The Mid-Autumn Festival is filled with age-old traditions, one of which is eating delicious mooncakes with loved ones. 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 up 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.
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. Keep an eye on the website for details.
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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 not lacking in flavour at all. 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. Check out what they have on offer this year over here.
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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.
Check out their selection here and get these treats delivered to your doorstep.