The mooncake isn’t just one of the major hallmark traditions of the Mid-Autumn Festival happening next week, it’s a symbol of harmony. Mooncakes are shared among family members and eaten together to indicate the unity of the family.

From traditional style mooncakes, with lotus paste and a salted duck egg yolk, to contemporary ones filled with matcha or chocolate, the Young Post team tested this Chinese delicacy just in time for the festivities.

Cream custard mooncakes from Duddell’s

Sweet and buttery without being cloying, these mooncakes are filled with a creamy centre, encased in a smooth pastry. Similar in taste to cheesecake, these pastries are a good alternative for those who do not appreciate the traditional mooncakes.

Cost: HK$388 for a box of six

From yum to gross: taste testing this Mid-Autumn Festival’s mooncake flavours

Egg custard mooncakes from Agnes B.

Featuring classic egg custard, infused with Earl Grey, this mooncake tasted like a pineapple bun and egg tart mixed in one. Sweet, without being overbearing; most of us on the YP team picked these to be our favourite!

Cost: HK$220 for two

Lotus seed paste with egg yolk from The Peninsula

If you’re a fan of the traditional mooncake, then you’ll agree that the reason these pastries sell like hot cakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival is because they stick true to tradition. The light, fluffy pastry compliments the rich yolk and custard combo filling, making it tasty without being too flavourful.

However, it also garnered the most conflicting reports – some found the lotus seed paste too stodgy and dry.

Cost: HK$398 for a box of eight

What JRs think of unconventional mooncake flavours

Matcha mooncakes from Sushi Tsubomi

Matcha is a very popular flavour in Hong Kong, and while the concept of these mooncakes sounds great, the shape of the pastries disqualifies them from being considered a mooncake.

Shaped more like a biscuit, the matcha “mooncake” is filled with a smooth matcha paste, which many enjoyed. The filling is quite sweet, but the crumbly pastry that encases it, perfectly balances the flavour of it as a whole. Still, at the end of the day, the impostor mooncake just didn’t make the cut.

Cost: HK$268 for a box of five

Longjing Tea and Five-Seed Moon Cake from Kowloon Shangri-La

This nutty and crunchy mooncake is filled with the mellow taste of Longjing green tea, bringing a pleasant twist to the traditional pastry. However, these mooncakes must be consumed soon after they are bought,
or they could curdle and harden.

Although not too far off in design from the traditional, these were far better received than the lotus paste pastries.

Cost: HK$348 per box