Szechuan Court's Mooncakes
Apart from Chinese New Year, Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the other important holidays in the Chinese calendar as farmers celebrate the end of the summer harvesting season. This is also a day where Chinese family members and friends get together to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, eat moon cakes and pomeloes together.
In addition, this festival is often associated with the legends of Chang E, the mythical Moon Goddess of Immortality and was officially declared as Mid-Autumn Festival during the Song Dynasty.
As this festival is often linked to a full moon, the salted egg yolks in traditional mooncakes symbolize the full moon and in Szechuan Court's snowskin mooncakes, the pastry chefs adopt the use of circular chocolate truffle to house its chocolate ganache and the original mooncake filling, the lotus seed paste (蓮蓉) in their creations.
This has been my personal favourite for the past 2 years and the snowskin flavours available at Raffles the Plaza focused on alcoholic flavours ranging from Baileys, Champagne and Rum & Raisins. A box of mini assorted mooncakes with 2 pieces of each flavour, including its new creation for this year (Feuilletine-Hazelnut with Wafer Crunch Nuts), costs $48+.
Having eaten the fruity fillings of Goodwood Park, flavour-infused lotus paste of Carlton Hotel, Raffles the Plaza presents a different approach for this year. This pinky new creation hides a gem that is unlike their alcoholic variations. Surrounded by the lotus paste, its white chocolate ball houses a blend of swiss chocolate swirl with crunchy wafer-hazelnut bits, providing a crunch that most chocolate hazelnut-praline cakes will have.
The core of each mooncake contains the alcoholic goodies and (from the left, Rum & Raisin Chocolate Truffle, Champagne Truffle & Chocolate Ganache and Feuilletine-Hazelnut with Wafer Crunch Nuts) don't be misled by the humble looking ganache. This smooth ganache is highly concentrated with alcohol that is bound to surprise you but beware not to pop too many in a go as these treats are heaty.
Champagne Truffle mooncakes lovers will be puzzled with their available choices. Apart from Raffles the Plaza, this flavour is also available at Li Bai Cantonese Restaurant of Sheraton Towers Singapore Hotel and other hotels. Not to miss the fact that this is Raffles Hotel's signature. Given that we have eaten Raffles Hotel's and Raffles the Plaza back to back, here are the differences.
Raffles Hotel has its champagne infused in the white lotus paste while Raffles the Plaza encased its champagne ganache in the white chocolate shell. In terms of the strength of alcohol, Raffles the Plaza is alot stronger than the former. Instead of champagne ganache, Raffles Hotel has a non-alcholic white chocolate core which is not as smooth as Raffles the Plaza. However, Raffles Hotel triumphs for a softer snowskin and smoother lotus paste. Thus, we thought the choice is clear.
As for Li Bai's Champagne mooncakes, I guess I will pick up during the Takashimaya fair (17 Sept 09 to 4 Oct 09). Note that the mooncakes are devoured on the 5th Sept 09 so Li Bai's entry will be lagged.
Szechuan Court
Swissôtel The Stamford, Singapore
2 Stamford Road
Singapore 178882
Tel: 6338 8785
Hotel's website
Mooncakes 2009 ordering form
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In addition, this festival is often associated with the legends of Chang E, the mythical Moon Goddess of Immortality and was officially declared as Mid-Autumn Festival during the Song Dynasty.
As this festival is often linked to a full moon, the salted egg yolks in traditional mooncakes symbolize the full moon and in Szechuan Court's snowskin mooncakes, the pastry chefs adopt the use of circular chocolate truffle to house its chocolate ganache and the original mooncake filling, the lotus seed paste (蓮蓉) in their creations.
This has been my personal favourite for the past 2 years and the snowskin flavours available at Raffles the Plaza focused on alcoholic flavours ranging from Baileys, Champagne and Rum & Raisins. A box of mini assorted mooncakes with 2 pieces of each flavour, including its new creation for this year (Feuilletine-Hazelnut with Wafer Crunch Nuts), costs $48+.
Having eaten the fruity fillings of Goodwood Park, flavour-infused lotus paste of Carlton Hotel, Raffles the Plaza presents a different approach for this year. This pinky new creation hides a gem that is unlike their alcoholic variations. Surrounded by the lotus paste, its white chocolate ball houses a blend of swiss chocolate swirl with crunchy wafer-hazelnut bits, providing a crunch that most chocolate hazelnut-praline cakes will have.
The core of each mooncake contains the alcoholic goodies and (from the left, Rum & Raisin Chocolate Truffle, Champagne Truffle & Chocolate Ganache and Feuilletine-Hazelnut with Wafer Crunch Nuts) don't be misled by the humble looking ganache. This smooth ganache is highly concentrated with alcohol that is bound to surprise you but beware not to pop too many in a go as these treats are heaty.
Champagne Truffle mooncakes lovers will be puzzled with their available choices. Apart from Raffles the Plaza, this flavour is also available at Li Bai Cantonese Restaurant of Sheraton Towers Singapore Hotel and other hotels. Not to miss the fact that this is Raffles Hotel's signature. Given that we have eaten Raffles Hotel's and Raffles the Plaza back to back, here are the differences.
Raffles Hotel has its champagne infused in the white lotus paste while Raffles the Plaza encased its champagne ganache in the white chocolate shell. In terms of the strength of alcohol, Raffles the Plaza is alot stronger than the former. Instead of champagne ganache, Raffles Hotel has a non-alcholic white chocolate core which is not as smooth as Raffles the Plaza. However, Raffles Hotel triumphs for a softer snowskin and smoother lotus paste. Thus, we thought the choice is clear.
As for Li Bai's Champagne mooncakes, I guess I will pick up during the Takashimaya fair (17 Sept 09 to 4 Oct 09). Note that the mooncakes are devoured on the 5th Sept 09 so Li Bai's entry will be lagged.
Szechuan Court
Swissôtel The Stamford, Singapore
2 Stamford Road
Singapore 178882
Tel: 6338 8785
Hotel's website
Mooncakes 2009 ordering form
