Moonstruck at the MARRIOTT!

Story and photos by Dr. Michael Lim The Travelling GourmetTM

Food photos are of real food with no photoshop

MARRIOTT Hotel in sunny Singapore was where I was the FIRST gourmet in the world to match Mooncakes with wine in 2004 and later, the FIRST gourmet to match Durian with Wines in 2004. Just a few days ago, I was privileged and grateful to be the First gourmet to taste Marriott’s new Mooncake selections for 2014 with my good friend, Austrian Dieter Ruckenbauer, Marriott’s Director of Food and Beverage!

A very yummie bite in every morsel is the NEW Mooncake flavour that is sure to seduce the tastebuds of Singaporeans because it is velvety Coconut paste with a center of mango-yellow Jhambiri Lemon Curd encased in white Snowskin. The Jhambiri Lemon aka Rough leomon is believed to originate from Northwest India. On first taste, the intense zesty, tangy lemon flavours almost overwhelm your taste buds…then the fragrant coconut kicks in. I like too the bits of coconut flakes inside which give it a very pleasing texture.

The other new flavour is Italian Coffee paste with a Vanilla Bean Creme Anglais (Custard) centre. One bit and I was reminded of Volluto Nespresso coffee and Hollywood Star George Clooney’s comical advertisements. You know how we often sprinkle Vanilla powder into our Cappuccino…well, this flavour combo works in exactly the same way! Savouring this Mooncake is like biting into a solidified gooey Cappuccino!

Marriott’s Mooncakes are all made from scratch in the traditional artisanal way and no two are the same. This is because they are all hand-crafted which is incredibly labour intensive. Not many Mooncakes nowadays are handcrafted. They are mostly ordered from Malaysia where they are made in factories and then packaged for sale with the logo of the hotel or restaurant or cake shop.

DURIAN the King of Fruits!

Good old DURIAN Mooncake is back! It is filled with PAP (pure and premim) 100% Mao Shan Wang Durian flesh, so good you can taste and nibble the Durian fibres when you eat it. Full of flavour! Durian has a fascinating flavour…onions, custard, garlic, strawberries, nuances of Roquefort cheese, raspberries and more…The other hotel that uses Mao Shan Wang Durian is the Goodwood Park Hotel. Others normally use a blend of D24 and Mao Shan Wang or just D24 Durian. Some also blend in some cream to lower the food cost of the product.

For the Baked Mooncake, there is the Lotus Seed Paste with Duck Egg Yolk. For traditionalists who want to impress their business and contacts with gifts of Mooncakes, you can advance order Baked Mooncakes with FOUR egg yolks! The traditional Baked Mooncakes are also available in a elegant and chic Degustation (mini Mooncakes) Presentation Box.

The other healthy favourite that is back this year is the Green Sencha Tea with Japanese Red Bean centre. One thing that makes Marriott’s Mooncakes appealing to Mooncake afficionados is that the amount of sugar in their Mooncakes is reduced so it does not make you feel “jelak” (overly cloying)

Mid-Autumn Festival 2014: The 15th Day of the 8th Lunar Month this year falls on Monday September 8.

Marriott Hotel

Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant

320, Orchard Road

Singapore 28865

Tel: 65 6735 5800

About thetravellinggourmet

As a renowned Travel, Food & Wine Writer he has travelled the world in a keen & indomitable pursuit of exotic delicacies & fine wines. His articles have been published in over 20 prestigious publications, both local & international. Dr. Lim has toured and trained in Wine Evaluation & Oenology in most of the world's top wine producing areas from France to Australia. The Travelling Gourmet says, "Gastronomy has no frontier. These are the gastronomic voyages of The Travelling Gourmet. My unending mission. To explore strange new cuisines, to seek out new wines and new culinary experiences, to boldly go where no gourmet has gone before...." Have pen, will travel. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any other information storage & retrieval system, without permission from Dr. Michael Lim The Travelling Gourmet and/or MSN. Material may be works of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents may be true but may also be products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance whatsoever to actual person or persons, either dead or living, events, or locales may be entirely and purely coincidental and unintentional. No part of this website may be used to villify others or for criminal purposes. Interests: Travel, Food, Wines, Cooking, Wine Appreciation, Parachuting, Languages, Music, Reading, Swimming, Hunting, Ballet, Fencing, Archery, Anthropology and more... The Travelling Gourmet is a copyrighted trademark. All rights and photos reserved. No part may be reproduced without permission.

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