The Mid-Autumn Festival is filled with age-old traditions, one of which is eating delicious mooncakes with loved ones. This year the festival takes place on Tuesday, September 17. If you haven’t tried a mooncake before, we’re here to help you get started. These dense and luxuriant pastries with a sweet or savoury filling come in different shapes and sizes and are totally delicious. These are 6 of the finest places in Sydney to help you get your fill of mooncakes this season.
1. Thai Kee IGA, Haymarket
Usually this time of the year, Thai Kee IGA is decked out in celebration of the upcoming Mid-Autumn festival. The family-run business celebrates the festival in style by whipping up a number of tasty treats for Sydneysiders. Past years have included flavours like Lychee Oolong Tea White Chocolate Mooncake, Matcha Kumquat White Chocolate Mooncake and more. This year, they’ve also introduced a low-sugar mooncake giftbox.
Check out their online store here.
2. Jim’s Malaysia – The Galeries, George Street
Jim Yong or Uncle Jim — the founder of Jim’s Malaysia is popular for his mooncakes. And there’s a real novelty factor to them too, since he only ever makes them on rare occasions. The mooncakes are made with painstaking effort and it shows. The place is a delight to visit, with the entire pastry shop reminiscent of Malaysia’s Chinatown which is where the owner hails from. This year, you can also get your hands on their popular and colourful snowy mooncakes. Keep an eye on their Instagram page for updates.
3. Taste of Shanghai, various locations
If you’re after something simple and authentic — Taste of Shanghai serves mooncakes in the Suzhou style of northern China. Made from scratch with sugar, flour, lard, and sugar and filled with a red bean paste or a lotus root — which is a popular mooncake filling, the cakes are baked till they reach a dense and rich texture. Simple, but seriously delicious. The mooncakes for this season are now available to purchase.
4. Emperor’s Garden Cakes & Bakery, Chinatown
A cult-favourite spot in the heart of Sydney’s Chinatown, Emperor’s Garden Cake & Bakery has been serving Sydneysiders mouth-watering Asian sweets since 1979. They are known for their signature cream puffs that attract lines of people to the shop on a daily basis. Their mooncakes are also very well-loved for their authentic and rich flavour. If you haven’t tried a mooncake before, this would be the best place to start.
5. Sweet Lu, Chinatown
Sweet Lu in Chinatown makes mooncakes in the traditional white lotus paste with an egg yolk in the center. They are popular for their gift sets which come in a variety of different flavours and sizes. Expect lava custard mooncakes, cranberry mooncakes, white lotus paste mooncakes, and a lot more. Check out what they have on offer this year over here.
6. Snack Affair — online
Snack Affair will deliver a variety of mooncakes to your doorstep for a flat shipping fee of $6.90. They also do a bunch of inventive flavours like celestial mooncakes, a special constellation mooncake gift box, fruit and green tea mooncakes, and more aside from an excellent variety of Asian food and drink. Check out their selection here and get these treats delivered to your doorstep.
7. New Shanghai, Ashfield
This vibrant spot serves Shanghai-style dishes in a bustling corner of Ashfield. On the menu, you’ll find a variety of dumplings, noodles, and rice dishes. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, they dish out delicious sweet and savoury mooncakes made in-house in a variety of flavours including mixed nuts, savoury pork, coconut, sweet red dates and pine nuts and more for cheap. Follow their Instagram page for updates.