Mooncakes from Man Fu Yuan, InterContinental Singapore
Snowskin Mooncake Combination @ S$53.80 (4 pieces)
Image reproduced with permission from Man Fu Yuan, InterContinental Singapore
I spent some time last month working through the 8 flavours of handcrafted mooncakes that were sent to me by Man Fu Yuan at InterContinental Singapore. Talk about a sugar rush!
Black Sesame Paste & White Sesame Seed Snowskin Mooncake
I generally like modern snowskin mooncakes as I feel the chefs have more flexibility to play with flavours. Man Fu Yuan's Snowskin Mooncake Combination features four different flavours of Snowskin Mooncakes designed to tickle the tastebuds: (1) Green Tea Paste with Dragonball Jasmine tea-infused snowskin, (2) White Lotus with Macadamia Nuts, (3) Sesame Paste with White Sesame Seeds & (4) Pulot Hitam, a new creation.
Black Sesame Paste & White Sesame Seed Snowskin Mooncake
My favourite mooncake in the collection was the Black Sesame Paste and White Sesame Seed Snowskin Mooncake. Encased within the snowy-white skin, was a dark sesame paste that was rich without being cloyingly sweet. Speckled with white sesame seeds that provided the occasional crunch, this mooncake was a delight to savour. This won 2 thumbs up from all the 8 ladies who tried it. A MUST-TRY!
Pulot Hitam Snowskin Moooncake
The newly created Pulot Hitam Snowskin Mooncake was inspired by a traditional Peranakan dessert, Pulot Hitam (which means black rice porridge). It was rather pleasant tasting but I felt that the rice grains had not been soaked long enough thus resulting in a filling with a gritty feel. Although this was consumed on day 2, I reckon our refrigerator wasn't cold enough causing the delicate snowskin to "melt" a little. I suppose one should definitely take the storage instructions on the box seriously.
Green Tea Paste with Dragonball Jasmine Tea-infused Snowskin Mooncake
Do you like Chinese Tea? I love good quality Chinese Tea so I really enjoyed the floral scent that the Dragonball Jasmine Tea-infused snowskin imparted onto the mooncake. This flavour is also a Must-Try! In comparison to the Black Sesame and Dragonball Jasmine Tea mooncakes, the well-executed White Lotus with Macadamia Nuts snowskin mooncake seemed a little less exciting although it would definitely appeal to those who enjoy mooncakes with a more traditional flavour.
Man Fu Yuan's White Lotus & Double Egg Yolk Baked Mooncake
@ S$ 54.80 (4 pieces) or S$32.80 (2 pieces)
Moving onto the more traditional Baked Mooncakes, I love how they're made with traditional-style mooncake moulds that have Chinese characters carved into them to indicate the flavour and the restaurant that made them. If you're reading from right to left (top to bottom), you'll see that the mooncake was made with white lotus paste by Man Fu Yuan and embedded with 2 salted egg yolks. A traditional gift for business partners, the golden egg yolks were highly prized for their symbolism - that of wealth and fortune. In the 80s and 90s, baked mooncakes were often sold with 1, 2, 3 or 4 egg yolks within.
I love salted egg yolks so I remember picking slices with chunks of egg yolks as a child. I remember buying boxes of mooncakes with 4 egg yolks each because they were the best part of the mooncake for me, besides a smoky crust. Now that society has become more health conscious, the number of salted duck egg yolks and quantity of sugar contained within a traditional mooncake has been largely reduced. The white lotus seed paste that forms the basic filling for most of Man Fu Yuan's traditional baked mooncakes was smooth and not too sweet. Definitely one of the better ones I've tasted in recent years. The baked traditional mooncakes with salted egg yolk and Macadamia Nuts are a Must-Try!
I'm not a fan of the Traditional Mooncake with Assorted Nuts (a flavour that's becoming less common these days probably because the younger generation don't like it as much) but it's my mum's favourite flavour and she loved it! If you like the nutty combo, I suppose the version sold at Man Fu Yuan's worth a try. Each box comes with some disposable cutlery and a packet of Chinese Tea leaves to help to counter the sweetness and oiliness of the mooncakes.
As you may have noticed from an earlier photo, each mooncake is wrapped in an airtight plastic wrapper before being inserted into a Royal Purple cardboard box with their flavours indicated by a discreet sticker and packed neatly into an elegant matte Champagne-gold magnetic case.
Find out more about the flavours on their online catalog: Mid-Autumn Legends by InterContinental Singapore.
Till 12 Aug, enjoy 30% off mooncakes as part of their exclusive advance purchase offer.
Buy Man Fu Yuan's handcrafted mooncakes at the following locations:
1. Tea Hut (located at the entrance of InterContinental Singapore from Bugis Junction) 15 July to 18 August 2013: 12 pm to 9 pm daily 19 August to 19 September 2013: 9 am to 9 pm daily Other Mooncake Booths 2. Bishan Junction 8 (Main Atrium, Level 2) 3. IMM (Atrium A, Level 1) 4. Jcube (Atrium A, Level 1) 5. Nex Serangoon Mall (Level 1) 6. VivoCity (Central Court A/B) 7. Change Alley (Hitachi Tower) 8. Century Square (Main Atrium, Level 1) 9. AMK Hub (Main Atrium, Sunken Plaza) 10. Square 2 (Main Atrium, Level 1) 11. Takashimaya (Takashimaya Square) 12. ARC (Alexandra Retail Centre) (Atrium, Level 1) Man Fu Yuan InterContinental Singapore 80 Middle Road, Singapore 188966 Phone: +65 6820-8519 / 8520 Email: sinhb-festive@ihg.com PS: Thank you, Man Fu Yuan and InterContinental Singapore, for the mooncake samples.