Blue Mooncakes

Look at what I found at the mooncake fair- Blue mooncake ! When it comes to new mooncake flavours, the sky is never the limit. I chanced upon this Blue Gem while I was browsing the various mooncakes displayed at the fair. This caught my attention immediately so I went over to the booth to find out what it was. At first glance, I could not visualize a blue colour associated with any food that could be mixed in a mooncake. I thought the pastry chef was trying to tickle buyer's fancy by dying the the snowskin blue. Apparently its durain mooncake. How ingenious the pastry chef is.

These blue mooncakes are crafted by Xin cusine restaurant and they have decided to go Peranakan this year with theses durian ones. The translucent snowksin is made using glutinous rice flour and dyed blue with pea flowers. So the dye is natural and not artificial which I was skeptical at first. I was thinking to myself, how on earth Blue can be associated with a natural food colouring. To my surprise, the filling of this mooncake is none other the creamy durain fruit. Initially, I thought it was blueberry filling. This has definitely caught my attention . The chef has given a twist to this creation so I decided to give it a try. Since durain mooncakes has been popular among Asians so I want to see how this little confection beats the rest that I have tasted before.

Durian mooncake has become so common that one is hard pressed to recall a time when the flavour was considered novel. I guess that's why Xin Cusine Restaurant went up their ante of durain concoction by dying their snowskin in blue. Visually they look attractive so it certainly yells for attention at the fair.

Durain popularity speaks of Asian undying love for the pungent fruit. For durain fans, the durain mooncake is the perfect excuse to indulge in this creamy delicacy. These Blue Gems at Xin Cusine are made from D24 durains. I hope they taste as creamy and bitter sweet as the D24 durian.

As I sink my mouth into these tiny gems, the skin is slight chewy . To my surprise, I could not even detect the pea flower dye. The snowskin does not taste artificial at all and it has a nice bite.  The filling has a nice puply texture and has a pleasant taste. However, I wish the flavour could be stronger.

If you are durian lover this is nothing to shout about because I have tasted better ones than these. I like my durain filling to be pungent, creamy and packed with a good punch. I will prefer the skin that melts in your mouth. Most of all, the pulp to have a luscious texture like durian ice cream - rich with a hint of bitterness for kick and balance.

However, you may consider buying these blue gems as gifts to impress someone ( probably your boss or loved ones) because they are visually appealing. I am sure they will be impressed by the sight of it but make sure the receiver loves durain because not everyone accepts the pungent smell and taste of the durain. Go ahead make someone happy for the day with theses appealing Blue Gems.

A Twist to Tradition

When it comes to mooncake flavours, the sky is never the limit. The traditional baked confections with lotus paste and salted egg yolk has spawned variations over the years. With the revolution in the society, our palate is easily jaded so pastry chef will unleash their creativity and test the boundaries of gimmickry to create something different every year.

As I walked along a mooncake fair there were many weird and wonderful mooncake flavours - Parma ham and pork floss mooncake, anyone? Even new flavours like XO scallop, which is a baked mooncake filled with dried scallop, XO sauce and cashew nut paste. The concoction was paired well with a blend of sweet and salty flavours.

Chinese medicinal herbs have also become the muse of mooncake pastry chefs who want to cater to the health conscious consumers.
Since I bought the snowskin mooncake from Fairmont, I decided to give their new baked mooncake a shot. They offer a new twist to their traditional baked mooncake which is filled with wolfberry, fig, and chuan xiong, also known as Chinese lovage.

Chaun Xiong is used in traditional chinese medicine to promote blood flow and qi, or energy flow in the body. Wolfberry helps improve our vision and has antioxidant properties. On top of that, figs has the highest source of fiber and calcium.

With these medicinal benefit, I got a box for my mum since she is fond of baked mooncakes. When she ate a slice of it, she was surprised by the chef 's twist to the tradition baked mooncake. The lotus paste blends well with the herbs. The taste of it was not medicinal and in fact it taste like a bowl of Chinese snow fungus longan dessert you have at a dessert stall. The fig and wolfberry blended well with the lotus paste, giving a natural sweetness of the herb. It was not too overpowering as I would thought the herb would be.

On top of that, this pastry has its medicinal benefit of promoting our blood flow and the lotus paste is not too sweet. This is a perfect after meal dessert. You may pair this mooncake with a hot cup of Chinese Oolong tea. The tea fragrance blends well with the Chinese herb in the mooncake. Oolong tea will also assist with our digestion if you are afraid of the oil content from the mooncake. Rest assure, you can eat this without guilt as its has many health benefits. Go ahead and try one.

Fairmont Version

I can't resist the temptation of snowskin mooncakes filled with liquor chocolate truffles. I found one equally good as Raffles Hotel. They come in various flavours too. These mooncakes are prepared by Fairmont Hotel and they are absolutely divine.

The sight of them make me drool. They come in 4 flavours. Champagne, Bailey's, Rum and Rasin, and muselli chocolate.
The perennial favourite year upon year is the snowskin moonacakes with champagne truffle and Ganache. It features an exquisitely hand crafted champagne truffle that is delicately swathed in creamy white lotus paste and enfolded in a duvet of tender snow skin. This is an original Fairmont Hotel creation which ardent fans like myself early await every mooncake festival.

I am greedy and I love all four flavours. The Bailey's, Rum and Rasin are powered with the strong taste of liquor. Each bite of it, the liquor from the truffle oozes out and melts in your mouth. I can say, the pastry chef has not been stingy with the liquor in the truffle. The chocolate Ganache goes well with the lotus paste and pastry. I can easily woof down 6 pieces at one go.

The fourth flavour is more for kids. It is chocolate muselli and there is no liquor. So kids can enjoy this safely. The muselli gives an added crunch to the mooncake and if you are health conscious, the muselli keeps you full too. This prevents you from snacking another piece of mooncake down your throat.

For me, I still love the liquor version. The champagne, Bailey's and, Rum and Rasin are my favourite. They are equally comparable to Raffles hotel. Even their snow skin pastry is as tender as Raffles. However, Fairmont's lotus paste is a tad sweeter. I can't complain about their generous serving of liquor in the chocolate truffle thou. Fairmont seems to be more generous in their serving of liquor in their chocolate truffle as compared to Raffles. I guess its a give and take for me. I think every pastry chef has their own style of creation.

Its thumbs up for me still as I love to sip the liquor slowly and allow the chocolate melt in my mouth. Oooooh!!! Its so good and they make me happy. It allows one forget their stress from work. I am going back to get some more.

Golden Traditions

As I went back to Raffles Hotel to get my next box of mooncakes. I decided to make a change this time. I am going to give the traditional mooncakes a shot. I know I have mentioned that I am not a fan of baked mooncakes. My mum has urged me to get her the baked version as she is not a fan of the snow skin version. I bow down to her request so I purchase an assortment of baked mooncakes.

I got her the baked mooncake with pine nuts, another type macadamia nuts with white lotus paste, the third version which is the baked mother of pearl with single yolk and white lotus paste, and last but not least the baked mooncake with double yolk and macadamia nuts.

My mum was happy when I brought them hone. She was totally delighted at the sight of them as the baked version has been her favourite.  I am not keen to taste them but after much persuasion, I took the plunge to sink a tiny piece into my teeth. To my surprise, they were fantastic. It was not too sweet and oily as I have expected.

 From my past experience, the baked versions tend to be very oily because they are baked with lard and the lotus paste is usually oily from the peanut oil. Raffles hotel has made the baked mooncakes well for the modern health conscious ones. The lotus paste was smooth ,not oily and not too sweet. The lotus paste blends well with the pine nuts, macadamia nuts and egg yolk. It gives a balance to your taste palette.The golden-hued pastry are crafted to perfection. The pastry chef at Raffles has done a good job.

If  it is not for my mum's persuasion I would not have tempted to try the baked mooncakes. I have to thank her for that. The traditional mooncakes has changed my perceptions of the baked version. The chefs have pass on the tradition well to the modern living taste bud. Certainly, they have live up the name of the golden tradition. These baked version make perfect gifts for the mid-autumn season especially for old folks who yearn the taste of the traditional ones. On top of that they are the healthier.  Good for the heart and taste.

Tiger Lily and Hazelnut chocolate Mooncake

I discovered something new at Raffles Hotel this year. Besides their signature champagne chocolate mooncake truffle. They came out with Tiger Lily and Hazelnut chocolate mooncake.

The brown mooncake shown on the left is their hazelnut version. The luminous auburn snowskin conceals velvety white lotus paste that yields a surprising crunch of hazelnuts! Every bite of the lotus paste is filled with the hazelnuts. It adds a good punch to your taste buds.The final flourish to this pastry is the creamy hazelnut chocolate truffle eggs. One bite of it gave me a sensational feeling especially when the hazelnut chocolate filling slowly melts in your mouth.The snowskin Hazelnut chocolate mooncake will delight and amuse the child in us.Definitely all kids and adults will love this creation.

The orange mooncake shown in the picture is none other the snow skin Tiger Lily mooncake. By the glance of it, it emanates sophistication and style. The Tiger Lily takes inspiration from the famous Long Bar cocktail served at the Raffles Hotel. The cocktail bursts with tropicana flavours of passion fruit, mango and lime. This shall please the most discerning palates. If you are in the mood for something unique and tropical, go ahead with this new flavour.One bite of the Tiger Lily makes you feel you are having the cocktail at a bar. This is a good dessert to wind down after a long day at work. Paired it with a glass of white wine will be totally sublime.It has definitely tantalize my taste bud so I hope this Tiger Lily mooncake will tantalize yours too. I am pretty sure the impressive look and taste of the Tiger Lily this will make a great gift. The name Tiger Lily makes a decent entrance to your host's hands.

My Mooncake Craze

Every mooncake festival, I look forward to new mooncake creations. Especially those snowskin mooncakes with chocolate truffles in it. I am not a fan of traditional baked mooncakes where there is a salted egg yolk centered in the lotus paste. I find them too sweet and boring. I love chocolates so naturally I love mooncakes with chocolates in it especially those filled with liquor.

I found one at Raffles Hotel and their signature champagne truffle mooncake is heaven. One bite of it sends me floating. Every single bite of this mooncake makes me very happy. Its too good to be shared! I can finish a box of 8 pieces in one go!! Sounds crazy but they are that good.

Why? First of all there's chocolates and I am a chocoholic lady who is addicted to chocolates and I love chocolates. Most of all, chocolates makes me happy. Even the sight and smell of chocolates makes me ecstatic.
The best part of this mooncake is the truffle which is centered with champagne as you can see from the photo. One bite of it, the champagne oozes out and slowly melts in your mouth. You will appreciate how well the champagne goes with the lotus paste.
The snowskin of the mooncake is soft and melts in your mouth. The texture is just perfect. Not too chewy and hard.

Everything about this champagne mooncake is divine!!! If you happen to be around Raffles Hotel, do try it. They are even giving out samples for you to taste. Taste them to understand what I meant. They are absolutely good for after dinner dessert.