Mooncakes boast flavours

D> BY TAMMY KWAN

uring the Mid-autumn Festival season (see article above), it is traditional to indulge in mooncakes—specialty Chinese pastries usually made of lotus-seed paste and egg yolk— under the full moon.

The method of making this type of sweet pastry has evolved over time. Even though lotus-seed-paste mooncakes are still very much in demand, contemporary styles such as snow-skin (made with glutinous-rice crusts that have to be frozen) and chocolate mooncakes have also become available.

One of the first places those who regularly celebrate the Mid-autumn Festival visit to purchase mooncakes is a local Chinese supermarket. T&T Supermarket’s in-house bakery creates plenty of these traditional delicacies each year, with flavours like white lotus seed with three yolks, low sugar, and mixed nuts, among others.

If you don’t think you can finish the regular-sized mooncakes, which are usually the size of a hockey puck, you can opt for mini ones. T&T also imports many mooncakes from renowned companies in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. You’ll be able to find mooncakes from Hong Kong Maxims Bakery, Hong Kong Wing Wah Cake Shop, Hang Heung, Lian Xiang Lou, Kee Wah, and more. If these babies aren’t sold-out by the time the festival is over, you may be able to snag them at a discounted price.

Saint Germain Bakery (various locations) also makes Chinese-style cakes and bread, and it also has a number of mooncake offerings in-store and online. Traditional sweet mooncakes like single-yolk lotus-seed paste as well as walnut-and-date paste are available, as are savoury flavours such as black truffle and dried scallop with Chinese cured ham and mixed nuts. Its snowy mooncake flavours include honey chestnut, strawberry cheese, sesame cream, and durian cream.

Pair your mooncake with a cup of Chinese tea and you’re set for a great night of moon-gazing.