Mid-autumn festival is tomorrow. What brands of moon cakes do folks like? I have had:
Wing Wah
old stand by from Hong Kong. smooth white lotus seed paste with white one yolk (for the version i got). yolk is a little uneven. some parts it has great texture, some parts it is a little crunchy and dry.
About $36 for 4, typical full size cakes, about 3" each side, from 99. In a tin box for good for gifting. These guys even got the mooncake.com domain.
this is more like the mini ākei chi pengā with a yolk in it. but I still like it that its more personal size. yolk is dry. the white lotus seed paste is less greasy.
$19.8 for 6, from their restuarant. In a hard cardboard box with Cooking Papa branding. more youthful packaging.
BTW, tomorrow there is a total lunar eclipse on the day of mid-autumn festival in North America. last time it happened it was 1982. next time its 2033.
85C locations have great Taiwanese-styled moon cakes (smaller cakes with flakier crusts). Iām Cantonese and I donāt think their Cantonese-styled mooncakes are the best but they are decent. In the last few years Iāve been more partial to the Taiwanese version. Based on my experiences with Irvineās 85C, they sell out of mooncakes pretty quickly.
I used to like Wing Wah (ꦮčÆ) and Kee Wah (å„čÆ). Unfortunately, I found these mooncakes have been shipped overesea and waiting in the box for month are not as fresh as they should.
Therefore, I much prefer locally made fresh mooncakes instead. I live in New Jersey, but I still visit SF often. Of the SF ones, I like mooncakes from Golden Gate Bakery, Eastern Bakery and AA Barkery.
I called Cooking Papa a few weeks ago and inquired about moon cake. They didnāt have them yet at the time and suggested that I called back a few weeks later. So perhaps they have them.
So I settled for a box of those āice skinā mooncake, essentially frozen custard shaped like a mooncake. Maxim brand. Unremarkable.
Many local bakeries are making their mooncakes already. Have you thought about getting some? I usually prefer the freshly made local mooncakes over the big brand name ones. Never like the ice skin mooncakes. The whole nice skin thing is based on āhealthā not ātasteā, so you having an unremarkable experience sounds just about right.
Got some mini ones from Sheng Kee via 99 Ranch. The lotus seed paste one is the better of the lot. The red bean paste one is ok. The chunky green bean one is rather unappealing in both texture and taste.
