Oh, take me to the moon

WITH less than a month to go before the Mid-Autumn festival on Sept 14, the frenzy to taste mooncakes is in full swing. Also known as the Mooncake Festival, this is an annual event in honour of the Lady Of The Moon or Chang Er, who reportedly flew there after eating a pill of immortality.

Mostly, it just means lots of yummy mooncakes. And the variety grows with each year.

• At the KL Hilton, chef Lam believes in a Blue Moon, a blue-tinged snow skin mooncake with lotus amaretto paste and blueberry cheese feuillantine centre.

Then there is the 36-piece mini Chinese chess game chocolate mooncake printed with Chinese characters. The chocolate mooncakes are filled with an extensive range of flavours made available for different cravings and presented in a classic wooden chess box.

Another innovative flavour is the chocolate sunflower seed with Bailey’s soft centre. Available at Chynna and Caffé Cino.

Orders of 20 boxes and above will be delivered free. Not only that but for you’ll get one box free for every 20 boxes purchased and five boxes free for every 50 boxes purchased.

To order, call Chynna at 03-2264 2515.

• Lotus paste champagne truffle and raisin... kumquat lotus paste with red bean... these are the exotic flavours of some mini snow skin mooncakes promised by chef Chai Chee Yuen of Renaissance KL Hotel’s Dynasty Chinese restaurant. Or how about durian, green tea with walnut, almond mocha chocolate and lotus paste with cranberry?

Of course there are perennial favourites of Shanghai mooncake with pandan lotus paste and salted egg yolk, white lotus paste with double egg yolk and the all time traditional favourite of baked assorted nuts with ham.

The mooncakes are priced between RM9 and RM19.50 a piece.

Purchases of at least RM200 worth from the restaurant or the kiosk in KL’s Mid-Valley Megamall will entitle you to a weekly lucky draw. Prizes include dinner for two at TEMPTationS worth RM180, Balinese Bliss at Mandara Spa worth RM200 or a suite stay with breakfast worth RM680. To order, call 03-2162 2233 or 03-2771 6773.

• At the Zuan Yuan Chinese Restaurant in One World Hotel, Bandar Utama, Selangor, there will be freshly baked mooncakes in regular and mini sizes with over 15 types of fillings from traditional lotus paste and red bean paste to pandan and coconut paste, cheese paste and Teowchew style yam with single egg yolk. The mooncakes are priced from RM10 to RM19 each.

The mooncakes are also sold at the hotel lobby from noon to 8pm. Those who buy eight boxes of regular-sized mooncakes can get one box for free and those who buy three boxes of regular mooncakes will receive a box of six pieces of mini mooncakes.

To order, call Zuan Yuan at 03-7681 1159.

• At Sunway Lagoon Resort’s West Lake Garden, master Chinese chef Chan Choo Kean has something for everyone. Assorted nuts with roasted chicken tempts the conventional while healthy six grains paste with single yolk is for the health-conscious.

For the adventurous types, he recommends mooncakes with pu er tea lotus paste with single yolk and tangerine paste single yolk. Snow skin mooncakes come with the distinctive flavours of snow skin coffee with chocolate bits and snow skin durian paste. To order, call West Lake Garden at 03-7492 8000.

• Up in the hills, Genting Highland celebrates Mid-Autumn with a variety of mooncakes ranging from classic fillings like red bean paste and lotus paste to contemporary flavours like durian, sweet corn, low sugar pandan, green tea and dragon fruit. There will also be Money God cookies!

Priced from RM8, the mooncakes are available at Genting Palace, Sportsbook Entrance, Good Friends Restaurant, Resort Hotel Lobby, Happy Valley Restaurant, Lakeview Seafood Restaurants, The Bakery, Hainan Kitchen, Genting International Convention Centre and Wisma Genting One Hub.

To order, call 03-6101 1118 extension 58302/58307.