Rich pastries filled with sweet or savoury fillings, mooncakes are the culinary star of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Chinese festival held on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month to mark the end of the autumn harvest.
This year, the festival, which dates back more than 3,000 years, will fall on October 6.
Mooncakes – named for their shape, reminiscent of a full moon – symbolise prosperity and gratitude and are best sliced and shared among family members and friends.
As usual, this year Hong Kong hotels are offering a delicious variety of mooncakes, with early-bird discounts and special gift sets available.
It’s a dizzying array of options for even a seasoned mooncake enthusiast. So we got back to basics to find out who makes the best egg custard mooncake, a dependable favorite that’s a bit more popular than the traditional lotus seed paste and duck egg yolk version.
And who better to be the judge than the man who actually invented the egg custard mooncake. Chef Yip Wing Wah, a 30-year veteran of the Peninsula’s Spring Moon restaurant, now works as master chef of the Imperial Patisserie bakery chain.
It was a tight race, with little separating the top two entries and the chef needing a second tasting to break the tie. His passion for the perfect mooncake, though, never wavered during the arduous examination. “It’s like I’m eating a salty lemon,” Chef Yip said of the Grand Hyatt’s entry. And “the pastry is too thick and hard, and the bottom is burnt and there’s food coloring in it,” he remarked on the Mandarin Oriental’s mooncake. See Chef Yip’s recommendations below:
1. T’ang Court at The Langham
Three-Michelin-star T’ang Court is offering its signature classic mini custard with egg yolk mooncakes (six pieces/HK$328) and its white lotus seed paste with double egg yolks mooncakes (four pieces/HK$348).
Early-bird discounts run until September 7. Some sets come in an elegant jewellery box with embroidered birds and flowers.
Level 1, The Langham, 8 Peking Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Tel: 2132 7898
2. Imperial Pattiserie
Chef Yip, Mr. Yip Wing Wah, Hong Kong pastry chef, has over 50 years of experience in the catering industry. In 1986, he joined the Spring Moon of The Peninsula Hong Kong. He has been the Master Chef of the Dim Sum Department for more than 30 years. He is the founder of the famous Peninsula “Egg Custard Mooncake” and is known as the leader of the Hong Kong moon cake industry.
Shop locations: https://www.ipastry.com.hk/ourshop/?lang=en
3. Ritz-Carlton
In celebration of Mid-Autumn Festival, Tin Lung Heen, a two-MICHELIN-starred restaurant for 13 consecutive years, presents the Tin Lung Heen Limited Edition House-made Mini Egg Custard Mooncakes (8 pieces) with Premium Selected Black Tea (5 packs).
Special Price: HK$555 per box
Order online here
4. Ming Pavilion at Island Shangri-La
Tea lovers will be pleased to learn of Ming Pavilion’s tea mooncake collection (six pieces/HK$418), which features earthy da hong pao oolong mooncakes, jasmine tea mooncakes with soft floral notes, and warm and toasty hojicha mooncakes.
The pistachio mooncake set (six pieces/HK$418) includes three mini pistachio crunch mooncakes and three mini pistachio and cranberry mooncakes.
Box sets are available for order until October 4, and are available for pickup or delivery from September 25 to October 4 at Island Shangri-La.
Level 8, Pacific Place, Supreme Court Road, Admiralty. Tel 2820 8580
5. Grand Hyatt One Harbour Road
Egg Custard Mooncake (3 mini pieces) + Lava Egg Custard Mooncake (3 mini pieces) for HK$468
Grand Hyatt Hong Kong, 1 Harbour Road
6. Lung King Heen at the Four Seasons
Two-Michelin-star Lung King Heen celebrates its 20th anniversary with a new flavour: white lotus seed paste mooncakes with osmanthus and salted egg yolk.
Early-bird offers are available until August 31 with savings of up to 25 per cent for bulk orders.
4F, Four Seasons Hotel, 8 Finance Street, Central. Tel: 3196 8882
7. Mandarin Oriental The Landmark
The hotel’s six velvety mini egg custard mooncakes come in an elegant box that transforms into a festive lantern with a battery-powered light. The set (HK$498) is available via the hotel’s online shop until October 6.
Those wanting to buy their mooncakes in person can do so at the hotel’s restaurants, Amber and Somm. They are also available at LMO Freshly Baked Landmark Atrium from August 4 to September 30, and on the hotel’s seventh floor from October 1 to 6.
15 Queen’s Road Central, Central. Tel: 2132 0188
8. Spring Moon at The Peninsula
The Peninsula Hong Kong’s Michelin-star Cantonese restaurant Spring Moon is offering crisp and golden-crusted mini custard mooncakes (eight pieces/HK$668) and mini heart-shaped egg custard mooncakes (eight pieces/HK$688).
1/F, The Peninsula Hong Kong, Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui. Tel: 2696 6760
9. Lung King Heen at the Four Seasons
Two-Michelin-star Lung King Heen celebrates its 20th anniversary with a new flavour: white lotus seed paste mooncakes with osmanthus and salted egg yolk.
Early-bird offers are available until August 31 with savings of up to 25 per cent for bulk orders.
4F, Four Seasons Hotel, 8 Finance Street, Central. Tel: 3196 8882
