The best mooncakes for families that don't like mooncakes
Mid-Autumn Festival this year is on October 4 and for many that means some time off, banquets with family and friends, and, of course, the traditional confection of the season: mooncakes.
Some people love them, some people re-gift the same boxes year after year, but wherever you fall on the love-hate mooncake spectrum, we have some modern takes on the classic sweet that will change how you feel. So get in the festive spirit and share the love – mooncakes are meant as a gift and are always shared, after all!
Mooncakes are many wonderful things, but healthy they are not. Glo's wholesome takes are heavier than the cashew-based confectionary we're used to from the wellness brand, but at around 250 calories a piece they're still considerably lighter than a traditional cake, and they're made without added sugar or artificial colouring.
They come in three flavours: Cocoa Nutty, activated charcoal with sesame and red bean and Matcha coconut cashew (had to get the nuts in there somewhere).
Set of six 218RMB (168RMB for the first 100 orders).
Next up in the valiant task of making mooncakes healthy, Tribe has made these pretty little vegan yuebings. They're smaller and softer than anything nainai might be making, and come in four non-conventional flavours: rose, sweet potato with coconut, chocolate and lemon. We particularly like Tribe's simple packaging, eschewing the forests of cardboard that your Mid-Autumn treats are normally presented in.
Set of eight 188RMB.
French bakeries love to play with the traditional mooncake design, and Jiang Mai Tang really goes the distance to create something that is entirely new, with delicate mousse taking the place of lotus paste and velvety icing replacing the thick baked skin. Sets include flavours like praline chocolate, osmanthus flower with mango, Matcha with coconut and rose raspberry. Each is set atop a buttery sponge cake and topped with a golden cookie.
Set of four 288RMB (including a bottle of jasmine tea).
New Taiwanese-style café Nestgram near Ritan Park bakes pastel-perfect breads in unusual flavours and surprising fillings. Their 'Chloeggs' (us neither) are sticky, chewy bread-bombs that come in flavours like butterfly pea, black goji berry, mango, dragon fruit and chocolate. The mooncake element is delivered with the salted egg yolk that lies buried within each ball, alongside a bite of glutinous rice. Weird, wonderful and very much necessary.
One ball from 17RMB.
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