Creamier, richer, yet still retains the hearty egg yolk flavour of its traditional counterpart, the egg custard mooncake’s popularity is well deserved. Containing more calories and fat, they are by no means healthier than traditional mooncakes, but we can overlook that given how good they taste, right?
*Ratings below are given out of five to help you select mooncakes based on your preference of sweetness, moistness and size.
Text by Iris Wong
Conrad Hong Kong – Mini Egg Custard Mooncake with Salted Egg Yolk
$348/a box of eight
The Taste: Conrad’s mooncake is rather grainy, as salted egg yolk bites were added while preparing the custard filling instead of the usual whole yolk. This gives the mooncake a lot of bite, though also stripped away its sweetness.
Sweetness: 1/5
Moistness: 2/5
Size: mini
Crave Verdict: since it is more savoury than sweet, those who want to eat mooncakes but don’t like anything sickly sweet could give these a go.
Dorsett Hospitality International – Mini Egg Custard Mooncakes
$288/a box of eight
The Taste: this mooncake is very moist and mushy, along with the strong yolky flavour and sweetness, it reminds us of the custard buns at yum cha restaurants. The puff pastry is quite nice.
Sweetness: 4/5
Moistness: 4.5/5
Size: mini
Crave Verdict: those with a sweet tooth and don’t like their mooncakes dry would love this one by Dorsett.
Fred & Chloe – Milk Custard Mooncake
$250/a box of six
The Taste: Fred & Chloe uses their signature milk from France for this mooncake, and it’s immediately evident when we opened the box to the warm, sweet fragrance of dairy. The flaky crust, despite being thinner than average, is a bit dry, though the smooth milky flavour definitely made up for it.
Sweetness: 3/5
Moistness: 2/5
Size: mini
Crave Verdict: the packaging may be a little cutesy for us, but kids would love it. We enjoyed the milky aroma, but would prefer the skin to be less crumbly.
Hyatt Regency Hong Kong, Shatin – Mini Custard Mooncakes
$338/a box of eight
The Taste: despite a slightly oily crust, the prominent yolky taste and creamy custard makes this an excellent mooncake.
Sweetness: 3/5
Moistness: 4/5
Size: mini
Crave Verdict: if a stronger salted egg yolk flavour is what you’re after, this is the egg custard mooncake for you.
Langham Hospitality Group – Mini Custard with Egg Yolk
$318/a box of eight
The Taste: it is easy to overdo the sweetness when it comes to custard mooncakes, but Langham’s got it right. The filling is full of eggy flavour, and the skin not too crumbly, though a tad dry.
Sweetness: 2/5
Moistness: 2/5
Size: mini
Crave Verdict: since the flavours are light with subtle sweetness, they are great for those who love the salted egg yolk taste but not a fan of anything too sugary.
The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong – Mini Egg Custard Mooncakes
$428/a box of eight
The Taste: the sweetness and yolky flavour are well-balanced in this mooncake, with just the right amount of creaminess without being sticky. The skin is not crumbly nor oily, but instead melts in the mouth along with the tasty filling.
Sweetness: 3/5
Moistness: 4/5
Size: mini
Crave Verdict: this egg custard mooncake is very well-executed and made us close our eyes to savour every bite.
The Royal Garden – Mini Egg Custard Mooncake
$328/a box of six
The Taste: the balance between the condensed milk and egg yolk is done very well in this mooncake. The result is a creamy filling that is a little heavier than its peers.
Sweetness: 3/5
Moistness: 4/5
Size: mini
Crave Verdict: the creamy crust and filling makes this mooncake a great choice if you enjoy the egg custard variety.
The Peninsula Boutique, The Peninsula Hong Kong – Mini Egg Custard Mooncakes
$338/a box of eight
The Taste: the egg custard filling is flavoursome with a good amount of sweet yolkiness, though the skin is slightly dry.
Sweetness: 3/5
Moistness: 2/5
Size: mini
Crave Verdict: While slightly drier than in previous years, you can’t go wrong with purchasing from the pioneer of egg custard mooncakes. It’s a well-loved classic.
