Traditional-style mooncakes always have a special place in our hearts. After all, that’s what we grew up with. The crust is often made with lard or vegetable oil, while red or white lotus seed paste, as well as red bean paste, are typical choices of fillings. And let’s not forget the salty egg yolk: it needs to be moist, fragrant, and just oily enough to lift the sweetness of the mooncake with a savoury kick.
*Ratings below are given out of five to help you select mooncakes based on your preference of sweetness, moistness, oiliness and size.
Text by Iris Wong
Fook Lam Moon – Seaweed Sugar Golden Lotus Paste Mooncakes with Yolk
$680/a box of six pieces with three golden lotus paste and three white lotus paste mooncakes
The Taste: seaweed sugar, a natural sweetener, is used instead of golden syrup, so the mooncake is less sweet than others in the category. The mooncake is overall quite dry, which means less oil, and the yolk is rather salty.
Sweetness: 2/5
Moistness: 2/5
Oiliness: 1/5
Size: medium
Crave Verdict: points for creating a healthier version of its classic moon cakes, though we would’ve preferred the lotus seed paste to be a bit more moist.
Island Shangri-La – White Lotus Seed Paste with Double Egg Yolks
$368/a box of four
The Taste: one of the oiliest yolk we’ve had so far, though very aromatic, as is the creamy lotus seed paste.
Sweetness: 3/5
Moistness: 3.5/5
Oiliness: 4/5
Size: large
Crave Verdict: not for the faint of heart, though we can imagine traditionalists liking this mooncake a lot.
L’hotel – White Lotus Seed Paste with Double Egg Yolk
$268/a box of four
The Taste: The skin is thin but a bit dry, and the lotus seed paste is not very sweet (which we like). The highlight has to be the massive salty egg yolks inside, which surprisingly wasn’t too much.
Sweetness: 2/5
Moistness: 2/5
Oiliness: 2/5
Size: large
Crave Verdict: fans of salted egg yolks would love the giant yolk in this mooncake. We also like that it is not too sweet, which makes eating mooncake a less guilty experience.
Man Ho Chinese Restaurant at JW Marriott – 8” Royal Supreme Mooncake with Ginger, White Lotus Seed Paste & Eight Yolks
$580/a box of one
The Taste: its sheer size was definitely the first thing we noticed, and the craftsmanship of this mooncake is impressive to say the least. It is not sweet at all, and has a strong ginger kick with ginger peels inside.
Sweetness: 2/5
Moistness: 2/5
Oiliness: 2/5
Size: very, very large
Crave Verdict: It’s go big or go home with Man Ho’s 8” mooncake. If you’re looking for a gift that wows, this is it.
Maxim’s – White Lotus Seed Paste with Double Egg Yolk
$349/a box of four
The Taste: we can’t do a mooncake test without sampling the classic Maxim’s mooncakes. The lotus seed paste filling is moist and flavoursome with a creamy yolk – though a little on the oily side.
Sweetness: 3/5
Moistness: 3/5
Oiliness: 4/5
Size: large
Crave Verdict: still the good ol’ classic taste that we are used to. We like the moist texture but would prefer it to be less oily.
Yeng Kee – Double Yolk White Lotus Seed Paste Mooncake
$88 each (one mooncake in a special “Replica” packaging)
The Taste: a rather dense mooncake with a fragrant, oily yolk. The lotus seed paste has a good amount of sweetness, but sticks to the roof of the mouth. The skin is little crumbly – possibly a compromise for using less oil.
Sweetness: 3/5
Moistness: 4/5
Oiliness: 3/5
Size: large
Crave Verdict: an oily yolk is not for everyone, though if you enjoy its savoury aroma, Yeng Kee’s is for you. The nostalgic 70’s special packaging also makes for a great collectible tin.
