Mooncakes Special 2014 - Singapore Airlines

When I first heard about the Singapore Airlines Mooncakes, I was for some reason, damn excited.
Maybe because I read the brochure on the types of mooncakes they were offering or maybe it's because the packaging looked really nice?

Well, you can imagine my excitement when I found out that the SIA Mooncakes were certified Halal!
That's right - certified HALAL!!!

The Singapore Airlines Mooncakes collections is made up of 8 different mooncakes.
2 are 'Heritage' aka traditional flavours, 2 are exclusive flavours and the other 4 are called 'SIA Selections' are have a bit of a twist on traditional mooncake recipes.

We'll start with 2 of the traditional ones first...

White Lotus with Double Yolk

One of the most traditional and popular mooncake flavours ever!
White Lotus Seed Paste encapsulates two exquisite salted duck egg yolks that eagerly await for you to devour them LOL

One of my faves and I'm sure the fave of so many as well.

White Lotus with Mashed Yolk

 

This one also has a super smooth White Lotus Paste within its baked shell of goodness but instead of the whole salted egg yolks, the salted egg yolks are mashed which means you get an even spread of the yolk and everyone goes home happy.

Besides these 2, the other 2 'Exclusive' flavours are Osmanthus Fragranced with Crisp Plum and Red Bean with Milk Paste.

Orange Lotus with Walnuts

Next up are the mooncakes classified as SIA Selections which are a bit more unique.

White Lotus Paste is infused with a "whisper" of Orange and some Persian Walnuts thrown in for good measure. I thought the walnuts were a nice touch but somehow the orange flavour turned out to be a bit overwhelming for me.

Passion Fruit with Rosella

Between this and the Orange Lotus, I preferred this one.
When you think of Passion Fruit, you think you're going to get an overload of sourness but this was definitely not the case here.

A very subtle flavour but the unique Rosella was a very nice touch. Although not overly sour, this was also not overly sweet and was a very refreshing take on the mooncake.

The other 2 SIA Selection Mooncakes are the Pandan with Five Grains and the White Lotus with Black Sesame.

Collectible SIA Emblem Magnet

I simply loved the packaging!
You get a collectible SIA emblem magnet as a souvenir (great for all you collectors!) and the boxes themselves reflect the signature SIA style.

And those little boxes holding the mooncakes are quite solid so you can keep them and use them to store stuff once you're devoured all the mooncakes!!

The SIA Mooncakes used to only be available to passengers but this is the first time they are made available to the public so this is really good news if you ask me.

You can either choose to drop by Takashimaya to buy (and try) the SIA Mooncakes or you can purchase via Mail Order where there will deliver to you.

It's $64 for a box of 4 mooncakes (Heritage Flavours) and $68 for a box of 4 Mooncakes (Exclusive/SIA Selections). You can also mix and match the mooncakes so you can choose your faves while trying something new if you'd like at $68 for a box of 4 mooncakes.

SIA KrisFlyer PPS Club members will enjoy a 15% discount while KrisFlyer and UOB cardholders will enjoy a 10% discount. On top of that, every box of 4 mooncakes entitles you to a lucky draw where you stand to win a pair of Business class tickets to Shanghai!

Singapore Airlines Mooncakes

Basement 2 Takashimaya Atrium, NgeeAnn City

Collection period:
7 August to 7 September 2014, from 1000-2130 hrs

Mooncakes Special 2014 - Eatzi Gourmet

That's right kiddies! Mooncake season is upon us again!
We had our special feature in 2013 and it seems that people have started to read up on the old post (probably thanks to Google!) so we thought we'd better update everyone with the 2014 edition!

First installment is from a familiar name - Eatzi Gourmet!
In case you haven't heard, Eatzi Gourmet is run by JP Pepperdine which are the same people who brought us Jack's Place! Surely you remember our recent visit to Eatzi Gourmet right?

Well, they have Eatzi Gourmet Bakery which has churned out some special Mooncakes!

You can see from the promo material they look really good! And they also have something for everyone because we all know how different peoples' tastes can be right?

They have the traditional White Lotus Single Yolk (picture above on the right) for all you lovers of the old-school mooncakes. But they also have some special and interesting flavours too!

5 exciting flavours to choose from and surely something for everyone!
Besided the White Lotus Single Yolk mooncake, Eatzi Gourmet also offers the Mocca Royaltine and Chocolate Lotus for all those of you with a sweet tooth and also the Green Tea Lotus and Black Sesame Lotus mooncakes too!

Don't worry! We'll be going through them one by one for you! :)

Mocca Royaltine Mooncake

Let's start with the mooncake with the most interesting name! :P

So what exactly is the Mocca Royaltine?
It's a Coffee Lotus Paste mooncake with a Crunchy Praline Croquant in the middle. Croquant is kinda like a toffee so you'll get a sweet caramel flavour which will go well with the Coffee Lotus Paste.

Green Tea Lotus Mooncake

Next up is the Green Tea Lotus Mooncake. I'm pretty all you Green Tea lovers will be rushing for this one am I right? :)

Chocolate Crunchy Pearls and Sesame Mochi is capsuled within Green Tea Lotus Paste.
The Green Tea flavour is VERY evident here which is why I know a lot of people will enjoy this one.
And you'll be pleasantly surprised by the Mochi!!

Black Sesame Lotus

Another somewhat traditional one here for you.

Black Sesame Lotus Paste wraps up the Green Tea Mochi in the middle. I guess there's just something about it that Black Sesame and Mochi always manage to go well together.

Chocolate Lotus Mooncake

Last but definitely not last on our list is the Chocolate Lotus Mooncake.

I took a bite before I read the description of the mooncake (too excited lah!) and I actually thought the middle was a traditional salted egg yolk... but I was pleasantly mistaken!

Chocolate Lotus Paste and Dulcey Crunchy Pearls in this mooncake and the middle is actually...
Mango Pineapple filling! Surprising right!!

And I know some people pay very very close attention to the packaging and the box when they buy mooncakes and this one is quite a beauty!

Box External

The Treasures are within...

From what I gather, the Eatzi Gourmet Mooncakes try to stay true to tradition while trying to infuse some modern twists to the popular mooncake. That's why their flavours like Chocolate and Green Tea are mixed in with Lotus Paste instead of just the flavour on its own.

You can also tell that they do not include too much sugar and preservatives in their mooncakes. They are not overly sweet at all which means you can watch your health while still enjoying good flavour.
In fact, they infuse honey into their mooncake 'skin'.

All the mooncakes are the traditional 'Baked' variety and every single is HANDMADE by the chef!! No machines involved!

You can buy a single mooncake at $10.70 each but you might as well get a box of 4 for $42.80.
If you use a DBS/POSB Credit Card, you will enjoy 15% off if you order online.
JP Pepperdine members enjoy 15% off plus 300 points!

Even though they use premium quality ingredients, the price is still so affordable! Great deal!
Head down to their website at http://bakery.eatzi.com.sg/ or call their hotline 6287 6298 now!

And before we forget! There's a contest where you can win some mooncakes!

Just need to head down to the Eatzi Gourmet FB page and follow the simple steps!
Like, Share and Win!

https://www.facebook.com/eatzi.gourmet

Eatzi Gourmet Bakery

http://bakery.eatzi.com.sg
Tel: 6287 6298

Mid-Autumn Festival - Halal Mooncakes

So we were a little late in thinking about it this year but it seems the response was pretty good when we asked our readers via our FB page if they'd like to see a write-up on Halal Mooncakes.

I guess it shouldn't be much of a surprise because there are so many places offering Halal-certified Mooncakes nowadays and so many exciting new flavours too!

Well even though we didn't have enough time to go hunting, we thought we'd let you in on some places which offer Halal mooncakes. Hopefully you'll have just enough time to grab a box or two!

First on our list is none other than one of our favourite places - Prima Deli!

Snowskin vs Baked

I guess in recent times, more and more people have started leaning towards the newer type of Snowskin Mooncakes while there are still plenty who prefer the old-school Baked version...
The good news is - Prima Deli has both!!

I guess one of the main draws of Snowskin Mooncakes is the wide variety of exciting and interesting (albeit not-so-traditional) flavours compared to the typical (and some say boring) flavours of traditional Baked Mooncakes.

Well, between you and me, I'm more of a traditional guy myself.
Red/White Lotus with Double Yolk for me any time!

Royal Gift Set ($41.80)

If you're one of those people who are adventurous with your mooncake flavours and/or have a liking for the Snowskin version of mooncakes then there's some good news for you!

You get 9 mini-mooncakes in an attractive special package for $41.80.
The flavours are Mini Chocolate Truffle with Macadamia, Mini Mango Lemongrass, Mini Black Sesame with Mochi, Mini Strawberry Chocolate, Mini Pistachio, Mini Cranberry Cheese, Mini Oreo Chocolate, Mini Lychee and the Mini D24 Durian mooncake which is rated as "One of the Best 6 Durian Snowskin Mooncake in Singapore".

But if you're not getting the gift box, then you can also buy individual mooncakes no problem.
Prices range from between $4.50-$8.20 per mini-mooncake for the Snowskin variety. Regular size mooncakes range from between $10.50-$17.90 per mooncake.

If you purchase before 19 September, you enjoy a 10% discount (conditions apply) with further discounts for Citibank Credit Cardmembers and Prima Privilege Card holders.
Visit www.primadeli.com/promotions/promo_Mid-Autumn.asp for more info!

The 2nd place we're featuring is Concorde Hotel which offers mostly traditional-style Halal mooncakes.

No fancy Snowskin here. Familiar mooncakes include Pure/White Lotus with Yolk(s) and are sold in boxes of four mooncakes. Prices range from between $54.00 to $62.00.

They do however have 2 special and new flavours.
The Pearl of Prosperity mooncake is "a Cantonese pastry skin covering a pandan lotus paste mixed with mung bean and golden salted half egg yolk." while The Imperial Ivory mooncake is "a creamy milky butter pastry skin with winter melon paste made of chunky dried longan and melon kernel seeds, mixed with macadamia bits in single yolk." Prices for these 2 are $58.00 for a box of 4.

Discounts are offered if you purchase multiple boxes of mooncakes.
Visit http://singapore.concordehotelsresorts.com/promotions_view.php?promo_id=48305 for more info!

Last but certainly not least is a place you would probably not think of when it comes to mooncakes...

Delifrance is offering some Halal mooncakes in some very interesting flavours!

White Lotus with QQ Milky Green Bean, Pure Lotus with Melon Seed, Mango Lotus Paste with Diced Mango, Walnut Tiramisu, Pandan Lotus with Custard and White Chocolate with Cranberry Paste are up for grabs. Some pretty interesting flavours like I said.

Price for each mooncake is $10.80 per piece or buy a box of 4 for $42.80.

Well folks. Sorry we didn't have more time to do more research (aka Mooncake hunting) and we didn't even have the chance to sample some mooncakes to review. We thought we'd better release what info we had first since there's still time for you to go out and grab some.

Besides, why waste time talking when you can be out there makan-ing!! Am I right?

So if anyone does try out any mooncakes or if you know of any other places offering Halal mooncakes, please do let us know! We'd love to heard from you!