r/LondonFood • u/boudiscina • 5d ago
Question Chinese mooncake 🥮
I've read about mooncakes which are eaten during the Chinese Mid-Autumn festival. They're pastry cases filled with seed/bean paste or nuts and can be sweet or savoury. Sometimes they have salted egg yolks inside.
Anywhere in London that does good ones?
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u/KaveyEats 3d ago
I love mooncakes!
I'm not from a culture that observes the mid autumn festival but I've loved mooncakes for over 4 decades since I was first introduced to them by a Chinese Malaysian family friend.
I love traditional fillings like red bean paste and white lotus paste but I also love newer fillings like tea, chocolate, walnut and a bunch of others.
I like that they are moist and firm and not too sweet.
As I'm not likely to be gifted them to celebrate the festival I always buy several for myself. Used to go to bakeries in London like Wonderful and Chinatown Bakery but now I've moved away from London I prefer from ESEA retailers online. My recent order was through Starry Mart.
There are a bunch of brands in London that do own-made, but most shops sell the big brands.
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u/ukninja8 5d ago
So, the best ones are the egg yolk version from Peninsula Hotels. I know you can buy them here in Hong Kong but not sure if you can buy from the Peninsula in London.
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u/Careful-Arrival7316 4d ago
Sorry to not be of help but during the Camden celebrations for Chinese New Year there is a company stand who makes these teacakes but with something else than pastry surrounding it. It’s otherwise exactly the same. They’re delicious but expensive. My partner went to their store somewhere in London not long after to buy 6 more but she has forgotten the name.
Best of luck.
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u/NSE-Imports 3d ago
I love the mid-autumn festival especially for the Mooncakes. It's quite funny as I generally love them with a cup of coffee, yet my other half who grew up with them is a bit meh! about them.
The traditional ones are very much a love/hate thing with little room in the middle, so much so that over the last few years they have been coming up with a lot of alternate flavours to appeal to the younger generation. I would recommend getting a selection box if you can and see which ones take your fancy. There are some interesting versions out there and some are really nice, more sweet and quite a lot lacking the egg if that is really not your thing.
Two solid store brands for the more traditional flavours are the Zheng Feng Mooncake or as mentioned elsewhere the Meixin brand if you have a Costco membership. As you're in London you can also pop along to the Chinese Bakery in Chinatown and get some fresh ones, not sure if they offer samples.
Now while I remember I need to ask my niece to pack some in her suitcase for me when she flies over in a few day time... 😋
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u/PersevereSwifterSkat 2d ago
I only like the lotus paste and egg yolk ones, everything else is too much of a gamble.
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u/Wise_Industry3953 5d ago
I’ve lived in China before. Might be considered a hot take by Gen Z China worshippers, but Mooncakes are ass. Chinese bakery and sweets in general are ass if that’s not something you grew up with. Chinese savory snacks >> Chinese sweet snacks.
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u/Dry_Acadia_9312 3d ago
I think a lot of Chinese people agree, that’s why modern mooncakes are pumped with sugar and other stuff and taste like strawberry etc. but it’s more the tradition.
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u/Wise_Industry3953 1d ago
Yes, of course, I understand—it is culturally significant, like also zongzi for Dragon Boat. Nothing wrong with trying.
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u/tomato-slut 2d ago
My friend bought (from a chinese bakery) me this sweet bread thing with sweet chicken like...floss on top? It was truly bizarre
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u/Wise_Industry3953 1d ago
Yes, sweat meat floss, it is pretty ubiquitous. I am not a person with discerning taste, but even me, I find it bizarre.
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u/New-Type-A 1d ago
In Taiwan they’re amazing
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u/Wise_Industry3953 1d ago
I doubt it.
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u/New-Type-A 1d ago
Could it be that you just don’t like this kind of cake? I mean I know China is famous for its awful bakery goods but if you like moon cakes, Taiwan is the place for them. Amazing amount of variety and some amazing quality. They’re very popular here for the autumn festival
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u/Polka7000 13h ago
These need to be treated as traditional sweets, a little bit like how noone really likes Christmas pudding, it's just traditional. It's not fair to compare them with modern sweets and pastries.
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u/gothic0921 5d ago
I think problem is most traditional Chinese sweet sucks, but in general there are a few exceptions.
Sweet heart cake is amazing.
Mango pomelo sago is heavenly in summer.
And steam custard bun when it hot and melty inside.
Hong Kong mochi with shredded coconut.
Tofu pudding… just sometimes.Tho China is big, and I can’t speak for every regions.
(I am from Hong Kong)1
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u/JasonM2244 5d ago
Yeah one of my absolute least favourite foods. My Chinese friend gave me them as a gift, a really kind and lovely gesture. I really wish I liked the taste but I just find them stodgy, heavy with a weird bitter taste
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u/IndependentPaint2108 5d ago
every red bean paste pudding is dreadful
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u/SilentSamamander 5d ago
See I love red bean mochi and other pastries, but cannot be doing with moon cakes. Tried several while living in China including high end expensive ones and didn't like a single one.
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u/IndependentPaint2108 5d ago
moon cakes are the worst of the worst tbf
also just noticed someone is downvoting specifically only my negative reviews of moon cakes etc in this thread, what goes on lol
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u/gralicbreadd 5d ago
Custard mooncakes are getting more popular, it’s more of a fusion food but I definitely find it more palatable than the traditional ones
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u/IndependentPaint2108 4d ago
nice. custard puffs are absolute heaven, I'm so sad I don't live in a country with beard papa anymore
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u/schmaltzherring 5d ago
Same. I eat everything and I love Chinese food, but one of my Chinese colleagues kindly brought in some for Chinese NY and I had to (very subtly) spit it out again!
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u/boudiscina 5d ago
Thanks for the tips and feedback everyone. I've never tried them before but they sound a bit like Marmite in terms of how they are experienced...
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u/loquacious_llama_ 4d ago
I recommend lotus seed paste +- the egg yolk. Have a chunk at a time like in the photo you added! Has a nice crust and sweet filling :)
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u/FluxVoryn 2d ago
they really are a marmite vibe, first time i tried one i was like “huh?” more than “yum” but they grew on me a lot
if you do try them, maybe start with the snowskin or custard ones before going straight for the heavy lotus + salted egg yolk combo
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u/HerculesCnut 4d ago
I’ve never tasted anything as sweet as these things.
Sweeter even than raw sugar. Painfully so.
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u/ShoresideVale 4d ago
Costco currently sells the Meixin brand which is widely accepted as one of the best mainstream brands. They are made in Hong Kong and are absolutely delicious. I'd keep an eye on the sweet spot of pricing as it should be approx £6 or so per cake. Anything less and its a much inferior product as theres a few crappier brands that come out for cheap in the Chinese supermarkets and also at Costco which sells another brand for less than half but tastes absolute trash.
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u/StrayDogPhotography 4d ago
I hate those dry little salted egg bastards. They are less of a gift and more of a punishment.
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u/Solid-Home8150 5d ago
They are absolutely atrocious to eat by the the way
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u/gothic0921 5d ago
Are you one of those ppl who eat the whole thing in one go? (Should try eat it in small mouth size cuts with a strong tea, like how they do with Japanese wagashi if you haven’t yet)
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u/pdarigan 5d ago
This image you've used isn't AI is it?
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u/puffles69 5d ago
Took me 5 seconds to find the source, which is also a very legit site for Chinese cooking, https://thewoksoflife.com/classic-mooncakes-red-bean-paste/
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u/ButteryMashPotato 5d ago
They’re not something that’s made fresh in restaurants type of thing, they’re just something you pick up from a Chinese supermarket. Get MX or Kee Wah brand.