To the Moon and Back: Choice Mooncakes for Mid-Autumn Festival
It's that time of year again, when offices fill up with untouched ornate boxes and bellies burst with lard-based pastry. That's right, it's mooncake season! This year all the usual high-end traditional mooncakes are available, along with a couple of more creative takes that you might actually fancy eating.
East Hotel's Cheesecake Not-Mooncakes
Celebrate Mid-Autumn festival with something a little different. Domain in the East Hotel is offering mooncake-shaped cheesecakes in raspberry, chocolate mouse and mango flavors.Call Domain to order on 8414 9830.
RMB 32 each, RMB 256 for a box of nine. Domain.
Homemade Or Noir Chocolate Mooncakes
If traditional mooncakes aren't really your thing, we imagine you wouldn't say no to chocolate. The Four Seasons' dark chocolate mooncakes come in innovative flavors like five spice and citrus fruit. 2% of sales will go to Educating Girls of Rural China.
RMB 298 and up. Four Seasons.
Haagen Dazs Ice Cream Mooncakes
Haagen Dazs' ever-popular ice cream mooncakes are back for another year. This Autumn, the big sellers are the My Love From the Stars (来自星星的你) megastar Kim Soo-hyun branded box sets (RMB 298).
RMB 219 and up. Haagen Dazs.
Mousse mooncakes at China World
Sweet Spot's mousse mooncakes will be a boon for cake lovers. Available in six flavors: very berry, blueberry cheese, vanilla green tea, mango passion fruit, black forest and cappuccino.
RMB 108 for three. Sweet Spot.
Sofitel Wanda Beijing Mooncake Collection 2014
Sofitel take the prize for most innovative packaging this year, with everything from individual cups to colorful paper boxes and imperial-inspired leather cases.
RMB 68 and up. Sofitel Wanda.
Mid-Autumn Festival at Hilton Beijing
Hilton are offering a range of both Chinese and Western-inspired flavors in attractive red boxes inspired by Beijing's hutong culture (the boxes even have paintings of the hutongs and other well-known Beijing buildings around the edges).
RMB 158 and up. Hilton Beijing.
Mid-Autumn Festival Mooncake Gift Box
The St. Regis Chinese Deluxe Gift Box contains six mooncakes made with traditional pastry and featuring white lotus yolk, red lotus yolk, five nuts, black sesame paste, red date paste and pumpkin egg yolk.
RMB 288. St. Regis.
Over the Moon at Huang Ting
The Peninsula's mooncakes were created by Chef Yip Wing Wah in Hong Kong using a closely guarded secret recipe. A box of eight mini egg custard mooncakes is RMB 338.
RMB 338 and up. Huang Ting.
Photos: Courtesy of the venues
