Story and photos by Dr. Michael Lim The Travelling GourmetTM

All rights reserved

All photos are of real food with No special effects or props

The incomparable Travelling Gourmet goes on a quest to find the most unusual Mooncakes…

MADE by Singapore’s best pastry chefs. Today, 21 August, 2013 is the 15th Day of the 7th Lunar Month and the 8th Lunar Month only starts on 5 September…but all manner of wild, wacky and wonderful Mooncakes are out in force for the afficionados. I bet the Moon Goddess Chang Er is flabbergasted by some of the new flavours. Only in sunny Singapore do you get such a myriad of different flavours and combinations. In Hong Kong they are very traditional and stick to the good old lotus seed paste baked mooncakes for the most part. According to myth, Mooncakes disguised as gold ingots were used to smuggle covert messages between the rebels…to organize a coup d’etat or Putsch to overthrow the Manchu Dynasty on the 15th Day of the 8th Lunar Month.

Fabulous Four Seasons

At a special tasting with jet setting Marcom Director Michelle, I was impressed with Chef Alan’s Snowskin Chocolate Royaltine Mooncake, which was inspired by Chef Audrey’s Hazelnut Royaltine Cake. The intense chocolate flavour and ueber-crunchy texture with each bite was most delightful. With this I had light and refreshing Jasmine Yin Zhen White Tea from China’s Fujian province. Another exciting flavour was the Raspberry & Chocolate Snowskin Mooncake spiked with Rum! It goes well with Bacardi Rum and Coca Cola cocktail! I liked too the fragrant Cassia Flowers & Silver Lotus Paste Baked Mooncake riddled with Melon Seeds. The ingredients interact to give you a most intriguing flavour of Turkish apricots.

Four Seasons Singapore

190 Orchard Boulevard

Singapore 248646

Tel: +65 6733 0682

Marvellous Marriott

Not one, not two…but SIX new flavours! My favourite is the Tropical Sunshine Snowskin Mooncake which has a filling of Mango chunks and yoghurt served ice cold. Yummie! The Silk Road of Spices Snowskin has Mung Bean Paste with Orange Ginger Truffle which gives you a spicy bite on the end palate. Autumn Rhapsody has Japanese Green Tea with Red Bean. Another winner inspired by that Italian confection Ferraro Rocher is The Golden Moment. The crunch here is from almond and not hazelnut…with a decadent chocolate center. A Royal Weekend Snowskin Mooncake pairs Earl Grey Tea flavoured Lotus seed paste with Chocolate Ganache and Raspberry. Their new traditional baked Mooncake is filled with Black Sesame and Melon Seeds. Beware…black sesame has aphrodisic properties. All their Mooncakes are individually made by hand in the traditional way from the skin right down to the filling. Before the spcial Mooncake Tasting, I also savoured the Argentinian cuisine of Argentinian Chef Leopoldo Franco, whose Mondongo made with crunchy tripe (not for the faint hearted) and Empanadas filled with beef, chicken and cheese were outstanding!

Marriott Singapore

320 Orchard Road

Singapore 238865

Tel: +65 6735 5800

Gorgeous Grand Hyatt

Mooncakes here never fail to please the discerning palate. The hot favourite every year is the Lychee Martini Truffle Snowskin Mooncake inspired by the Martini of the same name in the Martini Bar. It is soooo…good with the sweet perfume of lychees…The new Champagne Truffle Snowskin Mooncake packs a kick from the Champagne and White Chocolate center. Yam with Coconut Truffle is anothet goodie. Caramel Sea Salt Truffle with its sweet and savoury nuances goes well with a dessert wine like Donnafugata Passito di Pantelleria Ben Rye 2008 from Sicily. Don’t forget to try Snowskin White Lotus with Sake Truffle! They are all beautifully packed in large & posh “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” blue lacquered boxes..

Grand Hyatt Singapore

10 Scotts Road

Singapore 228211

Tel: +65 6887 5492

Live to eat and always be true to your palate…

ENJOY! {:-)