8 Unique Mooncakes For Mid-Autumn Festival 2023

If you’re looking for something unconventional to savour this Mid-Autumn festival, try these special treats – from chocolate egg custard treats to moon tarts and plant based creations, and traditional flaky Teochew pastries to savoury Shanghainese mooncakes. They are perfect for gifting too.

Shangri-La Singapore 

Celebrate togetherness with a collection of timeless classics, snowskin mooncakes, and innovative offerings from Shangri-La Singapore. Taking centre-stage this year is the new Shang Palace Mung Bean Spirulina Bird’s Nest Charcoal Mooncakes ($138 for a box of four), which pays homage to tradition whilst delivering a unique spin. Each mooncake features an elegant charcoal skin adorned with a sprinkle of edible gold dust. Sink your teeth into a rich and nutty mung bean paste and essence of nourishing bird’s nest, elevated with superfood spirulina powder for a nutritious boost. To match these decadent treats, the mooncakes are presented in an opulent red leather cylinder box embellished with gold-accented peonies.

Vegans and health-conscious guests will enjoy the plant-based Mooncakes ($82 for a box of four), which features two distinct flavours in each box. The White Lotus Mung Bean Shanghai Mooncake is a crumbly, buttery delight that combines Marylebone Coconut Oil Plant-based butter with white lotus paste and mung beans; while the Pandan White Lotus with Coconut Shanghai Mooncake boasts a coconut flakes centre nestled within fragrant pandan white lotus paste.

Shangri-La Singapore’s mooncakes are available for purchase from the hotel’s Mooncake Specialty Counter at the Tower Wing Lobby from 1 August 2023 to 29 September 2023, or online at bit.ly/SLSMooncake2023.

The Peninsula Boutique and Cafe

Light and buttery with dense and rich fillings, The Peninsula’s iconic egg custard mooncakes are a tradition on its own. First introduced in 1986, the treats have been part of the brand’s Mid-Autumn celebrations for over three decades and this year is no exception, with two new flavours set to impress.

Additions to the repertoire include the Mini Chocolate Egg Custard Mooncakes, which boast a classic chocolate and rich toffee filling, and another with chocolate brownies, both encased in enticing chocolate pastry crusts. The Mini Fruity Egg Custard Mooncake is also new, pairing the creaminess of egg custard with the sweetness of strawberry or the tanginess of mango and passionfruit.

The signature bestselling Mini Egg Custard Mooncakes, a staple of the season, are now available in four and eight-piece packages. Perfect for indulging or as a special treat for sharing, these delectable treats feature a light custard filling, laced with savoury notes from premium-grade salted duck egg yolks and butter. Other intriguing flavours to try are the Mini Lychee Black Tea Flavoured Egg Custard Mooncakes, which infuses the treats with fruity and refreshing notes, as well as the Mini Peninsula Breakfast Tea Flavoured Egg Custard Mooncake.

The mooncakes are available until 29 September at Takashimaya B2 and Tangs L1 at Vivocity. Orders can also be made online at the official Peninsula e-store at https://peninsulaboutique.oddle.me until 14 September 2023, or at https://takashimaya.com.sg until 22 September 2023 and https://tangs.com until 21 September 2023.

 PS.Café

PS.Cafe has introduces a slew of contemporary baked mooncakes to celebrate the Mid-Autumn season, each a showcase of their signature flavours and flair.

Crafted from premium ingredients, expect classic staples from the brand’s menu presented in a unique way, such as the Sticky Date Mooncake. Inspired by the café’s Sticky Date Pudding, this one-of-a-kind treat features plump, honeyed dates and brown sugar mochi mixed with a luscious date paste, providing a smooth and sweet finish to every bite.

The White Truffle Mooncake utilises the signature PS.Cafe Truffle Oil in its velvety white truffle paste filling, which envelops a premium-grade salted egg yolk for the perfect balance of salty and sweet. Fans of nutty mooncakes will enjoy the Superfood Mooncake, a decadent blend of pine nuts, sunflower seeds, walnuts, melon seeds, and almonds paired with candied orange peel; while the Verandah Mooncake is a return to more traditional flavour profiles of fragrant pandan blended with fresh coconuts, embracing a salted egg yolk centre.

The mooncakes can be ordered at https://pscafe.com until 26 September 2023. Also available at PS.Cafe outlets at Katong, Harding Road, Great World, and One Fullerton; as well as PS.Cafe Petit at Guan Chuan St and Chopsuey Cafe.

As part of the exclusive bundle available on Deliveroo, consumers may redeem a plating board as part of the Mid-Autumn Festival Set, valued at $98. There are only 30 limited edition sets exclusively on Deliveroo, available till stocks last.

Godiva

Bringing together the best of both worlds, Godiva’s Mid-Autumn Collection marries the exquisite flavours of traditional Asian pastry with European dessert craftsmanship. Developed by Godiva’s Chef Chocolatier Sébastien Bauer, this year’s collection features bold offerings of velvety chocolate ganache and fruit filling, enveloped in delicate pastry inspired by the Taiwanese pineapple cake, and topped with an elegant chocolate slice.

Joining the menu is the brand-new Black Sesame Milk Chocolate Pastry, a perfect blend of rich and nutty black sesame with velvety smooth Godiva premium milk chocolate, balanced with refreshing pineapple. Long-time fans of Godiva will be glad to see returning flavours like the Black Truffle Apricot Dark Chocolate Pastry, which features delicate apricot pâte enveloped in luscious dark chocolate ganache with a subtle hint of black truffle. Fan favourite Green Tea Grapefruit White Chocolate Pastry returns with its fantastic combination of rich white chocolate and earthy green-tea ganache, balanced with an intense burst of yuzu and citrus. The unique Ginger Mango Dark Chocolate Pastry, with its spicy finish of ginger pâte paired with intense dark chocolate ganache and juicy mango, will also be making a comeback.

The GODIVA 2023 Mid-Autumn Collection is available at its four boutiques at Bugis Junction, Raffles City, Suntec City Mall, and Takashimaya S.C. Orders can be made online via https://godiva.com.sg

Simple Indulgence Patisserie

Simple Indulgence’s commitment to uncompromised quality can be seen through their handcrafted mooncake collection, made from all-natural ingredients free from artificial colouring, flavouring, and preservatives. Indulge in gluten-free Snowskin Mooncakes in a collection of six unique flavours, from Traditional Pandan Salted Egg Yolk Lotus to more creative takes like Butterfly Pea Gula Melaka Coconut Truffle, and Blackberry Valrhona Dark Chocolate Truffle.

Celebrate plant-based ingredients with a new range that caters to vegans and the health conscious. The Vegan Passionfruit Healthy Dates and Nuts marries the natural sweetness of premium Madinah dates with crunchy pistachios, cashews, and sultanas, enveloped by a delicate snowskin infused with fruity passionfruit. Equally intriguing is the Vegan Kyoto-Uji Matcha Azuki Black Mulberry, which contains aromatic azuki paste, black mulberries, and crunchy sunflower seeds—perfect for those who enjoy a good balance of sweetness and tartness. Also new to the patisserie’s mooncake repertoire are Chocolate Caramel Lotus Baked Moon Tarts—a creamy combination featuring decadent dark chocolate, smooth caramel, and lotus paste encased in a crumbly chocolate crust.

Order online from now until 29 September 2023 at https://www.simpleindulgencepatisserie.sg/

The Marmalade Pantry 

If creative flavours are your thing, then homegrown bistro The Marmalade Pantry delivers with three new baked mooncakes crafted from low-sugar and no-lard recipes. Try the Assam Tea and Hokkaido Milk with Raisin, a contemporary spin on the classic lotus paste mooncake. Velvety smooth lotus paste is imbued with the fragrance of tamarind tea, while shredded lemon peel gives it a zesty and refreshing touch. This is then paired with creamy Hokkaido milk lotus paste, studded with naturally sweet and plump raisins.

Inspired by Teochew-style mooncakes, the Taro Coconut with Red Bean is another unique creation, filled with a blend of lotus paste and creamy yam, Taiwanese red bean paste, and shredded coconut. Last but not least, the Red Lotus and Black Sesame with Pecan is a perfectly balanced mix of subtly sweet red lotus paste, nutty black sesame paste, and crunchy pecan encased within a buttery baked crust.

The mooncakes are available at The Marmalade Pantry’s ION, Downtown, Anchorpoint, and Bugis outlets from now until 29 September. Or order online at https://themarmaladepantrymidautumn.oddle.me/en_SG.

Thye Moh Chan 

Teochew mooncakes have distinctive features that set them apart from mooncakes of other dialect groups, with a thin, spiral-layered crust that boasts a crumbly texture. Shining the spotlight on this traditional treat is local pastry shop Thye Moh Chan, as it unveils its highly anticipated Traditional Teochew mooncake collection.

New flavours debuting this year are the Jasmine with Salted Egg Yolk and Pistachio. The former exudes a sweet floral note thanks to a harmonious blend of jasmine flower and mung bean, tempered with a single salted egg yolk and crunchy melon seeds. The latter brims with an earthy and nutty pistachio mung bean paste matched with pumpkin seeds, creating a multi-layered texture with each mouthful.

Returning crowd-pleasers include the nostalgic Traditional Teochew Mooncake, which reveals a maltose centre sprinkled with white sesame seeds, citrus strips, and perfumed with a heady five-spice powder. Also not to be missed is the evergreen favourite of Black Sesame Cake studded with persimmon, winter melon, and melon seeds.

Thye Moh Chan mooncakes are available until 29 September at all Thye Moh Chan outlets. For more information, visit https://www.thyemohchan.com/.

Yan’s Dining 

Curious palates with a hankering for something unusual can try the Shanghai Savoury Meat Mooncake Series, back by popular demand after a successful run last year. Dating back to China’s Qing dynasty, this lesser-known style of mooncakes, also called xian rou yue bing, are believed to originate from Nanjing, but are now a popular regional specialty in Shanghai and nearby Suzhou.

Striking a balance between tradition and innovation, Yan’s Dining offers fillings brimming with traditional Chinese flavours, including Fresh Pork Meat ($27 for six pieces), Salted Egg Yolk Pickled Mustard with Fresh Pork, Mala Crawfish, and the luxurious Crab Roe with Abalone. Bite into a crumbly shell bathed in golden egg wash and enjoy the subtle sweetness of the flaky pastry paired with savoury filling within. A non-greasy finish keeps the treat light, so you can go for seconds.

Those who still want something sweet can opt for the new Bird’s Nest and Momoyama Skin Mooncake. Intricately layered and wrapped in a delicate skin, the mooncake features a harmonious blend of white kidney bean paste with egg yolk, milk, and cream, infused with bird’s nest.

Yan’s Dining’s mooncakes are available until 29 September 2023. Orders can be made online at https://inline.app/order/yansdining/orchard . Alternatively, visit their outlets at Mandarin Gallery, Vivo City Atrium, Nex Atrium, or Takashimaya B2.

For more information, visit www.yansdining.co.

Text by Eris Choo