Moon worshiping started with Chinese emperors over 3,000 years ago who made offerings to the Moon Goddess. The practice was later popularized by merchants and court officials who held elaborate parties with wine, food and music to appreciate the bright moon while common citizens shared meals with friends and family in hope of a good harvest.
The Traditional Mooncake
Measuring about 10 cm in diameter and approximately 4 cm thick, the traditional mooncake bears its origins from Southern China. The Cantonese mooncake is comprised of a rich thick filling made from red bean or lotus seed paste and is usually filled with yolks from salted duck eggs.
Millennial Mooncakes – Explosion of New and Bold Flavours
The palm-sized symbolic gesture of the Moon gifted as a token of appreciation from younger generations to old, companies to clients or corporations to their staff has undergone a revolution in recent years. Chefs today are pushing the envelope in terms of the ingredients that can be stuffed or baked inside the soft skin of mooncakes to create new and bold contemporary tastes.
Here’s a list of the hottest mooncakes in town and where to get them.
Peninsula Bangkok
Bringing over the recipes and traditions from its famous Hong Kong branch, the Peninsula Bangkok this year will celebrate the Mid-Autumn festival with a return to the hotel’s legendary egg custard mooncakes.
W Hotel Bangkok
Definitely a selection of mooncakes for Millennials here, as the W Hotel Bangkok this year is only offering contemporary mooncakes in the traditional baked skin or snow skin that include fillings such as raspberry cheesecake, purple coco, pistachio crunch, banoffee and durian.
Mandarin Oriental, Bangkok
The home of two Michelin Star restaurant Le Normandie and one of the best Chao Phraya views in town is celebrating Mid-Autumn this year with a full suite of mooncakes in four delicious flavours: custard, lotus seeds with egg yolk, durian with egg yolk and, their newest flavour, black sesame with melon seeds.
For more information, please email mobkk-mooncake@mohg.com or call +66 (2) 659 9000
Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok
Available until October, the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok is celebrating with five flavours including 8 Xian, cocoa, custard, durian with egg and pandan with coconut.
Okura Prestige Bangkok
The Okura Prestige Bangkok, home to one Michelin Star restaurant Elements is bringing in Mid-Autumn festival this year with durian single yolk, jujube single yolk, custard, and green tea.
Sofitel Bangkok
For chocolate lovers this is the place for you. The Sofitel is helping those who have grown tired of traditional mooncake fillings with experimental flavours such as raspberry chocolate with peppermint and lotus seed, dark chocolate with chestnut, five bean, milk chocolate with macadamia and passion fruit cream, and ivory chocolate with caramel cherry and almond.
Shangri-La Bangkok
The Shangri-La Bangkok has added almond and black sesame to its traditional range of mooncakes that are available until 24 September. Baked using a time honoured recipe from its Chinese restaurant Shang Palace, the mooncakes at Shangri-La is one for the traditional mooncake purists.
Anantara Siam Bangkok
Celebrate the joyous reunion festival with uniquely handcrafted mooncakes beautifully presented in specially-designed red velvet boxes. Choose your favourite flavours including custard, green tea, durian single yolk and jujube single yolk.
Banyan Tree Bangkok
With a rooftop bar called Moon Bar and a traditional Cantonese kitchen called Bai Yun (roughly translated as white clouds), it’s no surprise that Banyan Tree is offering a multitude of mooncakes that range from traditional to contemporary such as the ever-popular durian.
