FIVE SHADES OF MOONCAKE AT TAO CHINESE CUISINE

See yellow, blue, black, green and brown this Mid-Autumn Festival at Tao Chinese Cuisine. Three seductive snowskin creations, an inventive Shanghai-style savoury version and six classic baked variants by Dim Sum Chef Lo Tian Sion will be the siren’s call for mooncake enthusiasts this year until 24 September.

 

 

Now making the festive confection is no pie in the sky as Chef Lo demonstrated at the media preview. In his quest to up the ante and to fend off competition, Taiwan’s famed scallion pancake — a popular street snack — arises as the ingenious inspiration behind Chef Lo’s latest showstopper of Shanghai-inspired Baked Black Pepper Smoked Duck Meat with Yam (RM43 per piece).

 

We reckon it’s a dome-shaped pie in disguise; a savoury temptation with a come hither filling of crushed black pepper, smoked duck and yam mash. Just a mere bite of that feisty black pepper flecked bombshell and you’d be turned on your head by the zingy hot accent and tastebud-teasing textures that veer between powdery-soft and buttery-flaky. Like any proverbial gem worth its salt (pardon the pun), this unconventional showstopper is only available for dine-in at Tao Chinese Cuisine to preserve its optimal taste and texture.

 

Enrobed in a sunny yellow, unbaked glutinous rice flour skin similar to marzipan, the sensuous sweetness of the durian and oats paste playfully piques the palate as winsome Snowskin Durian Paste & Oats Mooncake (RM43). For durian-loving devotees, the almost guilt-free, indulgent delicacy is bound to leave them moonstruck.

 

Chef Lo then uses bird’s nest and butterfly pea flower to compose a pretty snow white, Marble Snowskin with Butterfly Pea Flower & Bird’s Nest Mooncake (RM43). Rife with streaks of eye-catching blue, the lotus paste at the sweet treat core also flaunts a baby blue hue with bits of bird’s nest lending luxe taste appeal.

Meanwhile, discover a matcha mooncake made in Mid-Autumn heaven with the debut of Snowskin with Japanese Green Tea and Cherry Jelly (RM31). Imported cherries are lovingly transformed into the mooncake’s tantalising sour-sweet heart in the pleasant embrace of astringent bitter-sweet green tea paste studded with longans and green tea-nuanced skin.

 

 

True to the ‘once you go black, you’d never go back’ maxim, the bewitching Black Sesame Bamboo Charcoal with Single Yolk Mooncake (RM27) will leave you spellbound with its nutty, savoury sweetness.

Like true love, the endearing charm of time-tested variants such as White Lotus Paste with Single Yolk (RM27), Pure White Lotus Paste with Nuts (RM25), Red Bean Paste with Nuts (RM25), Pandan Lotus Paste with Single Yolk (RM27) and Traditional Mixed Nuts (RM31) can still hold their own and are unlikely to wane amidst the onslaught of omnipresent competition for the hearts and palates of Mid-Autumn Fest celebrants.

Tao also dresses the mooncakes up to the nines in elegant black and red gift boxes adorned with gold stamped peach blossom motifs at no extra cost, with a minimum purchase of four mooncakes.

For more information, please call Tao Chinese Cuisine, tel: 03-2782 6128 or email: tao@intercontinental-kl.com.my

MUSICAL YUÈ FROM THE WESTIN KL

Music is food for the soul…this Mid-Autumn Festival, I was thrilled to find music for my ears -- thanks to the pretty YUÈ Mooncake Gift Boxes from The Westin KL.

YUÈ, the Chinese word referencing to moon, music and delight, actually is a gift box incorporating Bluetooth speakers. Turn on a little switch behind the lid and YUÈ will connect wirelessly with your smartphones to play your favourite music. The sound quality is excellent too.

Clad in deep blue brocade or vibrant floral print, the velveteen lined YUÈ gift box holds a set of 4 baked mooncakes. 

Select from 7 delightful varieties: Low Sugar Plain White Lotus Paste, Low Sugar Plain White Lotus Paste with Single Yolk, Pandan Lotus, Supreme Mixed Nuts, Pure Red Bean Paste, Imperial Black (charcoal bamboo skin with longan infused paste) and Pearl of Prosperity. Durian fans can opt for the Mini Pure Musang King Durian Snow Skin Mooncakes.

The pretty YUÈ gift boxes can be repurposed as jewellery or keepsake boxes; an impressive treasure chest that can uplift your mood when the Bluetooth speakers are turned on.

YUÈ is available at RM168 each for a set of any 4 baked mooncake flavours and at RM240 for the snowskin durian flavour. For enquiries, please call The Westin KL, tel: 03 2773 8338.

ONCE IN A BLUE MOONCAKE FROM DORSETT

 

Once in a blue moon, something emerges to catch our attention for major festivals like the Mid-Autumn Festival. This year, bunga telang or blue pea flower extract is the star ingredient chosen by Chef Alex Chan of The Emperor Chinese Restaurant, Dorsett Grand Subang for his handcrafted mooncakes.

 

The natural floral extract gives the Crystal Skin Pandan Lotus Paste with Single Yolk mooncake that distinctive Dorsett blue. Available until 4 October, you can buy the halal mooncakes in boxes of 2 or 4 pieces. 

In line with current health conscious times, the lotus paste is not overly sweet and just a small wedge or two of a well-made mooncake should be amply satisfying. Dorsett Grand Subang also has 3 new baked mooncakes to offer: Six Coarse Grains Paste, Coconut Pandan Paste with Single Yolk and Green Tea Paste with Single Yolk for those who want something inventive yet familiar in taste.

Walnuts, melon and pumpkin seeds, rolled oats, black sesame seeds and sunflower kernels packed healthy crunch into the Six Coarse Grains Paste mooncake. Again, the confection is less sweet on the palate and rich in Omega 3 from all those nuts and seeds.

Fragrant pandan leaves and the inherent sweetness of coconut combined to create the unique Coconut Pandan Paste mooncake. Locals will find great appeal from the enticing pandan aroma and lush coconut creaminess when they bit the festive treat.

Green tea paste is rather common in modern mooncakes but nobody would complain since green tea is a much vaunted antioxidant and high in Vitamin C. We loved the mild astringent tea aftertaste of this mooncake paste.

More trad versions such as salted egg yolks embedded in low sugar white lotus paste are also available alongside red bean paste and pandan lotus paste. 

The mooncakes come in a pretty Dorsett blue and matt gold box adorned with whimsical motifs. Prices start from RM27 per piece onwards depending on your choice of mooncake flavours. 

For information, call tel: 03 5031 6060 x 1954. Besides Dorsett Grand Subang, you can buy them from Dorsett Kuala Lumpur, Dorsett Putrajaya, Silka Maytower KL and Silka Cheras KL.