In case it has escaped your attention, the Mid-Autumn festival is almost upon us, and practically every restaurant, bakery and hotel in town is cashing in on Singaporeans' love for all things seasonal.

One cannot help but suspect that if mooncakes were freely available all year round, the demand for them would drop.

As it is, you can only enjoy them once a year, during the Mid-Autumn festival. This year, the full moon will appear on September 25, more than a month from now. Yet, this has not stopped hotels from rolling out their wares way in advance. Sales of their mooncakes will commence next week.

Mooncakes have become more exotic over the years, with increasingly expensive and unusual fillings. While I am by no means a traditionalist, a mooncake must taste like a mooncake - a fancy dessert wrapped in a mooncake skin does not a mooncake make. A recent specimen which I sampled at a launch party was a weird mixture of spices and unknown ingredients - I hate to say this, but I almost gagged after the first bite.

Yet, one man's poison is another man's meat - my mother, who tried the same mooncake, was in raptures over the unorthodox creation.

I have not tried many mooncakes this year, but many of those that I have sampled were pretty delicious. Here are some of the noteworthy ones:

Bakerzin's alcoholic mooncakes

My colleagues went dizzy with delight when a box of these ($34+ for a box of 8) arrived at my office. Almost everyone was raving about them, particularly the Rum & Raisin Truffle Mini Snow Skin and Single Malt Whisky Truffle Mini Snow Skin. The mooncakes all boast a nice, chewy skin, but some may find it a little too thick. Still, one cannot expect a paper-thin skin to be able to hold in all that heady, alcoholic goodness!

Yam-my delights from Goodwood Park Hotel

The Golden Mooncakes with Yam Paste ($10.80 per piece, $41.30 for a box of 4) received a thumbs up from everyone who tried it - including my family. The yam filling was sweet and full-bodied, yet not too 'jelat', and the crispy, flaky skin contrasted well with the smooth texture of the yam. Goodwood Park's traditional mooncakes were not bad as well, filled with a smooth lotus seed paste which was not too sweet. I quite liked the one with double yolks ($12.80 per piece, $45.80 per box).

Golden Custard treats from Pan Pacific Hotel

Pan Pacific Hotel's mooncakes come in a box of eight different flavours ($48+) - each crafted by the chefs at the hotel's various restaurants. You cannot buy them individually, which is a pity, because some flavours are a lot better than others. I liked the Imperial Golden Custard by Chef Lai Tong Ping of Hai Tien Lo restaurant. This sweet and delicate morsel is decorated with a sprinkling of gold dust.

The best of both worlds at The Oriental

My favourite mooncakes this year are from The Oriental Hotel - both their traditional and "nouvelle" mooncakes were well-made, with attention paid to the basic elements of texture and taste. The skin of its traditional baked mooncakes is of almost-perfect thickness - substantial enough, yet so light that it doesn't detract from the smooth taste and texture of the lotus paste. If you prefer snow skin mooncakes, theirs come in exotic flavours, such as Snowy Skin with Jasmine & Green Tea ($38+ for a box of 4) and Snowy Skin Champagne Mini Mooncakes ($42+ for a box of 8 pieces). The green tea flavour has a slight fragrance, while the champagne in the Champagne Truffle collection is a heady burst of flavour. 

There are of course many other good mooncakes out there on the market which I've not tried - one of them being Marina Mandarin's collection from Peach Blossoms. Mini snow skin mooncakes with different types of truffle fillings ($38+ for a box of 8) certainly sound tempting! Conrad Centennial's Mini Snowskin with Jasmine ($39.80 for a box of 8) also sounds good for Jasmine lovers like myself.

Where are your favourite mooncakes from? Share your finds with other fellow AsiaOne readers in our forum!