Shou Xin Fang Taiwanese Mooncakes

brown rice green tea mooncake

Recently, I was asked by Mrs. Jeanie Lee from New Formosa Restaurant whether I would review some Taiwanese mooncakes she is selling at her restaurant for charity. Since it was for a good cause, I agreed to sample some of their specialties. I was a little curious to also sample Taiwanese mooncakes and compare to our local ones to see their difference.

agar konjac jelly in sour plum and sakura flavours

In terms of looks, the Taiwanese mooncakes wins hands down as they all come in dainty little shapes that make them look so pretty and enticing. The mooncakes are packed in boxes with a mix of different types. There are 4 types to select from such as :

- The Emperor Mooncake Box  priced at RM93 - red bean chestnut, brown rice green tea, Japanese sweet potato, black bean kelp, two types of agar konjac jelly (sakura and sour plum) and two types of chocolate rice ball or mochis (sesame and peanut);

- Assorted Blossom Mooncake (A)  priced at RM128 -  red bean chestnut, Japanese sweet potato, black bean kelp, brown rice green tea, chocolate mochis (sesame and peanut), mango jelly and Taiwan cookies;

- Assorted Blossom Mooncake (B) priced at RM93 - red bean chestnut, brown rice green tea, traditional pure mochi (brown sugar and pomelo) and agar konjac jelly (green plum and sakura); and

- Moonlight mooncake priced at RM53 - red bean chestnut, brown rice green tea, traditional pure mochi (pomelo) and chocolate rice ball (peanut).

red bean chestnut mooncake, black bean kelp and Japanese sweet potato mooncakes, sliced, the whole selection of mooncakes

The one I obtained was the Emperor Mooncake collection. The baked mooncakes were adorable especially the green tea one which had a lovely flower embossed on top of it. In terms of taste, I did find the flavours very subtle and not very distinct. However, each mooncake seems to be less sweet tasting compared to our local ones. I also felt that it was a little on the drier side as I prefer my mooncakes with a wee bit more oil.

chocolate covered mochi with black sesame filling

The chocolate covered mochis were very interesting (no idea what chocolate they used but it must be some compound as it didn't melt!) with the abundant sesame and peanut fillings. I fell in love with the adorable transculent jellies that had a sour plum and a pretty pink sakura flower suspended within. Both tasted great as they were slightly tangy (especially the sour plum one) and I wish there were more. They come packed in transparent plastic cups with spoons on the side so eating them on the go is no problem.

peach shaped daifuku mooncake

Aside from the usual mooncake boxes, Shou Xin Fang also sells these unusual frozen daifuku mooncakes filled with "ice cream". Seems these pretty little things have even caught the eye of our PM's son as he bought a box before (according to Mrs. Lee). A box of six daifuku mooncakes is RM66 with flavours such as: mango and peach, strawberry red bean, green tea red bean, sesame, red bean and chestnut and vanilla chestnut, chocolate and black forest.

various flavours of the daifuku mooncakes

Each daifuku mooncake is wrapped with a rice flour skin (reminds me a little of our snow skin but less soft) and I reckon it is stuffed with cream (versus ice cream as it's not very creamy) and various flavours. It may look lovely but the flavours weren't very distinct and I felt the cream left an artificial taste to the tongue. When eaten straight from the freezer, you couldn't really taste the chestnut or red bean flavours so leaving it out for a few minutes is advisable.

Aside from these daifuku mooncakes, Shou Xin Fang also sells Dorayaki pancakes, yoghurt mochi mooncakes, mochi truffles and mixed cheese dessert that can be purchased for the Mid-Autumn festival.

New Formosa Restaurant

46 Jalan SS2/24

Petaling Jaya.

Selangor

(Pork Free. To order the mooncakes, contact Tel: 03-7875 1894 / 7478. For more pictures of mooncakes, see my Flickr set.)