The best mooncakes in Hong Kong 2019

This year, with the mid-autumn season in full swing, we bring you a diverse list of all the best mooncakes that you can find in the city. Whether you’re craving traditional mooncakes, vegan ones or those that you can grab at your nearest fast food chain, this list has it all.

Green Common x Patisserie La Lune

This year, Green Common has collaborated with Patisserie La Lune to release their Vegan Custard Mooncake. The Blueberry Mixed Nuts Vegan Mooncake that they released last year will also be available for customers who prefer a more fruity pop to their dessert. The vegan custard is made from Fora Faba Butter and the mooncakes reportedly contain 25% less fat, 8% less calories, and 11% less sugar when compared to a traditional one. The Blueberry Mixed Nuts Mooncake has fresh blueberries and a variety of nuts that replace the traditional custard filling and is rich in protein with 38% less sugar. The prefect Mid Autumn treat for people who want a healthier version of the iconic dish.

Grand Lisboa Hotel (Macao)

If you’re up for a daily trip in Macao, we highly recommend stopping at the Grand Lisboa Hotel that just unveiled beautifully designed mooncake gift boxes for Mid Autumn and the first edition of Art Macao. It appears a healthier mooncake is something a lot of chefs want to experiment with. Dim Sum Head Chef Yau Wah Fai of The 8, Grand Lisboa Hotel’s Michelin starred Chinese restaurant, introduced a “healthy, homemade mooncake” called The 8 Mooncake with Assorted Nuts. They will be sold along with the already popular  The 8 Double Egg Yolk and Lotus Seed Paste Mooncakes and The 8 Lava Custard Mini Mooncakes. All Mooncakes will be presented in boxes that are based on the artwork that are already on display at the Grand Lisboa Hotel for Art Macao. The gift box for The 8 Mooncake with Assorted Nuts, for instance, combines “Hibiscuses” by Wu Guanzhong and “Coin du Jardin” by Paul Gauguin- two gorgeous works paintings.  

Fortnum & Mason

Following the release of their first ever Chinese New Year wicker, the Fu Dai Hamper, iconic retailer Fortnum & Mason have just announced their limited edition Mooncake specifically designed to help usher in this year’s Mid Autumn Season. Described as, “Lightly sweet with a savoury touch”, they are made with lotus seeds, pure peanut oil and two salted egg yolks that all combine together to create an incredibly delicious lotus seed paste. With the Fortnum & Mason logo imprinted on top of the pastry, these Mooncakes can be gifted to your loved ones in beautiful jade green celadon packaging, a nod to the Eau de Nil colour already used by Fortnum. The illustrations on the gift box themselves call on Mid Autumn festival stories about the full moon itself and as part of the gift, customers will also receive a caddy of Fortnum’s Royal Blend tea. The gift boxes can be purchased at Lane Crawford location across Hong Kong for you to gift to your family and loved ones. 

Yan Toh Heen

Or maybe, this year, you could go very traditional and try something more homemade with Yan Toh Heen’s Homemade Mooncakes that draw on the mouthwatering recipes of Executive Chef Lau Yiu Fai. This year’s line up includes a mix of sweet and savoury flavour profiles, as we’ve come to expect from this list: the Lotus Seed Paste & Double Salty Egg Yolk Mooncakes, the Spanish Iberico Ham & Mixed Nut Mooncakes and the Custard Cream Mooncakes. There is also a New Life Charity Mooncake, the New Life Apple & Custard Cream Mooncakes. Customers can purchase them in support of the New Life Psychiatric Rehabilitation Association that promotes mental wellness among people in recovery from mental health issues as well as in the general public who may not be so aware. 

Ralph’s Coffee

It appears that this is the year of culinary innovation when it comes to Mooncakes. Ralph’s Coffee in Hong Kong has recently announced the Ralph’s Coffee Lava Mooncakes that join the relatively traditional Custard Lava Mooncakes as part of the Mid Autumn collection of Mooncakes. The Coffee Lava Mooncakes have been locally made with the coffee lava itself made from the organically grown coffee beans used by Ralph’s Coffee. Packaged in a Ralph’s Coffee Truck with decorative lights all over, this is an adorably collectable gift to give (or receive) this Mid Autumn Festival. 

The Peninsula

With the recent launch of their pop ups Moonlight August by the Peninsula, the Peninsula Boutiques have also announced new Mooncakes flavours that can be bought at those locations as part of their Mid Autumn Hamper. Led by Chef Tang Chi Keung who is the Chinese Culinary Advisor for The Peninsula, the team behind the Mini Mooncake Collection has revealed two new additions: the Walnut Egg Custard and the Dried Longan Egg Custard. They will also the joined by two new assortments of the Mini Tea Flavoured Mooncake Collection that specialises reproducing the iconic pastry with interesting tea flavoured custards. The new additions, for instance, are the Tie Guan Yin Tea Custard and the Breakfast Tea Egg Custard. 

Old Bailey

This year Old Bailey will launch their first handmade Shanghai style Mooncakes, prepared by Executive Chef Wong Kwan Man, to celebrate the Mid Autumn Festival. Available in both sweet and savoury flavours, there are only a limited amount of them so be sure to get your’s while you still can. As opposed to the glossy and chewy mooncakes that we may be used to, the Shanghai style mooncakes are crisp and buttery with shortcrust pastry made from flour, lard and maltose. With the sweet option filled with a smooth, creamy and sweet homemade red bean paste and the savoury option filled with ground pork, shallot, ginger, soy sauce, dark soy sauce and white pepper powder, there is an mooncake to suit everyone’s palate. 

St. Regis

St. Regis Hong Kong has also announced their first annual mooncake launch with a gorgeous collection of Mooncakes. Among the line up are the classic White Lotus Seed Paste with Double Egg Yolks, created with lotus seed paste and golden salty duck egg yolks; the Mini Egg Custards that have been described as, “an excellent alternative to the traditional mooncake, with a smooth custard filling surrounded by golden pastry”; and finally the Mini Red Bean Paste with Tangerine Peel Mooncake, made from sweet red beans and tangy citrus and accompanied by their unique mouthwatering aroma. Each is available in a separate box: the Lotus Seed Paste with Double Egg Yolk can be bought as a four piece set in the Full Moon Box. The Mini Egg Custards and the Mini Red Bean Paste with Tangerine Peel Mooncakes come in sets of six each as the Bright Moon Box and the Pearl Moon Box respectively. 

The Ritz-Carlton

The Ritz-Carlton Hong Kong has also announced the release of Mooncakes and hampers that celebrate the Mid Autumn Festival. Chef Paul Lau, the Chef de Cuisine of the Michelin two-star Tin Lung Heen, has created a contemporary version of the traditional Mooncake recipe and come up with Tin Lung Heen’s premium mini egg custard mooncakes that come in a box of eight with vintage 15years old Pu-erh Chinese tea. The Ritz has also collaborated with the Savannah College of Art and Design Hong Kong and has featured the designs of some students on mooncake boxes. The two special edition boxes contain mini custard Mooncakes of two different sizes. The first design, Stardust, incorporates stars and celestial bodies and,”(symbolises) precious moments of the traditional festival”, while the other, Praise to the Moon, tells the story of the lovers Hou Yi and Chang’e. 

Shang Palace

This year, Kowloon Shangri-La, Hong Kong’s Shang Palace is also offering a selection of Mooncakes crafted by Executive Chinese Chef Cheung Long-yin. These include the brand new Mini Golden Century Egg and Pickled Ginger Mooncakes, the Mini Pineapple Paste and Five-Seed Mooncakes, and, back by popular demand, the 50-year Mandarin Peel and Red Bean Paste Mooncake with Tangerine (inspired by traditional Sweetened Red Bean Soup) and Pu-Er Tea Gift Set. The Gift Set is a limited edition with just 140 boxes, each gold-printed with a unique serial number. The 30-year Mandarin Peel and Red Bean Paste Mooncake is also available along with the bestselling Chiu Chow Mooncake with Pandan Leaf, Yam Paste and Salted Egg Yolk, described as, “a modern reinterpretation of traditional Chiu Chow Mooncake with sweet yam paste encased in a puff pastry skin infused with the fresh extract of pandan leaves from Singapore”. Customers can also get the sweet Mini Snowy Mooncake with Tokachi Red Beans and Green Tea, the Mini Snowy Mooncake with Durian Paste, the Mini Mooncake with Egg Yolk and White Lotus Seed Paste and the ever-popular Mini Crispy Custard Mooncake with Mashed Egg Yolk that can be bought with two types of hampers brimming with festive goodies and fine food. 

Langham Hotels & Resorts

This year the Langham Hotels & Resorts also present a selection of their signature mooncakes. The mooncakes, that come in a Langham box decorated with lotus flowers, have been created using the seed of the same lotus flowers. According to Limi Chan, Senior Group Director of Chinese Cuisine, Langham Hospitality Group, “The Master Chefs from our Michelin starred Chinese restaurants have created this year’s selection of mooncakes based on the feedback from our guests who have consistently requested for our signature custard mooncakes. We are also presenting an assortment of traditional and modern flavours which are popular favourites to our guests of all ages”. The Mini Custard with egg Yolk Mooncake is a Langham classic and can be purchased along with the Deluxe Mini Mooncake Assortment that features a combination of modern and classic flavours including the Custard with Egg Yolk and Kumquat, the Red Bean Paste with Mandarin Peel and the White Lotus Seed Paste with Egg Yolk. 

Mandarin Oriental

Mandarin Oriental is back this year with another selection of traditional and speciality flavoured mooncakes and gift hampers from The Mandarin Cake Shop. Packaged in a new fan shaped gift box, long time customer favourite white and golden lotus with yolk joins the new speciality flavours that include lava chocolate and vanilla custard as the perfect gift hampers this Mid Autumn Season. A collection of luxury gift hampers are also available separately including the Mandarin Deluxe Mooncake 4-Tier or 1-Tier Hampers and the Mandarin Mooncake Gift Box.

Häagen-­Dazs

When we hear the name Häagen-­Dazs, we usually think of delicious ice cream on a hot summer’s day. Well, this year the dessert mogul has come out with new mooncake flavours and gift sets just in time for Mid Autumn. After the launch of the Asian inspired new flavours of the azuki bean and green tea mochi ice­-creams in early 2019, Häagen-­Dazs has also come up with a new green tea mochi mooncake for everyone out there with a sweet tooth. They have also collaborated with Line Friends for the launch of its new ice cream mooncake set. It comes with a deluxe hamper set that not only has the ice cream mooncakes but also a chocolate gift box, a bottle of champagne and a set of gift coupons. 

Duddell’s

Mid Autumn Festival means lanterns upon lanterns- along with mooncakes, of course. Duddell’s combines both with their new releases. Their Limited Edition Lantern Box features an LED lantern that holds eight handmade cream custard mooncakes. Even after the mooncakes have been polished off by your guests, the lantern (that lights up) can be hung for the remainder of the festivities. But if you just want a regular box set of the treats, there is also the Signature Mooncake Box X Marcel Dzama. Duddell’s Signature Mooncake Box has Marcel Dzama’s “Blue Moon” on the inside of the holographic container along with a set of six custard mooncakes. 

KFC

The most unexpected addition on this list, fast food chain KFC Hong Kong has also revealed their Spicy Chicken & Nuts and Golden Lava Custard. The new mooncakes flavours have been created with a combination of chicken, crushed almonds, walnuts and sunflower seeds. They come in a “Moonlight Bucket” that features Colonel Sanders as an astronaut and well as an LED that allows for the bucket to be carried around as a light up lantern. This is definitely a must try this season, even if just for the experience. 

Maxim’s  

And last but certainly not least, who can forget Maxim’s famous custard lava mooncakes that sell out every year? We recommend getting to your nearest Maxim’s extra early to avoid the mile long cue and to make sure you don’t come home empty handed. Normally sold in a set of eight, the custard lava mooncakes were introduced in 2016 and have quickly become a crowd favourite. Suffice it to say, no mid-autumn is complete without sampling one of these iconic treats from Maxim’s.