5 last-minute mooncakes to buy in Singapore

With the Mid-Autumn Festival just round the corner, our island is awash with a mouth-watering and mind-boggling selection of mooncakes: from baked options filled with classic lotus seed and salted egg yolk pastes, to snow skins with alternative sweet and savoury fillings – think truffle, Thai tea, peanut butter, and even Gula Melaka. We fill you in on five places to find these tasty treats this mooncake season.

New kid on the block
Golden Moments is a newcomer that joins the festivities this year with its durian offering ($88.80 for four). We wish the bamboo charcoal snow skin, which is regally dusted with gold powder, were a more solid black, but the filling more than makes up for it. Rich but not overpoweringly pungent, the pure mao shan wang paste boasts a superior creamy texture that lives up to its nickname of 'butter durian'. Available at www.goldenmoments.sg 

Dainty creations
When Janice Wong, Asia’s Best Pastry Chef 2013 and 2014, makes mooncakes, you know you’re in for a treat. Her three-layer mooncakes consist of various fillings encased in a chocolate shell, surrounded by lotus paste, and finally wrapped in a marbled snow skin coat. Each box ($65) offers nine flavours: Gula Melaka Pandan, Salted Caramel, White Truffle, Salted Egg, Jasmine Tea, Champagne, Praline Poprocks, Yuzu Citrus and Strawberry Shortbread. Till 4 October. janicewong.online
When Janice Wong, Asia’s Best Pastry Chef in Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants 2013 and 2014, launched mooncakes, you know you are in for a treat. Her three-layered mooncake starts with a chocolate shell with variation of fillings wrapped in lotus paste and finally wrapped in a marbled snowskin coat. You can expect different flavours like Gula Melaka Pandan, Salted Caramel, White Truffle, Salted egg, Jasmine Tea, Champagne, Praline Poprocks, Yuzu Citrus and Strawberry Shortbread.  $65 for a box of nine. Till 4 October. janicewong.online

Oldie but goodie
Snap up a selection of traditional flavours and exquisite creations this mid-Autumn with moon gems handcrafted by Chef Yong Bing Ngen himself of Majestic Restaurant. Signature stalwarts to look forward to include the Mini Snow Skin with King of Durian ($78 for 8 pieces), packed with the creamy golden flesh of Mao Shan Wang, and the pastel pink hued Mini Snow Skin with Kwai Feh Lychee Liquer and Chocolate ($60 for 8 pieces), where the delicate liquer-infused snow skin encases lotus paste and a soft white chocolate centre filling. There are two new offerings launched this year are the sunny yellow coloured Mini Snow Skin with Thai Tea, Raw Honey and Ginger, and then Mini Snow Skin with Chocolate and Truffle (both at $60 for 8 pieces). 31-37 Bukit Pasoh Road. Tel: 6511 4718.

Wholesome yet toothsome
Peach Garden has jumped onto the healthy eating bandwagon with mooncakes that feature trehalose, a natural sugar found in seaweed that’s healthier than regular sugar. They have also rolled out two new creations ($14.70/piece). Indulge in the Premium Red Bean Paste with Aged Orange Peel or the Premium Kumquat Green Tea Paste, a decadent traditional treat filled with candied kumquat rinds and melon seeds. peachgarden.com/sg

Superfood treats
Black garlic is not only full of flavour but also beneficial to the body, being rich in antioxidants and able to improve blood circulation. This year, Feng Shui Inn’s executive chef Li Kwok Kwong ups the health quotient of its Mid-Autumn offerings with the new Black Garlic with White Lotus and Custard Paste Mooncake ($68 for six). It’s just the remedy we need to assuage our mooncake guilt. Crockfords Tower Level G2, Resorts World Sentosa, 
8 Sentosa Gateway. Tel: 6577 6599