In the canon of traditional Chinese desserts, the mooncake is the most decadent and storied of them all. Golden-baked, round in shape, and filled with sweet lotus seed paste encasing salted duck egg yolks representing the moon. For centuries, these rich delicacies have been served during Mid-Autumn Festival — on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month when a full moon emerges at night — as a ritual offering to the mythical moon goddess of immortality, Chang E. They were a favourite of Empress Dowager Cixi and, as folklore goes, an essential tool of the Ming revolutionaries, who used them to smuggle secret messages while overthrowing the Mongolian rulers of China at the end of the Yuan dynasty.

Today, mooncakes remain an essential part of Chinese culture, lavishly packaged and shared with family and friends as a symbol of completeness and reunion. While time-honoured recipes hold strong to tradition, these days you’ll find mooncakes of every variety.

Ahead, we round up the best mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong.

The House Collective

The House Collective’s ‘Moonlit Discoveries’ series takes you on a journey to four cities – Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu. Open up the travel journal-inspired boxes to find eight mini mooncakes packed inside, bursting with a range of flavours: these span the classics, such as lotus seed paste with egg yolks or vegan red bean paste garnished with mandarin peel, to coffee with sea-salted caramel and even parma ham.

HK$528 for the Moonlit Discoveries box set at thehousecollective.com

The Landmark Mandarin Oriental

Celebrate Mid-Autumn in style with The Landmark Mandarin Oriental’s new Mooncake Bento Box. The sleek double-tiered container is adorned with a traditionally inspired wrapper band, its designs resembling flowers and the beauty of the full moon. The bento box carries six milky custard mooncakes but can be sustainably reused as your very own lunchbox, or returned to the hotel in return for a glass of champagne or a mocktail.

HK$458 for the Mooncake Bento Box at landmark.mandarinorientalshop.com

Bombshell x Cuisine Cuisine at The Mira

Bombshell takes the best of mid-autumn festivities and delivers it all in one dreamy pastel gift box! The limited edition package is truly a festive spectacle; spinning amongst glowing lotus flowers is a magnificent white chocolate moon filled with all sorts of playful confectionaries. Upon cracking open the lunar shell, you are treated to a terrific medley of colourful jelly beans, flower shaped gummies, bunny marshmallows and more. Once you’ve had your fill of sweets, remove the top layer for a final  surprise. Concealed underneath is a tray with four full-sized traditional lotus seed double yolk mooncakes by The Mira’s resident Chinese restaurant, Cuisine Cuisine. 

HK$1,288 for the Lotus Luna Bomb gift box at mira-eshop.com

Hong Kong Cuisine 1983

Executive Chef Silas Li of Hong Kong Cuisine 1983 presents an all-new mooncake gift box, enclosing six crispy cakes and a chocolate orange financier. This set features the flavours of Suzhou, such as Yunnan ham with mixed nuts and purple sweet potato paste with egg yolk. Timeless classics such as red bean paste and white lotus seed mooncakes are also waiting to be discovered within the colourful packages.

HK$488 for the Supreme Mooncake Gift Box at 1983hkc.com

The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong

The Ritz-Carlton is swinging open the Mid-Autumn Festival this year with a host of luxurious mooncakes. Discover the ‘Delights of Hong Kong’ set of eight delectable egg custard treats, with charming box art inspired by ink printing detailing some of the city’s iconic landmarks. No mooncake is complete without a hot drink to accompany it: Tin Lung Heen, the Ritz’s double-Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant, has also launched its mooncake gift set, which comes with five packs of exquisite black tea. Spread the cheer by gifting your loved ones one of the Ritz’s mooncake hampers, packed with goodies ranging from seasonal fruits to Australian abalone.

HK$458-6,888 at ritzcarltonhkshop.com

Duddell’s

Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant Duddell’s returns with a luxurious selection of mooncake gift sets, this time joining hands with Sancho Sparkling Tea in a limited collaboration. Those with an eye for design will love the intricate light-up lantern mooncake box, whilst tea aficionados will adore the bottle of Jasmine Sparkling Tea offered as part of the collaborative gift set. Don’t miss out on their premium gift hampers, which come with goodies such as Duddell’s signature XO sauce and braised South African abalone.

HK$468-2,188 at duddellsmooncakes.com

COCO, The Mira

The Mira’s café-patisserie COCO brings a selection of handmade jammy mooncakes this Mid-Autumn. The four flavours include the likes of French Strawberry and Goji Berry with pink Belgian Ruby chocolate, and Black and White Sesame, inspired by local cha chaan teng cuisine. You’ll love the mesmerising designs on the surface of the mooncakes and the sustainable tin can — but be quick, because the box set is limited edition, with only one hundred available.

HK$238 for a box of four mooncakes at mira-eshop.com

Island Shangri-La

Island Shangri-La returns with brand-new additions to its sumptuous mooncake collection. Its newest venture – velvety Musang King durian lava mooncakes- promises a luscious experience for the tastebuds, whilst the Summer Palace Luna Mochi Mooncakes are packed with different textures of pistachio and taro. Sustainability is at the heart of the Shangri-La’s gift sets, with the possibility of the Tangerine Peel set being repurposed into an elegant jewellery box – whichever you choose, it’ll be a feast for the eyes.

HK$408-9,999 at boutique.shangri-la.com

Ming Pavilion

Island Shangri-La’s Ming Pavilion takes us on a trip through time with their Fujianese mooncake set, which harks back to the earliest versions of the Hokkien delicacy. The four-piece gift box’s cakes are home to rich flavours including winter melon, Jinhua ham, pork belly and mixed nuts. Alternatively, opt for classic Cantonese flavours as part of the six-piece mooncake box. 

HK$408 for the Mooncake Selection and the Fujian Mooncake Gift Box at shangri-la.com

Lung King Heen, Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong

With Executive Chinese Chef Chan Yan Tak at its head, two Michelin-starred Lung King Heen brings an assortment of handmade mooncakes this season. Their brand-new flavour, Winter Melon Paste with Rose, is sure to delight, alongside the Preserved Egg and Pickled Ginger mooncake. The six-piece box set features these two exciting flavours, alongside the White Lotus Seed with Black Truffle and Salted Egg, which may be coupled with a Pu’er Tea Cake. The boxes come with a rechargeable paper lantern, making them the perfect gifts.

HK$628-888 at shop.fourseasonshk.com