Cookie-Flavoured Mooncakes In “Snakes & Ladders” Box, With Vivian Lai’s Tea

Whimsical tin box that comes with four magnetic discs and a die, so that you can “bring you and your family even closer together” by sampling the mooncakes and playing the board game. The four baked mooncakes within feature flavours inspired by Mdm Ling’s signature cookies.

First in the cookie-inspired mooncake line-up is the kopi siew dai. It's made with coffee powder, almond bits and smells a bit like Kopiko candy. Its kopi taste is just as strong, with slightly bitter undertones and a lingering caffeine aftertaste which is thankfully siew dai (less sweet).

Next up is this chocolate number with almond cacao nibs and pink Himalayan salt. Honestly, we were hoping for a nice salty contrast to the otherwise sweet chocolate paste but were disappointed as there wasn’t much brininess from the Himalayan salt. The chocolate filling is overpowering and the mooncake in general tastes more like a sugary brownie. Suitable for kids or the sweet-toothed, we suppose.

This pretty purple mooncake has a green pandan and mung bean filling with a mashed sweet potato centre. The two flavours blend quite well together, though the fragrant pandan taste slightly overwhelms the floral sweet potato after a while.

The most traditional flavour among this line-up stars white lotus and mung bean filling with sesame powder and chopped almonds. We like that the stuffing isn’t too sweet, with hints of savouriness from the sesame and nuttiness from the almonds.

Vivian Lai opened her mod tea shop Teabrary last September and has since expanded the brand to China, Japan and Thailand. Here’s a look at two of the cold brew teas that are part of the mooncake bundle.

Fun fact: Darjeeling is coined the “champagne of teas” because the tea leaves branded as such can only be harvested in the Himalayan foothills of Darjeeling — similar to champagne, which can only be termed thus if it’s from the Champagne region of France. This modestly-sweetened brew was light and refreshing with a floral hint. We were advised to pair this with the sweet potato and white lotus mooncake and the latter paired well with the tea for a traditional-tasting combination.

A fruit tea with a blend of elderberries, raspberries and blueberries. This tastes almost like a sour plum drink. We liked how the slightly tangy tea contrasted with the chocolate mooncake (the recommended pairing) and made it a little less sweet.

The Mdm Ling Bakery Cookie-Inspired Mooncakes + Teabrary Cold Brew Teas Bundle retails at $48 and is on sale till 1 Oct. Order via delivery (free with minimum spend of $45; otherwise it costs $10.90) here: www.mdmlingbakery.com.

Photos: Merrilyn Teng