Szechuan Court Mooncakes for 2010

The Mid-Autumn Festival is here again and traditionally, mooncakes and Chinese tea will grace the tables of many Chinese homes during this season. According to the lunar calendar, the moon is at its biggest and brightest on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month (八月十五). My family has a fondness for mooncakes from Sze Chuan Court（四阁川）at Swissôtel The Stamford/Fairmont (this city hotel has changed its name so often in the past few years that I’ve no idea what its actual name is!). This year, my hubs has purchased four boxes of the Chinese restaurant’s popular mini snow skin mooncakes (冰皮月饼) – one each for our parents and two for ourselves. They are priced at S$50 for a box of 8 but there are usually credit card discounts on these confections.

Each year, the mooncake purveyors try to outdo themselves in packaging but I’d say Sze Chuan Court’s offering for 2010 is somewhat uninspired, despite its authentic-looking seal in the centre. I still keep its mooncake boxes from previous years though, especially the more ornate ones with magnetic clasps.

The eatery usually introduces a new snow skin creation to its mooncake collection every year. This year, it has added Organic Muesli Chocolate to its regular but no less delectable line-up of Baileys Chocolate, Champagne Truffle & Chocolate Ganache and Rum & Raisin Chocolate Truffle mini snow skin mooncakes.

My sons love these sweet treats and can devour them in an instant. ;) Smooth snow skin made with sweetened glutinous rice flour is wrapped around finely-blended lotus seed paste and some of the individual flavours are concentrated in a spherical chocolate shell at the centre of each mooncake. Depending on the flavour, the chocolate ball is made of white, dark or milk chocolate. If the cake contains liqueur, the alcohol is encased in the same round centre, gloriously flowing out when it is bitten into. Do try them, if you get the chance.

:) Happy 中秋季, everyone! :)

Image source: Lifestyle Asia