Mid-Autumn Festival is comes October 1 this year, and brands are gearing up for the fight. After all, it’s difficult to grab your attention when the season inspires all manner of colourful, multi-hued liveries for the sweet pastries. Here’s our pick of the Mid-Autumn Festival’s best boxes that’ve bedazzled us with their eye-catching designs and attention-to-detail.
Stay tuned as more mooncake boxes comes in – we’ll be keeping this space updated, so check back often. We’ve also got a list of the season’s most innovative flavours, if you’re interested.
Hai Tien Lo, Pan Pacific Singapore
Adorned in classically oriental red, intricate floral motifs and a wooden lattice showpiece that reflects the design of the restaurant itself, Hai Tien Lo understands the allure of traditional design done well – especially during a festival steeped in so much history.
Yan Ting, The St Regis Singapore
Eco-friendly and sophisticated, the lavish acrylic-covered gift boxes from Yan Ting at the St Regis Singapore come either in pastel blue or pink, or the striking limited-edition orange edition. Everything comes artfully – and tastefully – adorned with floral motifs.
The Clifford Pier, The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore
How do you stand out among a sea of mooncake boxes? For the innovators at the Clifford Pier, eschewing the box altogether: enter The Clifford Pier’s inaugural mooncake tingkat, deliciously nostalgic, beautifully adorned with a bevy of orchids and heavily evocative of Singapore’s rich heritage through and through.
Man Fu Yuan, Intercontinental Singapore
Not to be outdone, Intercontinental Singapore’s own tingkat carriers are elegantly shrouded in shades of pink and turquoise. Rounding out the contemporary design of the traditional food carrier are some subtle Peranakan motifs.
Cherry Garden, Mandarin Oriental, Singapore
Subtle pink is the name of the game with Mandarin Oriental’s mooncake box. The exquisite design comes together with a handy pop-out lid for easy access to the decadent delights within (courtesy of Cherry Garden), which also come individually sealed in boxes that are also adorned with the oriental floral motifs.
Jiang Nan Chun, Four Seasons Hotel
We’re fond of Four Seasons’ powder blue and lilac-flowered mooncake box, clearly meant to evoke heavy hints of nostalgia and oriental opulence with its embroidered drawers. It’s a clear case of less means more, especially when it comes to muted elegance.
Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant, Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel
The folks at Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant have decided to package their handcrafted treats in an ornate dresser-style box. The regular boxed set is adorned with gold floral motifs, sparrows and a gold helix clasp that exudes elegance. The limited-edition Mid-Autumn gift set, however, pulls out all the stops with a regal gold colour scheme, complemented by two side mirrors, hefty wooden drawers and the brand’s recurring motifs.
Shangri-la Hotel Singapore
This years selection from Shangri-la Hotel Singapore includes a limited-edition, Peranakan inspired box created by local fashion designer and artist Benny Ong. The blue, drawered boxes feature a motif similar to the ones found on the blue porcelain plates commonly found in Peranakan homes. Boxes are numbered 1 to 999, and filled with four baked mooncakes flavoured with bak kwa, five spice, nuts, and pork floss.
Old Seng Choong
Heritage bakery Old Seng Choong presents one of the most extravagant boxes we’ve seen this year, with their Celestial Premium Gift Box. The whole thing comes in a multi-tiered carrying case draped in robin egg blue faux leather. Adorning the whole box is a slightly debossed motif of elegant watercolour peacock and floral motifs. Each box is filled with an assortment of the brand’s signature baked mooncakes – including a sweet-savoury red lotus paste with bak kwa – and two varieties of tea: red tea, and the prized da hong pao.
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