texture to it. Place an order: 2477 9947
Kee Wah
What: white lotus seed paste with double yolk. Price: HK$57 each. Claim to fame: endorsed by local celebrity Eric Tsang Chi-wai. Good gift for: overseas relatives. Verdict: These mooncakes lean towards the heavy side. The paste has a fairly firm consistency, making the cake feel rather chunky. Instead of being moist and slightly oily and orange, the egg yolk here tastes dry and chalky. Place an order: 2785 6066
G.O.D.
What: white-lotus-seed paste with yolk. Price: HK$65 each Claim to fame: their risqu?shapes. Good gift for: anyone with an eight-year-old's sense of humour. Verdict: Although manufactured at the Kee Wah bakery, G.O.D. mooncakes have a smoother, softer paste than Kee Wah's own brand. But it's the novelty that counts here. Place an order: 2890 5555
Taipan
What: snowy mooncake: Malaysian curry with green-bean paste. Price: HK$29.50 for two. Claim to fame: Taipan is the city's leading purveyor of snowy mooncakes. Good gift for: those who are 'too cool' for traditional mooncakes. Verdict: Surprisingly, the curry and green-bean paste work well together. If you're not into curry mooncakes, try one of the milder, fruit fillings, or those based on classic local fare, such as lemon tea. Place an order: 2351 3222
Coco at The Mira
What: sweet mooncake filled with caramel toffee, caramelised hazelnut and Manjari ganache. Price: HK$88 each. Claim to fame: these chic little mooncakes are made with Lindt chocolate. Good gift for: expats who haven't yet acquired a taste for regular mooncakes. Verdict: They're essentially a chocolate truffle, and you'll definitely need a sweet tooth to appreciate them. For those who can't take too much of a sweet thing, there are three other flavours in this sophisticated range, including 'Sour' (lime ganache), 'Bitter' (coffee ganache) and 'Spicy' (chilli ganache). Place an order: 2315 5566
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tK%2FMqWWcp51krrPAyJyjnmdnZ4F6f5hooK2rXam2rrGMm6yyZZ2kvK%2BvwKScrGWnnbaktIybqZqmlA%3D%3D