Every year, when mooncake season comes around, deciding what to go for can be as confusing as shopping for shoes or clothes. The endless options have us pondering what to shell out for; baked or snowskin, yolks or boozy, truffled centres, lotus paste or durian? This year, forget the snazzy packaging – we’ve spotted pretty lanterns, exquisite jewellery drawers and even an impossibly chic rattan-woven tote bag – and the massive selection of flavours, and take your cue from your drink of choice.
If you like cocktails
Wah Lok Cantonese Restaurant’s Mini Green Tea, Yuzu and Plum Snowskin mooncakes ($75 for eight) form a tasty trifecta of citrusy yuzu, sweet plum and aromatic green tea. Discover how a cocktail can transform these humble flavours into an unforgettable treat for the taste buds.
If you like tea
Go nuts for Hua Ting Restaurant’s best-selling signature Seeds of Harmony (assorted nuts, $76 for four), available at Orchard Hotel. You can pair it with the restaurant’s exclusive seasonal pu’er variants such as ‘Warmth of Winter Glow’ (Circa 2007 Imperial Pu-Erh with Red Dates and Longan).
If you like champagne
Bubbly and mooncake? Yes, you heard us right. Sip from your glass of champagne as nibble on the Jade Signatures Mooncake Collection from award-winning Chinese restaurant Jade, at The Fullerton Hotel Singapore. There are three new snow skin flavours ($72 for four) to try, such as Raspberry Hokkaido Milk enhanced with notes of vanilla.
If you like Prosecco
As you bite into Goodwood Park Hotel’s pretty variegated yellow and white snowskin Tropicana ($42 for two, $65 for four), have a well-chilled glass of Prosecco at the ready. The fruity nature of the bubbly is a great complement to the mooncake’s tangy filling of pineapple, passionfruit and coconut purée, pineapple cubes and coconut flakes.
If you like coffee
This year, Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel debuts its Cognac Truffle with Chestnut Paste snowskin mooncakes ($76 for eight), featuring a boozy surprise snuggled into creamy chestnut paste. Accompany it with a shot or two of Espresso.
If you like digestifs
You can’t go wrong with Conrad Centennial Singapore’s traditional bakes (from $82 for four) featuring the time-honoured combo of white lotus paste, salted egg yolks, melon seeds and mixed nuts. Take things one step further, and bring out the umami flavour of salted yolks with sips of smoky whisky or brandy.
If you like vino
Sheraton Towers Singapore’s Li Bai Cantonese Restaurant’s handcrafted signatures feature two new flavours, including traditional baked White Lotus Seed Collagen Paste with Single Yolk mooncakes ($80 for four). The sweet lotus paste can be lifted with some red wine; the acidity balances things out for your palate, and leaves a subtle sweetness.
