Missing the hustle and bustle of mooncake fairs at shopping malls? You may not get to try heaps of samples this year, but on the bright side, you don’t have to brave any crowds – just hop online in the comfort of your home to browse through this year’s mooncake varieties. Most of this year’s mooncake hustle is happening online, with businesses seeing a surge in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival on Oct 1.
In addition to their own e-commerce sites, many mooncake purveyors have gone onto multiple online platforms such as Qoo10 and Lazada, which provide the ease of ordering across multiple vendors as well as delivery.
Takashimaya Department Store and Tangs – traditionally known for their annual atrium mooncake fairs – also retail mooncakes online now. Both also have a reduced number of mooncake booths operating within store premises.
If you’re looking to place an order online, here are some places you can try.
What: If you like Mdm Ling Bakery’s popular cookies, you will like its baked mooncakes, whose flavours are inspired by the cookies.
Two stand-out mooncake flavours are Kopi Siew Dai (coffee with less sugar) and Pink Himalayan Salt Chocolate Almond, with the almond bits giving a nice crunch.
Pair the mooncakes with tea from actress Vivian Lai’s Teabrary brand, which is packaged as a set with the mooncakes. A box of four cookie-inspired mooncakes comes with either cold brew tea ($48) or Four Seasons Spring Oolong Tea ($45).
The cover of the home-grown bakery’s mooncake tin features a snakes and ladders board game with a Mid-Autumn twist – giving you something to do while enjoying the treats.
Where: Mdm Ling Bakery
When: Till Oct 1
Info: Call 8468-0201 or order at www.mdmlingbakery.com
What: Snack chain Old Chang Kee’s limited-edition Salted Egg Yam’O may not be a traditional yam mooncake, but at $2.20 each, it is a low-cost substitute for the traditional flaky pastry.
This puff is filled with sweet yam and salted egg yolk. It is not too big and is easy to eat on the go.
Old Chang Kee also has a two-piece gift set at $5.80 (minimum order of 20 sets, call 6555-0055 or e-mail catering@oldchangkee.com) – good for gifting.
Where: All Old Chang Kee outlets
When: Till Oct 1
What: Known for its cookies, bakery Folks and Stories is offering mooncake-inspired sables ($38 for six).
Flavours include Cheddar and White Lotus with Sliced Almond and Rriginal Brown Butter and Lotus with Gula Melaka – a spin on the traditional lotus paste. Other unique fillings include Chocolate and Earl Grey Custard, and Rose and Pistachio Frangipane, all encased in a sable cookie “skin”, which gives a crumbly and slightly flaky texture.
Where: Folks and Stories
When: Till Oct 3
Info: Pre-order required at www.folksandstories.com
What: This traditional mooncake filled with white lotus paste and a chewy mochi centre gets a French twist encased in a buttery and crumbly sable pastry.
The different textures make each bite a delight and each mooncake costs $8.50.
The bakery’s flaky galaxy mooncake pastries also make a return this year due to popular demand. They come in three flavours ($7.50 a piece) – Charcoal Yam Mochi, Turmeric White Lotus Mochi and Matcha Mochi.
Where: Bakery Brera & Fine Foods, 01-05, 8 Empress Road; open: 7am to 7pm (Tuesdays to Sundays), closed on Mondays
Info: Order at www.bakerybrera.com/shop
What: Rainbow kueh lapis wrapped in an equally colourful snowskin is this season’s most Insta-friendly mooncake ($46 for two pieces, $88 for four). It is also tasty, carrying a fragrance of coconut, and is best eaten chilled.
The mooncakes come in a beautiful box with a 3D cut-out of Chinese goddess Chang’e and a story of the Mid-Autumn Festival’s origins.
Other flavours are cempedak, Earl Grey and pandan. An $88 set gets you one of each flavour, including the rainbow one.
Where: The Lapis Place, B1-K4 Plaza Singapura, 68 Orchard Road (till Oct 4); Tangs Plaza Orchard (till Oct 1)
Info: Order at www.thelapisplace.com or mooncakefair.com
Text: Eunice Quek/The Straits Times