Rainbow Ondeh Ondeh, Black Truffle Durian And Roast Duck Mooncakes, Anyone?
There’s hae bee hiam mooncake too.
Jaded by all the same old mooncake offerings out there? Here are four — including a spicy hae bee hiam one — to consider if you’re up for some adventurous mid-autumn shopping.
Ondeh Ondeh Mooncake
$75 a box with four assorted flavours, Grab
Who knew the rainbow trend was still alive and kicking? This Teochew-style spiral pastry mooncake is swirled with pretty Paddle Pop-esque pastel shades. Inside, a layer of pandan mochi encases a gula melaka-spiked lotus paste core dotted with desiccated coconut. This is a creation by home baker Raymond Tan, whose whimsical creations have gained him more than 200 thousand followers on Instagram. This is best eaten after being heated in the oven briefly for a crisper crust and gooey filling.
Taste Test
However, even without warming it up, the pastry exterior remained lightly crisp and flaky, contrasting quite nicely with the thick, chewy mochi, which had a faint hint of pandan. Surprisingly, the combination of gula melaka, lotus paste and coconut within wasn't as sweet as we expected, though it tasted more of lotus paste than gula melaka. Not bad. This colourful piece is part of a set of inventive mooncakes created by home bakers, and commissioned by transport and delivery app Grab. With every box, one can enjoy milk tea, mocha salted egg and sambal shrimp (see below) flavours as well.
Available for collection till 13 September 2019 at Mojito Redemption, #04-60/61 Plaza Singapura Extension, 68 Orchard Rd, S238839. Order via the Grab app. https://www.grab.com/sg/grabmooncakes/
Sambal Shrimp Mooncake
$75 a box with four assorted flavours, Grab
Taste Test
Also part of the assorted Grab mooncake collection. This traditional looking offering encases an untraditional core of ground dried shrimp fried with chilies and shallots burrowed within white lotus paste. The mix of spicy, pungent savouriness with the sweet lotus paste is a bit of an acquired taste, and the hae bee hiam is a tad dry.
Available for collection till 13 September 2019 at Mojito Redemption, #04-60/61 Plaza Singapura Extension, 68 Orchard Rd, S238839. Order via the Grab app. https://www.grab.com/sg/grabmooncakes/
Premium Truffle Durian Snowskin Mooncake
$88 for a box of 4 pcs, Aroma Truffle and Co.
With its bamboo charcoal snowskin and gold dust emblem, this mooncake is a glam old sight to behold. It’s an offering by the people behind Aroma truffle potato chips, branded as “The World's Strongest Truffle Chips” (which is kinda true, and yummy too).
Taste Test
Now, we love durian and we heart truffles — separately. Combined together, at least in this mooncake, the rather odd aroma is reminiscent of petroleum, and the flavours are jarring too. The rather mild tasting Mao Shan Wang durian puree just isn’t made better interspersed with bits of super searthy dehydrated Italian black truffle.
Available till 13 Sept 2019 at #01- 20 Chinatown Point, 133 New Bridge Rd, S059413. Tel: 9012-0664. Also available at booths in Takashimaya, Raffles Xchange, Jurong Point. bit.ly/aromatruffle.
Assorted Nuts With Roast Duck Mooncake
S$68 for four; S$18 a piece, Kam’s Roast
Roast duck what? Yeah, roast duck dudes Kam’s (originally goose in Hong Kong) have decided to magick some of their signature bird into these mooncakes. Each orb contains chopped walnuts, sesame seeds, almonds, melon and olive seeds, cinnamon powder as well as shredded roast duck marinated with their signature 23-year-aged orange peel.
