Mid-Autumn Festival commemorates the Chinese mythical character Chang’e with a celebration between family and friends under the full moon. A highlight are traditional mooncakes paired with Chinese tea, juxtaposing the flavoursome lotus seed paste and egg yolk with the fresh fragrance of tea leaves. Nowadays, chefs interpret the traditional mooncake in innovative new ways, incorporating ingredients such as fruit and nut, egg custard, chocolate, caviar and black truffle, with their creations packaged in elaborate gifting boxes.
Imperial Patisserie
Imperial Patisserie’s Lava Mooncake series is the chef-d’oeuvre of ‘Father of Egg Custard Mooncakes’ Yip Wing Wah and his apprentice Lai Wing Koon. Having received “The Grand Gold” Monde Selection food quality evaluation award for two years in a row, their traditional Chinese pastries are characterised by the high-quality raw materials, including natural French butter and premium salted egg yolk. The two master chefs have also experimented with various baking techniques to ensure that fillings such as egg custard or black sesame, have a lava effect even under room temperature, with the silky texture a contract to the thick butter-egg yolk blend.
Price: HK$388
Order: shop.ipastry.com.hk
Jouer
Jouer’s Mid-Autumn Mooncakes Gift Box with macarons is where east meets west. Combining mouthwatering mooncakes and macarons in an octagonal bamboo box, the atelier has given their hand-made mooncakes the flavours of their best-selling macarons and vice versa. The French bonne bouche’s white lotus, egg custard, mung bean, ‘wu-ren’ nuts, taro and date jam flavours deliver a subtle, sweet aftertaste whereas the Horlicks, milk tea, kaya and salt, as well as dark chocolate bourbon caramel flavours, grant the mooncakes a modern makeover.
Price: HK$980
Order: jouer.hk
The Cakery
The Cakery releases a collection of vegan, gluten-free, and even food colouring-free, mooncakes this season. Available in boxes of four, the set is composed of eco-friendly mooncakes in black sesame, red date and mixed nuts, oolong and peach as well as lemon and yuzu flavour, all made of top-notch superfood ingredients. Other than the guilt-free gastronomic experience, the visually pleasing packaging, consisting of a clean wooden box wrapped in a “classic blue” scarf, evokes a sense of serenity.
Price: HK$428
Order: thecakery.com
Duddell’s
One Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant Duddell’s introduces an assemblage of lava cream custard mooncakes made by their Executive Chef Li Man-Lung. Resonating with the restaurant’s artistic interior, the wrapping of the Limited Edition Signature Gift Box boasts a cylindrical LED lantern, adding a twist of modernity to the traditional seasonal delicacy. Conceived by the award-winning design firm MO-Design, the box of eight mooncakes intends to mimic the hand-crafted red lanterns.
Price: HK$588
Order: duddells.co
Feather & Bone
Launching savoury mooncakes for the first time ever, Hong Kong’s renowned butcher, delicatessen and grocer Feather & Bone is offering those without a sweet tooth a little departure from the norm. Just like their housemade meatballs, a mix of the lauded Valenca free-range pork and Lardo di Colonnata (Tuscan cured pork fat) can be found in the centre of these buttery, flakey pastries. Presented in packs of two, the meat filling is not only bacon-studded, but also seasoned with nutmeg, sage, thyme and garlic, donning the classic Chinese confection an amalgamation of British tastes.
Price: HK$178
Order: featherandbone.com.hk
Royal Caviar Club
One of the leading labels in the fine food industry, Royal Caviar Club has worked for two years with innovative chef Nicholas Chew to create the world’s first savoury caviar mooncake. With 10 grams of Cristal Caviar, Australian winter black truffle, truffled potato and a non-baked snow skin outer coating as the key ingredients, this luxury interpretation of the Chinese festive treat is free of preservatives and sugar. Having only a thousand boxes available for purchase, every deluxe gift box is comprised of four hand-made mooncakes, each being packaged within a round caviar tin.
Price: HK$1,380; HK$1,800 from 11 September onwards
Order: royalcaviarclub.com
Editor
Marco LeeCredit
Lead Image: Imperial Patisserie
