The Mid-Autumn Festival is replete with age-old traditions, one of which is eating indulgent 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 an absolute treat. These are 8 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 is celebrating the festival in style and whipping up a number of delicious flavours for Sydneysiders. There’s Lychee Oolong Tea White Chocolate Mooncake, Matcha Kumquat White Chocolate Mooncake and more.
Their online store has been dedicated completely to selling mooncakes. You can get your hands on some over here.
2. Jim’s Malaysia – The Galeries, George Street
Another popular mooncake spot — Jim Yong or Uncle Jim — the founder of Jim’s Malaysia is famed 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 expect Homemade Butter Cheese Mooncakes, Cherry Red Wine Snowy Mochi Mooncake, Avocado Gum Karaya Snowy Mochi Mooncake and even a DIY mooncake kit. Get in fast, stocks are only available for a limited time.
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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 though they might be, lacking a punch they certainly are not. The mooncakes for this season are now available to purchase.
4. Stella’s Sweets, Hurstville
A criminally underrated gem — the mooncakes from Stella’s Sweets are baked to perfection, at home. This year round, their lava mooncakes can be ordered in three different flavours in a set of 6.
On offer are the classic salted egg flavour, matcha jasmine flavour and raspberry rose. These mooncakes pack a serious punch and they can be picked up from the shop at Hurstville, City or Eastwood or you can get it delivered home.
5. Emperor’s Garden Cakes & Bakery, Chinatown
A cult-favourite and an absolute gem in the heart of Sydney’s Chinatown, Emperor’s Garden Cake & Bakery have been serving Sydneysider’s with 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.
6. Taipei Dainty Bakery, Cabramatta
This little shop right outside Cabramatta station lives up to its name. If you live locally, make sure you stop by their shop to get your hands on their delicious mooncakes that have a specific Taiwanese influence, with mung beans, jujube and a mung bean or pineapple like paste.
Helmed by siblings Jessie and Wayne, you can also get your hands on their vegetarian pastries which is quite rare for Asian bakeries.
7. 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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8. 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.