The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the most popular lunar festivals, and it is always a great time to spread the love by sending mooncakes to family, friends and business associates. Every year, we go on a hunt for the tastiest mooncakes with the prettiest packaging. And because they make such elegant gifts, we Chinese place a lot of attention and emphasis on our mooncake tradition.

Whether you are buying them as gifts or treating your family to a indulgence, here is our guide to the mooncakes that you must try for Mid-Autumn Festival 2013.

InterContinental Singapore, Man Fu Yuan

For Mid-Autumn Festival 2013, Man Fu Yuan collaborated with the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA) to launch a competition for the design of its mooncake packaging. The winning design is an interpretation of ancient legends of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Man Fu Yuan’s Snowskin Mooncake Collection (S$53.80 for a box of 4) comprises unique flavour combinations like the Green Tea Paste with Dragonball Jasmine Tea Infused Snowskin, White Lotus with Macadamia Nuts, Sesame Paste with White Sesame Seeds, and its much-lauded Pulot Hitam. Be prepared for a sensational journey to excite your taste buds!

With InterContinental Singapore being known for its strong Peranakan roots, the iconic Peranakan dessert inspires its newest creation – Pulot Hitam Mooncake. The snowskin mooncake is filled with goodness of black glutinous rice pudding infused with gula melaka. Fans of the Peranakan dessert will fall head over heels in love with this.

Its traditional baked mooncake collection consists of not only the usual favourites, but also a new range of low sugar White Lotus Paste Mooncakes – choose from either salted egg yolk (S54.80 for a box of 4) or macadamia nuts (S$52.80 for a box of 4) – that are made with 50 percent less sugar and with all natural ingredients.

Man Fu Yuan mooncakes are available for online purchase at www.facebook.com/ICSingapore. From now till 12 Aug, they are offering a pre-sale offer of 30% off total purchase price when you place your orders online. You can also get the mooncakes at Tea Hut (at the entrance of InterContinental Singapore), Junction 8, IMM, Jcube, Nex, VivoCity, Change Alley, Century Square, AMK Hub, Square 2, Takashimaya Square, and Alexandra Retail Centre. For more information, please call 6820 8519 / 8520 or email sinhb-festive@ihg.com

TungLok Group

The TungLok Group is synonymous with high quality and consistently good food, and is a household favourite for all who have a fine taste palate. This year, with TungLok’s Double Yolk White and Red Lotus Mooncakes (S$60 for a box of 4) in their specially-designed box, they are the best gifts to get for business partners and relatives.

The equally popular Shanghai Dream collection includes Double Yolk White Lotus (S$52 for a box of 4), Egg Yolk White Lotus (S$50 for a box of 4), Macademia Nuts White Lotus (S$50 for a box of 4), and Egg Yolk Pandan Lotus with Pistachios (S$50 for a box of 4). Together, they are an elegant indulgence and this is just the right touch for the oriental occasion.

Photo credit: Tunglok Group

If you are a fan of snowskin mooncakes, you cannot miss out on TungLok’s Mini Snowskin Mooncakes (S$52 for a box of 8). Other than the must-have classic favourite of white lotus and egg yolk, TungLok also has its ‘Tutti Frutti’ range with flavours of Durian paired with Chestnut, Honeydew with Tropical Fruits, Mango Apricot, and Passionfruit with Strawberry. That is not all. Health-conscious folks can opt for TungLok’s ‘New & Nourishing’ collection which comes in healthy alternatives like Chrysanthemum, Grains with Brown Sugar, Black Sesame, and Red Dates with Longan. There is definitely an option for everyone and every taste bud.

TungLok mooncakes are available at all TungLok restaurants as well as the following locations: 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

Fairmont Singapore, Szechuan Court

There are several reasons why you should go to Fairmont Singapore to buy mooncakes from Szechuan Court. Firstly, Szechuan Court’s mooncakes come in beautiful peach shapes, which make them stand out from the crowd. Secondly, they come in familiar flavours like mango, Baileys, Rum & Raisin with Chocolate Truffle, but the highlight for me, is the Champagne Truffle with Chocolate Ganach; such a perfect combination for that yearly indulgence.

Lastly, Szechuan Court is having a 20% early bird special if you purchase before 19 Aug. And if you are a FAR Card member, there is an incredible 35% discount for purchase before 25 Aug. More details can be found on fsfestiveorders.com

Besides the mooncake booth at Szechuan Court, the mooncakes are also available at Bugis Junction, Funan Digitalife Mall, Junction 8, Nex, Takashimaya Square, VivoCity, Chevron House, J Cube, Lot 1, Parkway Parade, and Tampines Mall.

Photo Credit: ABR Holdings

Jewels of the Moon

Swensen’s is a household name in Singapore, and their ice cream mooncakes (S$29.80 for a box of 4) are a good treat for people of all ages. In addition to its all-time favourites such as Durian Royale, Sticky Chewy Chocolate and Strawberry Fields Forever, Swensen’s Jewels of the Moon collection for Mid-Autumn 2013 also features new flavours – Chempedak Bliss, Hazelnut Almond Delight, and Cappuccino Cookies Crunch. With these new exciting flavours, mid-autumn festival 2013 will surely be memorable.

Swensen’s ice cream mooncakes are available at all Swensen’s and Earle Swensen’s outlets from 1 Aug to 19 Sep 2013. For those of you who cannot wait till Mid-Autumn Festival to eat mooncakes, you get to enjoy an early bird special of 15% when you purchase before 5 Sep. There is also a 10% discount thereafter when you pay with selected credit cards. For more details, please visit Swensens.com.sg.

Marina Mandarin, Peach Blossoms

Peach Blossoms at Marina Mandarin Singapore offers the classic baked mooncakes like Double Yolk with White Lotus Paste (S$59 for a box of 4), Pine Nut with White Lotus Paste (S$53 for a box of 4), but the star of its Mid-Autumn creations for 2013 is the gigantic 6 1/2 inch big 8 Treasures (8-yolk) Baked Mooncake with White Lotus Paste (S$68). It is by far, the largest mooncake I have ever had in my life. It is not only good for sharing, but it also makes a terrific gift as everyone will definitely be amazed by the sheer size of the mooncake.

The mooncakes from Peach Blossoms are available from 12 Aug to 19 Sep 2013, and you can buy them from Marina Mandarin’s hotel lobby, Bishan Junction 8 Level 2 Atrium, and Bugis Junction Level 1. Click here for the order form, and for enquiries, call 6845 1118 or email peachblossoms.marina@meritushotels.com

Photo Credit: Pan Pacific Singapore

Pan Pacific Singapore, Hai Tien Lo

Over at Pan Pacific Singapore, Hai Tien Lo’s Executive Chef Lai Tong Ping and his team proudly presents an assortment of petite snowskin mooncakes. What I love about Hai Tien Lo’s mooncakes is their take on interesting flavours with a twist. Just imagine: White Coffee with Red Bean Paste, Oolong and Chrysanthemum Paste, Golden Corn Seaweed, and Guihua Seaweed – flavours you would not otherwise associate with mooncakes. They are perfect for those with a more adventurous palate.

With a contemporary and elegant multi-layered red box with Chinese motifs in black, Hai Tian Lo’s mooncakes make an excellent gift for corporate clients, friends and relatives. The mooncakes will be available for sale at Hai Tien Lo (Level 3) and Pacific Marketplace (Level 1) from 19 Aug to 19 Sep 2013. For more details, please contact +6826 8240 or email celebrate.sin@panpacific.com

Most Singaporeans will have probably heard of Tung Lok group of restaurants, which serve a range of food from vegetarian to seafood. From upmarket Chinese restaurant My Humble House, to the family-friendly Tung Lok Seafood restaurant, Lingzhi Vegetarian restaurant, or the causal dining Zhou’s Kitchen – there are options available for everyone.

For a long time, I was confused by Tung Lok Signatures and Tung Lok Classics. The former is about gathering the signature dishes and putting them together in a menu – it’s like the best of Tung Lok under one roof. On the other hand, Tung Lok Classics offers timeless classic Chinese dishes from Shanghainese, Sichuan, Hubei and Cantonese dishes.

It seems like my memory is starting to fail me. I can’t recall if this is fish, prawn or crab, but I remember that the deep fried cheesy coating was absolutely delicious with the meat beneath retaining its juicy and moist texture.

I was secretly hoping that there’s roasted pork, but we had the Char Siew in the end. Slightly charred on the edges, the char siew was soft, and chewy and sweetly succulent. It was decent, but definitely not the best char siew I had before.

Even though I have been to Tung Lok Seafood restaurant for their dim sum buffet, I never knew that Tung Lok Classics served dim sum too. I was pleasantly surprised when the waitress presented a basket of har gau and siew mai to our table. Evern though the shrimp was fresh and juicy, the steamed prawn dumpling’s translucent skin torn easily. I preferred the steamed pork dumpling which had a good balance of pork-and-shrimp.

Tung Lok Classics is all about the visual impact and the dessert that we had was the best testimonial to that. See that red test tube in the picture? It’s a shot of extremely potent beetroot juice — the perfect ending to the end of a good meal.

Which Tung Lok Restaurants have you been to before, and which is your favorite?

Restaurant Review
Tung Lok Classics
1 Tanglin Road #02-18
Orchard Parade Hotel Singapore
Tel: +65 6834 0660

21 Amber Road #03-01
Chinese Swimming Club Singapore
Tel: +65 6345 0111