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

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!