From The Straits Times    |

Photo: The Ritz-Carlton Millennia Singapore

Every cafe, restaurant and hotel out there, plus your neighbourhood bakeries are all churning out mooncakes with new-fangled flavours. But let’s face it; a lot of us make our buying decisions based on the gorgeous boxes they come in.

A straw poll gave us a list of the top six types of people nearest and dearest to us that most will gift mooncakes to. Top on the list, clients were the most common recipients of mooncake gifts, followed by in-laws and parents.

 

Your big corporate client

The Fullerton 15 Treasures Premium Gift Set, $198 a box (one large mooncake and 14 mini pieces), from The Fullerton Hotel.

Available in limited quantities, this unique box has emblems of prosperity, good luck and power – a pair of peacocks, a jade centerpiece and a Chinese prosperity knot. Perfect for your superstitious client.

Symbolising the full moon on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month is a baked white lotus seed paste mooncake with eight egg yolks. Around it are assorted baked mooncakes in shapes of a celestial hare, cloud and graceful butterfly. All of which signify prosperity and bliss.

Your Mother-in-Law

Traditional Baked Mooncakes, priced from $72 (four pieces), from The Ritz-Carlton Millennia Singapore.

The ruby red mooncake boxes are covered in a satiny fabric that is luxe to the touch, and contrasts beautifully with the intricate gold magnetic top flap closure. What I like most about this box is that it feels solidly constructed, not a mere cardboard and paste job. The box features an interior mirror, suede lining, and has multiple storage compartments, so your MIL can keep her jewellery organised.

Your parents

Mao Shan Wang Durian Snowskin Mooncakes, $88 a box (four pieces), from Goodwood Park Hotel.

Goodwood Park has refreshed their packaging this year – their mooncakes now come in a classic gold box with a bold peony embossed motif, plus a matching gold cooler bag. Now there’s no need to impress your folks with fancy packaging because it is what’s inside that really matters. Get the perennial favourite Mao Shan Wang Durian Snowskin Mooncakes from Goodwood Park Hotel that are packed full of rich durian pulp for your parents, and you will be sure that they will be reliably delighted.

Your little ones (nieces, nephews and godchildren included)

Mickey and Friends Musical Carousel Collection, $88 a box (eight mini pieces), from Crystal Jade restaurants.

Designed based on specially-commissioned drawings by Disney’s artists, the beautiful rose gold tin features a musical carousel with Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Daisy and Goofy. Lit from within, the carousel turns round to the tune of the ‘Mickey Mouse March’.  Within the tin there is a two-tier stand, which can be reused. The eight snowskin mooncakes come in two kid-friendly flavours, Pandan Lotus with Gula Melaka and Chocolate Manuka Honey.

Your best girlfriend

Pan Pacific Mooncakes, prices start from $63.80, from Pan Pacific Singapore Hotel.

The striking double-tiered box in pink and blue features an elegant floral design and gold accents. The nearly neon colours used and pretty tassel detail makes for a very modern-looking box that your girlfriends will love.

Yourself

Blue Lotus Mooncakes, prices start from $68 per box (four pieces), from Blue Lotus restaurants.

This is the first year that Blue Lotus has a Mid-Autumn Mooncake collection and their 4-tier tingkat tin carrier is a breath of fresh air. There’s pastel blue and white versions to pick from, splashed with the brand’s signature colourful lanterns. Show yourself some self-love and get one that you can also reuse in future to tapao food with or even a chic way to present snacks at your next house party.

Just remember to gift the mooncakes before Sep 24 – the actual date of the Mid-Autumn Festival – and enjoy them with some Chinese tea for the full experience. 

ALSO READ: 17 UNUSUAL MOONCAKE FLAVOURS YOU NEED TO TRY THIS MID-AUTUMN FESTIVAL