Mid-autumn festival is widely celebrated by Chinese all over the world. It is an occasion to gather with our loved ones and to enjoy mooncakes and tea over chats. Every year, families and friends exchange mooncakes – both traditional and flavoured snow skin ones. And it is one tradition that we really love and embrace. The sheer joy of sinking our teeth into these decadent lunar treats is so extraordinary, so… unadulterated. Complete with lanterns and a bright moon, Mid-autumn festival is one occasion that warms our hearts, always.

And we want nothing but the best for this occasion that we grew up with. This year, we started shortlisting brands that we always turn to for reliable goodies, and we are more than pleased to be finally sharing with you the bests of 2014. Here is our guide to Mooncake Festival Singapore 2014, featuring our picks on the interesting creations to look out for this year, and we hope you find something that you will enjoy with your loved ones, or to gift to your business associates!

CARLTON HOTEL SINGAPORE

Inspired by its signature Red Velvet Cake, Carlton Hotel Singapore’s signature Mini Red Velvet Snow Skin Mooncake (S$58 for 8 pieces) marries snow skin mooncakes with the ever-popular red velvet with cream cheese, and crunchy royaltines. Now, who can resist that? As far as we are concerned, the thought of a red velvet mooncake is enough to send us to Cloud Nine.

For the adventurous bunch, give Mini Cempedak (the cousin of jackfruit) & Pineapple with palm sugar flavoured snow skin, the other new creation this year, a shot.

Making a much anticipated return is the Mini Walnut Moontart. Mooncake options are aplenty, but have you tried a moontart before? It is essentially a hybrid of mooncake and tart – in a better way, of course – with white lotus paste and egg yolk within a crisp and fragrant walnut tart. It also comes with a low sugar option without egg yolk for the more health conscious.

Carlton Hotel Singapore’s mooncakes are available at the lobby of Carlton Hotel, Carlton City Hotel, Compass Point, IMM, Junction 8, Tampines Mall, and Westgate. For Citibank, DBS and UOB cardholders, purchase before 17 Aug 2014 for a early-bird discount of 20%.

INTERCONTINENTAL SINGAPORE

When it comes to the classic baked mooncakes, few do it better than the chefs from Man Fu Yuan at InterContinental Singapore. If you are a purist, and believe that mid-autumn festival should be all about the traditional baked mooncake, go for the White Lotus Seed Paste Mooncake which has the right balance and is not overly-sweet.

Man Fu Yuan also has a range of low-sugar mooncakes made with 50% less sugar and all-natural ingredients. This way, you can enjoy mooncakes during the upcoming mid-autumn festival without feeling guilty for indulging.

Fans of Man Fu Yuan mooncakes will also be familiar with its assortment of snow skin mooncakes (S$57 for 4 pcs) such as Green Tea Paste with Dragonball Jasmine Tea Infused Snowskin, White Lotus with Macadamia Nuts, and Sesame Paste with White Sesame Seeds, but the limelight this year is on the Mao Shan Wang Durian Mooncake with Coconut.

Ordering from InterContinental Singapore’s website is easy and fuss-free. Otherwise, you can get the mooncakes from Tea Hut (at the entrance of InterContinental Singapore), Bedok Mall, Junction 8, Causeway Point, Century Square, Change Alley, Compass Point, IMM, Jurong Point, Lot One, nex, North Point Mall, Parkway Parade, Suntec City Mall, Takashiyama Square, TANGS Orchard, Tiong Bahru Plaza, Westgate, West Mall, Velocity @ Novena Square, and VivoCity. For more information, please call +65 6820 8519 or email sinhb-festive@ihg.com.

SI CHUAN DOU HUA

Si Chuan Dou Hua and its sister establishment, Tian Fu Tea Room are presenting a simple lineup with four mooncakes in its repertoire. For what it lacks in variety, it more than makes up for it with quality.

The White Lotus with Black Sesame Paste Mooncake (S$52 for 4 pcs) makes its debut for Si Chuan Dou Hua this year. The union of white lotus with black sesame is one to remember, and an interesting change. But if you prefer to stick with the standard flavours, Si Chuan Dou Hua also does a good execution of its White Lotus Seed Paste with double yolk (S$56 for 4 pcs).

After taking a break last year, Tian Fu Tea Room’s much-loved Filo Pastry with Yam Paste Mooncake (S$88 for 4 pcs) is making a comeback by popular demand. Tian Fu Tea Room specialises in premium Chinese tea, and you can choose from a range of more than 30 kinds of Chinese tea to enjoy your delicacy with.

UOB cardmembers enjoy early-bird discount of 25% when you purchase the mooncakes before 14 Aug 2014. From 15 Aug to 8 Sep 2014, UOB, OCBC, Maybank, Bank of China, and DBS cardmembers get 20% off.

TUNGLOK GROUP

From traditional mooncakes that everyone can savour over a pot of Chinese tea with, to snow skin mooncake with fruity flavours, TungLok’s mooncake collection has options that will please every one.

With its sleek red and black box, TungLok Perfect Duo (S$60 for 4 pcs) makes an elegant gift for your esteemed business associates. TungLok Four Seasons (S$56 for 4 pcs), on the other hand, comes in four colourful compartments representing the four seasons – its cheerful and vibrant aesthetics is such a joy to behold that your loved ones will be delighted to receive.

TungLok’s bite-sized mooncakes (S$52 for 16 pcs) are refreshing and is an alternative to your usual sizes. They come in eight flavours – pineapple, lotus with orange peel, red bean with sesame, grains with brown sugar, red lotus, pandan lotus, green tea lotus, and white lotus. Not only do you get to try different flavours, the bite-sized portions are also just nice for a light snack in between meals.

As for the snow skin mooncakes (S$52 for 8 pcs), there are four flavours to choose from. The White Lotus with Yolk Paste is a classic favourite – familiar and comforting. Not everyone will like the Durian with Chestnut, but those who love the king of fruits will need more than one of these! Mango Apricot is always a good idea, while Passion Fruit with Strawberry provides a zesty contrast of flavours.

TungLok mooncakes are available at all participating TungLok restaurants as well as Takashimaya B2 Square, all Fairprice Xpress and Cheers at Esso Stations, and selected Cheers stores. For general enquiries, please call the TungLok Mooncake hotline at 9088 8008, or visit Tunglok.com. DBS/POSB cardholders get 20% off up to 10 boxes.

GRAND HYATT SINGAPORE

Our top pick this year for snow skin mooncakes is Grand Hyatt Singapore’s masterpiece. This year, the team from mezza9 has added two new flavours – White Lotus with Rose Truffle and White Lotus with Passion Fruit – to their collection of nine miniature snow skin mooncakes. And trust us when we say the one with the rose truffle is quite simply the most divine rendition we’ve sampled. Perennial favourites include Champagne Truffle, Caramel Sea Salt Truffle, White Lotus with Rose Truffle, and Lychee Martini Truffle. There are also interesting flavours like Green Tea with Sake Truffle, and White Lotus XO Truffle.

This mid-autumn festival, happiness comes in a box of Grand Hyatt snow skin mooncake (S$69 nett for 8 pcs)! For purchases between 4 to 20 Aug, enjoy 20% discount when paying with selected credit card. Grand Hyatt Singapore’s mooncakes are available at Ngee Ann City level B2, Chevron House, and Vivo City.

DA PAOLO GASTRONOMIA

For those of you who have had too much of the traditional mooncakes and want something different from the usual, Da Paolo Gastronomia has created a new series of mid-autumn Crodos (croissant-donut) with flavours like White Lotus Crodo and Golden Custard Crodo. Our hearts skipped a beat when we saw the Golden Custard Crodo which is filled with a combination of salted egg yolk and custard. Not for the faint-hearted, but certainly a lovely alternative for the more adventurous crowd.

Da Paolo Gastronomia’s Mooncake Crodos are available at all Gastronomia outlets from 23 Aug to 8 Sep 2014, with the pre-orders starting from 10 Aug. Pre-order or purchase before 31 Aug by quoting ‘ladyironchef’ and purchase a box of 8 Mooncake Crodos at S$39.80 (only applicable for in-store purchase).

THE FULLERTON HOTEL SINGAPORE

What we like most about The Fullerton Hotel SIngapore’s mooncakes (S$69 for 4 pcs) is the elegant elongated box that is decorated with jade. And the star itself looks as pretty, if not prettier with its dainty shape. As mooncake boxes go, this is really pretty and presentable as a gift to please your in-laws or esteemed clients.

The Fullerton Snow Skin Treasures features two flavours: The classic White Lotus Seed Paste with Single Yolk Snow Skin, as well as the Pandan with Gula Melaka Snow Skin which combines two familiar local flavours with the aroma of pandan and sweetness of palm sugar.

The Fullerton Hotel Singapore’s mooncakes are available at The Fullerton Cake Boutique located on the lobby level of The Fullerton Hotel. To order, please call +65 6877 8178 or email fullertonshop@fullertonhotel.com.

MARINA BAY SANDS

Every year, the pastry team at Marina Bay Sands comes up with the finest and most exquisite mooncakes. For Mid-autumn festival 2014, we can look forward to three snow skin creations. Encased in a pandan leaf snow skin, the Eco Jade blends sustainable Javanese chocolate, caramelised bananas and cashew nuts.

To the delights of fans of SweetSpot’s mooncakes, another crowd-favourite – Salted Caramel Almond Crunch – makes a return this year. Chocolate lovers will enjoy the Dark Chocolate Orange Grand Marnier. The wonderful pairing of dark chocolate ganache and orange-flavoured cognac is a decadent treat.

SweetSpot’s snow skin mooncakes (S$58 for 8 pcs) are available exclusively at Marina Bay Sands. UOB and Citibank card members will enjoy 15 per cent off, while Sands Rewards LifeStyle members will have a 20 per cent discount. For more details, go to SweetSpot’s website.

For most people, it seems almost like an annual ritual during the Singapore Mooncake Festival to visit the Takashimaya Mooncake Fair as you can find all the mooncakes by the different restaurants and hotels there. Be it buying mooncakes, or just hanging around to try the various new mooncakes flavor for 2010, the response to the Takashimaya Mooncake fair is always overwhelming.

But if you hate to squeeze with the crowd just for a box of mooncake, go to Raffles City level 3 – there’s a smaller Mooncake fair with 22 participating retailers.

I know this post is kind of late since most newspapers, magazines and food blogs have written on some of the must-try new mooncakes flavors for 2010. Nonetheless, I decided to share a list of the interesting mooncakes flavors that I want to try during the Mooncake Festival 2010. So lets find out which are the best Mooncakes in Singapore 2010.

Goodwood Park Hotel Mooncakes

Goodwood Park Hotel has a strong reputation for its durian pastries and desserts, with the durian puff and cake among the most popular items on it’s menu. Naturally, one of the signature mooncake of Goodwood Park Hotel is the D24 Durian Paste Snowskin Mooncakes ($50 for 4 pcs). Their mooncakes are definitely a must-try if you like durian, but please stay 10 feet from me after you have them.

22 Scotts Road
Tel: +65 6730 1786

Marriott Hotel Mooncakes

I’m not sure about you, but I prefer the traditional baked mooncakes to the snowskin mooncakes. The white lotus seed paste with single yolk ($49 for 4 pcs) from Marriott Hotel may sounds boring, but I think it is exactly what I need for the Mooncake Festival 2010. How many yolks do you like in your baked mooncakes?

320 Orchard Rd
Tel: +65 6735 5800

Raffles Hotel Mooncakes

52 bucks for a box of 8 ridiculously tiny snowskin mooncakes? I must be mad to pay for this. Tell me again: why am I doing this? Oh, it’s champagne truffle! Right. Everybody knows about the famous Champagne truffle mooncakes from Raffles Hotel. Enough said.

(North Bridge Road Entrance)
1 Beach Road
Tel: +65 6412 1122

Paradise Group Mooncakes

Being a fan of the Chinese cuisine at Taste Paradise, I must say I’m quite curious how their mooncakes fare against the more experienced hotels and restaurants. Some of the creations from Paradise Group include: Golden Pomelo, Fragrant Black Sesame, Sweet Custard with Cashew Nuts, and at just $38 for a box of 8, their mooncakes are priced slightly lower than the ones from the hotels.

Any Paradise Restaurants in Singapore
Tel: +65 6288 8961

The Regent Singapore Mooncakes

Consumers are a very fickle-minded bunch, and we want novelty.

Every year, the chefs from the different hotels and restaurants will think of new creations to satisfy the consumers’ growing demand for different flavors. For the Mooncake festival 2010, The Regent Singapore came up with Baked Ham & Pork Floss with assorted nuts and the Ginger Paste with Pine Nuts snowskin mooncakes. Personally, I feel that it’s really an acquired taste, but by all means go ahead if you are game enough to try the exotic mooncakes.

1 Cuscaden Road
Tel: +65 6733 8888

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Which are the best mooncakes in Singapore 2010? Let us know which mooncakes have you tried, and which are the ones that you are tempted to get! Have a good Mooncake Festival 2010 indulging in all the different mooncakes!