The story of how I chanced upon TWG's mooncakes was somehow similar to the plot of a telemovie I watched over the weekend, Big Time In Little Street. It was about some friends hunting for long lost family treasure hidden under a vacant shop. Instead of trespassing, they decided to rent the adjacent shop to sell nasi lemak during the day and gradually tunnelled their way to the treasure at night. The nasi lemak business was poor, much to the disappointment of the wife of the lead character, whom was an aspiring cook and oblivious to the treasure hunt. A writer from Today (yes, the free tabloid that get us queueing every morning) paid a visit and gave good review. The next day saw a long line of customers waiting to try the nasi lemak that reminded the writer of her grandmother's delicious recipe. Business grew and...
Back to TWG, well, I'm not sure if it was an advertorial but the pictures of the black and white Silver Moon Cakes got me intrigued as I flipped through the weekend edition of Today. I must admit that I'm quite jaded by all these glamourized mooncakes over the pass few years and decided that I'd stick to the plain, cheap ones. In fact, I can survive mid-autumn festival without them. Not in the case of rice dumplings though. But somehow, the photo plus the description of the unusual ingredients used resuscitated a breath of enthusiasm towards mooncake in me.
Unlike the movie, I didn't need to beat the crowd to it. Probably because the price was relatively higher and that people were more interested in other fancier flavours. The plan was just to get a piece or two, as a certain website did mention that they do sell the mooncakes individually and at a cheaper price too. Well, neither was true but heck, given all the trouble I took to speed from the Ion Orchard branch (I didn't realise that it is still under construction) to the Takashimaya booth and rushed to catch a bus back to KL, I'd better GET myself some regardless of the price. And I did, a set of 4 which cost me S$48. Oh, they came with forks, knife and a very cool box.
The black, snow-skinned type was called Illumination where the filling consisted of praline custard cream while the traditional salted egg yolk was replaced with a shell of white chocolate encapsulating orange marmalade infused with 1837 Black Tea. The combination of flavours was smart and exquisite. It did look quite unpleasing when left exposed in room temperature, even for a while, but I guess the smooth praline cream made up for that sloppiness.
On the other hand, the white, known as Pure, was filled with a chocolate mousse and centered with white chocolate crusted tangy blackcurrant marmalade infused with 1837 White Tea. Very much like Illumination, if you ask me. Both gave a refined texture, be it the skin or the filling. So, in choosing the black or white, I guess it all boils down to the choice of marmalade.
Although I'll be nowhere near durians, I thought it was quite impossible to give the Jade Mountain a miss. So, I got one for XLB to try. The mooncake made up of green tea leaves, Mountain Cat durian paste and a chestnut heart. Yupe, green tea leaves and durian. How weird is that? XLB said that the taste was definitely interesting but sweetness could've been reduced further.
Still left in my fridge is Bliss (so profound), a traditionally baked mooncake with candied orange and caramelized chestnut filling. I'm keeping it for the mid-autumn celebration this Saturday and hopefully, it'll turn out good.
Except for the skin and the construction, I still can't bring myself to associate TWG's creations with mooncakes. Especially when they are comparatively much sweeter. That's not to say that they are unappreciated, of course. On the other hand, think of them as a good alternative to the run of the mill desserts like tiramisu or creme brulee. It'll be great to savour them at TWG's Tea Salon with a nice cup of hot tea. They recommend the Silver Moon Tea.
TWG Tea Salon & Boutique
Takashimaya Department Store
Basement 2
Ngee Ann City, Orchard Road.
Tel: (+65) 6738 1111
16 comments:
black mooncakes are the IN thing now! but i wouldn't pay $12 each, not even $6. in fact i'm waiting for the mid autumn festival to be over so i can get them at dirt cheap prices :p i'm really craving for mooncakes now!
whats the skin made of, just black coloring? bakerzin ones are made using bamboo charcoal. wonder if anyone's gonna come up with a squid ink version anytime? *teehee*
"Not in the case of rice dumplings though."
For some reason I misread that as NICE dumplings, and I was gonna ask whose NICE dumplings those were (that you can't do without), but then I remembered the Raya weekend you were in KL and hehe, I guess I can guess... ;)
cut the other two up to let us say la!! drooling
Very rare to find these unique mooncake flavors.
Whoops, i forgot to take pic. Mum said it's like eating dodol. I lurve anything matcha, and it comes with durian sumore :D
How bout foie gras mooncake from HK?
Haha, I still prefer traditional mooncake with salted egg yolk (4 egg yolks in a mooncake is the best!! ^.^)
foie gras mooncake, foie gras mooncake, foie gras mooncake, ...grrr..cant get it out of my mind ;p
I can never understand why people have to make these "exquisite" tasting flavours so darn sweet. It's such a turn off. I prefer the old school ones too. If done properly, it's a well mix of subtle flavours together.
But I'm not giving up my Moet mooncakes any time soon. :)
bakerzin one is also black! TWG one's more like dessert "moon"-cake isn't it? hehe
I can't resist this ler...
evan 이벤젤린, actually, you have a good point about the discounted mooncake! i think i might follow your suit and get myself some interesting ones after the festival! :) twg's colouring :( squid ink? ohhhh, sounds good! now how about some saffron also? :)
kenny, it's definitely rice, not nice la..hahaha! hey, where's phoenix claws part two??? hehehehe...
joe, i got one more piece in the fridge. hopefully it'll be nice la..hehe
ck lam, yupe, i agree. that's why i wanted to give it a try. at least once, i guess..hehe
xiu long bao, YA LOR! i also forgot to ask you to take pics...so, next time must take pics of the pic ya! hehe...foie gras mooncake from hk? omg!!!!!
mimi, ohhhhh...4 yolks! that's like the ultimate! i like that too, especially with yam filling. :)
thenomadgourmand, thanks for telling me about that! :) now i'm really really curious about the taste.
qwazymonkey, agree agree agree! eventhough it's a dessert, doesnt mean that it has to be extremely sweet. it's all about the subtlety of things, as mentioned by you! :) oohhh, i never had champagne mooncake before. too expensive for my budget la..hehehehe...
ladyironchef, yeah, i think i read somewhere that it's more like an ang moh dessert instaed of a classic taste. something new la, i guess...
allie, hahaha...eat more mooncakes this year! :)
photo no.2 and 3 are the nicest cross sections of mooncake i have seen on all the foodblogs, this season. v nice hairy!
the black one is black tea ?
i tot is charcoal... now heng mar >.<"
cumi & ciki, wah, thanks for the compliment, dear! :)
ling239, ya lor, i realise that black is now the heng colour. no more ultra red or blue hor? haha.
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