Those who want something extra special, attention, please! From tea- to gin-infused mooncakes, we list some of this year’s unique mooncakes to try out this festive season

Tea infusion

Royal tea brand Tea WG celebrates Mid-Autumn Festival with the Immortal Moon Tea Mooncake Collection. These decadent pastries bring delightful flavours infused with a sprinkle of tea leaves that will intrigue and inspire.

To bring a contemporary twist to this classic treat, the tea specialist uses four different teas: Milk Oolong, Singapore Breakfast Tea, Pu-Erh, and Bain de Roses Tea. Each mooncake is crafted by hand to perfection. The gift box includes two tea-infused mooncakes and Immortal Moon tea blend, priced at HK$488.

Mochi ado about mooncakes

Michelin-starred chefs at The Peninsula Hong Kong’s Spring Moon pioneered the celebrated Mini Egg Custard Mooncakes over 35 years ago. This year, the culinary team introduces a new Sesame Paste Mochi Mooncake. Inspired by childhood memories of enjoying sweets with family, executive chef Lam Yuk Ming brought to life this new flavour.

Encased in a light and delicate pastry, the new creation has a rich and aromatic sesame, peanut, and lotus-seed paste filling. In addition, the soft and pillowy mochi offers a burst of flavours and richness in every bite. Priced at HK$688, an elegant Peninsula green box houses six mooncakes, making it a perfect gift for the festival.

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Boozy celebration

Golden Leaf, Conrad Hong Kong’s award-winning Cantonese restaurant, unveils a gin-infused mooncake this year. Partnering with local gin brand Two Moons distillery, the Creamed Egg Yolk mooncakes are infused with Calamansi Gin, lending a citrusy fragrance and a hint of booziness to the sweet and silky pastry.

A gift box containing the gin-infused mooncake is priced at HK$688. It includes four pieces of mooncakes in two flavours: Creamed Egg Yolk with Gin and Red Bean Paste with Mandarin Peels and Egg Yolk.

Fruity encounters

Here is a perfect option for all fruit lovers. KiKi Tea presents a delectable trio of mooncakes with the new KiKi Moon Collection to fulfil fruit and tea enthusiasts’ appetites. Inspired by the trendsetting Taiwanese brands of famed signature teas, three varieties of mooncakes are available: Pineapple Custard Mooncake, Peach Oolong Custard Mooncake and Jasmine Green Tea Custard Mooncake. Priced at HK$298, the KiKi Moon box contains six mooncakes, two of each flavour.

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Artisanal modernity

Here is the ultimate choice for mooncake lovers who want to try various unique flavours. Local coffee shop Creo, which recently opened its second branch in Kennedy Town, brings a modern touch to traditional mooncakes with flavours of Manuka Honey Egg Custard, Earl Grey Tea Custard, and Coffee Lava Custard. Priced at HK$348, order Creo’s mooncake gift set via Instagram, WhatsApp or phone.

Creo supports local businesses by connecting with Hong Kong’s artists and artisans to give back to the communities around us. For this year’s mooncake gift set, local artist Zoie embodies the Creo spirit through her exclusive mooncake box design.

Sweet shake-up

What do you pair your mooncake with? How about some citrusy pomelo and grapefruit and sweet vanilla ice cream? Shake Shack celebrates Mid-Autumn Festival with limited-time menu offerings flavoured with mooncakes this year.

The Lava Custard Shake flips the usual shake format by putting the whipped cream at the bottom for a rich base, followed by pomelo, grapefruit and lava custard blended with vanilla ice cream and topped with mooncake crunches. If you want more of the festive treat, the Lava Custard Concrete (ice cream presented by Shake Shack) is a perfect option as it’s topped with lava custard mooncake pieces.

Durian for a good cause

There are no in-between sentiments when it comes to the infamous durian. Those who have made acquaintance with this fruit either hate it or love it. You can check out Hong Kong Dog Rescue’s mooncakes to support a charitable cause. The rescue group is offering 30 boxes of durian mooncakes (for humans) for sale made with D197 musang king durian to raise funds.

Perhaps not entirely unique when it comes to flavour, but coupled with a good cause, it certainly makes it special.

A four-piece box goes for HK$300 and is available for self-pickup at various locations. Orders can be put through via this link.

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