8 Mooncakes We Like, Ranked From Yum To Yummiest

What does one do when one is inundated with an avalanche of mooncakes in all shapes, sizes, flavours, colours, types of fancy boxes and price points? Either give up and buy a no-frills pandan cake for your mother-in-law instead, or, you could check out our painstakingly edited list of mooncakes here. We’ve gone through the tiresome task of chomping our way through many, too many, mediocre — sometimes downright yech — offerings to bring you eight that we enjoyed and wouldn't mind eating again. We’ve also ranked them from #8 to #1, with #1 being (to us) the most delicious. And just like that, we've made your mooncake shopping so much easier.

From $62 for 4 pcs, The Fullerton Hotel Singapore

Get this Pandan with Gula Melaka number over the more exciting-sounding but less yummy Ondeh Ondeh mooncake (the shredded coconut filling was a bit dry) from The Fullerton. This boasts a soft, caramelly gula melaka heart burrowed within fairly luscious pandan-infused lotus paste. That being said, the snow skin isn’t as impressive as the filling — it’s slightly stiffer than usual, perhaps all the better to hold in all that dense, moist filling?

Available till Sept 13, at The Fullerton Cake Boutique, The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, 1 Fullerton Square, S049178. Tel: 6877-8943. shop.fullertonhotels.com.

$86 for 4 pcs, Shang Palace ​​​​​​​

This hand-baked mooncake may sound a tad dull, but it’s a classic that’s made well — the not-too-sweet lotus paste filling is lovely and smooth, the salted egg yolks moist; not dry and crumbly as many we’ve encountered are. And it’s wrapped in gratifyingly thin, glossy pastry. Also noteworthy is the fact that no preservatives are used. A solid traditional offering that’s ideal for older folks not into cloyingly sweet stuff. Plus, it comes in a pretty box with a mirror that can be recycled as a mini cosmetic box.

Available till Sept 13 at Shang Palace and the lobby of Shangri-La Hotel, Singapore, 22 Orange Grove Rd, S258350. Tel: 6213-4473. http://www.shangri-la.com/singapore. And also at Shang Social Jewel Changi Airport, #01-219/222, 78 Airport Boulevard, S819666. http://www.shangsocial.com/.

$81.30 for 8 pcs, Regent Singapore

While the Regent’s new mini snow skin mooncake set comes in eight funky new flavours ($84.50), including a pleasant kaya-like Pandan and Hazelnut plus a bizarre Basilico Truffle Carbonara one, we say zoom in on this Yuzu Cheesecake number. The pastry chef of the hotel’s Tea Lounge (where afternoon tea buffet is served) combines house-made strawberry jam with sharp, aromatic yuzu peel and yuzu puree in a tangy and creamy cheesecake filling. All wrapped in a malleable glutinous rice flour skin. Fragrant, refreshing and lovely to eat — both the kids and grownups will like this.

Available till Sept 13 at Summer Palace, Regent Singapore and booths at Takashimaya Square and Vivocity. Regent Singapore is at 1 Cuscaden Rd, S249715. Tel: 6725-3288. shop.regentsingapore.com.sg.

$64 for 8 mini pcs, The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore

“Demon chef” Alvin Leung of mod Asian restaurant 15 Stamford by Alvin Leung has launched his first range of mooncakes in corn and caramel flavours. While the Golden Caramel Mixed Nuts version with a chewy caramel-laced lotus paste filling is quite nice, we’d much rather nibble on this less sugary, perfume-y Golden Corn mooncake. It sounds strange, but it works. The smooth white lotus paste is shot through with the naturally sweet, mellow characteristics of fresh corn (even though there're no discernible corn kernels in it). And it’s enveloped with a gleaming, gently golden crust. Great mouthfeel, and the flavours are elegant and delish.

Available from Aug 8-Sept 13 at The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore and 15 Stamford by Alvin Leung, 15 Stamford Rd, S178906. Tel: 6715-6871. https://www.kempinski.com/en/singapore/the-capitol-singapore/.

$78 for 6 smallish pcs, Resorts World Sentosa

Think of this as a firmer liu sha treat. Prettily shaped, fried flaky pastry hug a modest layer of low-sugar lotus paste (less of this and more custard would be even better, in our opinion) and a core of satiny custard blended with salted egg. When sliced at room temperature, the filling oozes out slightly and has an umami-briny richness to it. Or you could zap it in the microwave oven for 10 seconds to warm up so the golden goodness flows out more satisfyingly. Also, the nutty sesame-dotted crust is very crunchy. Shiok.

Available from Aug 16-Sept 13 at Feng Shui Inn, Level G2, Crockfords Tower, Resorts World Sentosa, 8 Sentosa Gateway, 098269. Tel: 6577-6599. http://www.rwsentosa.com/mooncakes2019.

$68 for 4 pcs, Yan

There’re many fried yam mooncakes in the market. But most are plagued by the pong of stale grease and insipid, stodgy filling. But not this one from Cantonese fine-diner, Yan. Lightly sweetened Thai yams, vegetable oil and sugar are blended till smooth and lemak, its rich, creamy texture a delicious counterpoint to the un-greasy, perfectly crisp, flaky 1,000 layer spiral pastry (sans lard, surprisingly). The moist salted egg yolk burrowed in the centre adds another dimension of savouriness to it all. Excellent. But eat these fried beauties asap before they turn soggy.

Available till Sept 13 at Yàn, #05-02 National Gallery Singapore, 1 St Andrew’s Rd, S178957. Tel: 6384-5585. Order online at https://www.yan.com.sg/mooncakes/.

$27.80 a 15cm piece; feeds 6 pax, Thye Moh Chan

You might ask why this humble Teochew-style mooncake is ranked so high on our list? Simply 'cos it's delicious and very affordable. And if you’re the sort who finds sugary mooncakes jelak, this massive handmade savoury Teochew tau sar piah from Thye Moh Chan has your name on it. We’ve always been suckers for the brand’s delicious salty tau sar piah. And this traditional celebratory giant one, the size of a small cake, is fun and festive. We had ours delivered fresh from the bakery and the crust was even better than usual — extra crunchy, and wispy with delicate layers courtesy of a “small amount” of lard. And because of its size — there’s more of the superb filling to enjoy too: tasty fine-textured ground mung beans sandwiched with an even layer of mashed salted egg yolk in the centre so every wedge you slice gets an equal portion of the briny goodness. So addictive we had to stop ourselves from single-handedly hoovering up the entire orb. It also comes in a box of four smaller ‘classic’ mooncake pieces ($33.80) where each palm-sized disc is about 1.5 times larger (more yummy filling to savour!) than the store’s usual small salted egg yolk-free Salty Tau Sar Piah ($2.50) sold during the rest of the year. Thye Moh Chan has a new Milky Yuzu mooncake flavour ($38.80 for 4 pcs) filled with honey-spiked mung bean, yuzu peel, melon seeds, condensed milk and milk powder. But we prefer the savoury stuff.

Available till Sept 13. Three outlets and one booth including Paragon, 290 Orchard Rd, #B1-12, S238859. Tel: 6732-8858. https://www.thyemohchan.com/.

$88 for 4 pcs, Blue Lotus

Finally, a durian mooncake we can get behind. Most of the ones we’ve tried tasted like watered down versions of the King of Fruits, or had sad, soggy skins. This one, by mod Chinese restaurant Blue Lotus, however, hits all the right spots. Its snow skin has a delightfully springy mochi-like texture, which gives way to a decadent interior of super gao, bittersweet durian puree that’s heady and buttery. The restaurant’s PR rep claims that the stuffing comprises pure Mao Shan Wang pulp, with no fillers like cream or sugar. Now, we're usually purists who prefer eating durian only in its natural form — but we actually hoovered a second serving of this MSW mooncake.

Available till Sept 13. Three Blue Lotus outlets including #01-10, 991B Alexandra Rd, S119970. Tel: 6665-0880. http://www.bluelotus.com.sg/