Shang-rila Mooncakes 2014 – Snowskin Avocado Custard & Durian!

Craving for mooncakes?

Grab some from Shangri-La Hotel, Kuala Lumpur & post a picture (to their FB page) to show them how YOU decorate or creatively use their beautiful mooncake boxes in their “Snap & Share Contest for Mooncake Gift Boxes” & YOU might win the Grand Prize of 2N Stay in a Shangri-la Suite! 🙂

There are 3 different boxes to choose from this year, 1 for one set of 4 pieces of mooncakes and 2 for the 6 pieces of mooncakes set.
Obviously the 6 pieces set has a nicer box as there are more compartments! 😀

I love the oriental bi-fold shape box with opens up in the middle (unique indeed) to reveal “drawers” of boxes.
The top of the box has an embroidered soft cover with an intricate floral motif. Very oriental (or should I say Chinese?) design indeed.

The baked mooncakes are similar to the previous years’. Shang’s mooncakes are established products of the hotel and had garnered loyal fans over the years.
Annually their lotus paste, red bean and pandan lotus are baked fresh to high demand.

The baked ones I personally sampled were the White Lotus Paste with Single Yolk, Lotus Paste with Single Yolk, Pandan Paste with Single Yolk and Mini Black Sesame with Yolk.
From all of that my personal favourites are the red bean & the pandan lotus which has a glorious pandan aroma. The white lotus & pure lotus were alright; I found them to be sweeter and oilier than I would have preferred.

I noticed too that the baked mooncakes from Shangri-la are truly traditional. It reminded me of how mooncakes are made originally; minus the current low sugar, low oil tweaks.
The paste are stronger (bold even!) in flavours. The yolks are especially richer and heavier in taste and that was really a very noticeable trait as the salted yolks in the other mooncakes I’ve were definitely not as intense. 

While the baked ones remained true to its authencity, Chinese Executive Chef Tan Kim Weng allowed himself frivolity with the snowskin variety.
This year’s new mooncake varieties include Pandan Lotus Seed Paste with Single Yolk, Mini Black Sesame with Yolk and Mini Ping Pei with Avocado Custard Cream.
All-time favourites Mini Ping Pei Durian and Mini Ping Pei with Custard and Bird’s Nest are also be available. For those who love chocolate, there is Mini Ping Pei Snow White Chocolate with Honeycomb.

In my stash I’ve got the new Mini Black Sesame, the Avocado Custard Cream and the Durian.

Mini Black Sesame Seed with Yolk. RM19. Lovely sesame nutty aroma, not greasy and thin pastry skin. Since it is mini-sized, the yolk was very prominent.

Mini Ping Pei Avocado Custard Cream (RM19) from Shangri-La Hotel KL : 

I love anything avocados & having it in a mooncake is no exception!
Though it’s labeled custard cream, it is actually a smooth, powdery paste with lovely nuances of buttery avocado. The snowskin is reasonably thick to hold the mooncake in shape & on the whole it is pleasantly mildly sweet.
This is a mooncake that won’t make you feel like you’re packing on extra pounds.
On a personal stance I would have preferred the filling to be in custard or smooth & creamy instead of its current dry-ish paste but that’s just my personal preference.

The Mini Ping Pei Durian (RM23) is a little bomb of pungent, sweet durian pulp. Anything with durians gets into my good favour so I didn’t have anything to complain about!

Finally was the Assorted Nuts & Sun-Dried Fruits (RM29).
This is one of my personal favourites this year as it is perfect for the snack junkie in me. Packed with all the good nuts and seeds it serves as an ideal energy snack bar for me while I’m on the go. I have a feeling that I will be stocking up on this before the end of the mooncake festival.
For RM29 it is sure healthier and lower in sugar than most snack bars on supermarket shelves. 🙂
Should any of you dislike wintermelon as much as I do, don’t fret as there were not much wintermelon present in this one. 

Below is the price list and contact information should you be interested to order some Shangri-La mooncakes. 🙂

For online orders:
www.shangri-la-specials.com
Else contact: +603 2032 – 2388

2013 Mooncakes from Shangri-la: https://www.rebeccasaw.com/mooncakes-2013-shangri-la-hotel-kuala-lumpur/