To everyone who celebrates this cultural festival, I hope you had a great time with friends and family. Did you go look at the moon? Or if you're the mischievous type, did you play with fire and candles in the metal mooncake boxes? Haha. When I was younger, I would do these things but my favourite part would always be going to the park when it was dark-when the mosquito were biting-to play with lanterns and glow sticks. But obviously, it would go against tradition if you didn't have a bite of a mooncake. Traditional mooncakes are made of sweet lotus paste with one or two salted duck eggs nested within. I find them too heavy for my liking, so this year, my parents bought some ice mooncakes (bing pei) for us to try!
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| Mango Pomelo/楊枝甘露 |
Maxim is a famous brand for mooncakes in Hong Kong and my family prefers this brand. According to my mom, it's the best lol. They have many flavours for these ice mooncakes and my parents specifically bought the mango lover set. There are two of the following: Mango Crunch/芒果脆脆, Mango/皇牌芒果, Mango Chestnut/芒果栗子, and Mango Pomelo/楊枝甘露(which Google decided to translate to honeydew toothpick).
I've only tried two of the four flavours but I'm really enjoying the Mango Pomelo. The outside layer tastes like mochi but the juicy flavour of mangoes is in the yellow puree centre.
The white surrounding the centre is a green bean paste that is slightly sweet. The white jelly-like substance is suppose to be the pomelo but it has no distinct flavour. It just adds a separate layer of texture to the mooncake. Yummy! 4.5/5
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| Mango Crunch/芒果脆脆 |
The Mango Crunch is an interesting combination. The brown outside layer has the rich flavour of cocao which overpowers the mango puree in the middle.
The puree and green bean paste is the same as the pomelo one. The only difference is that there are crunchy chocolate biscuit balls embedded in the white which adds a unique twist to this semi-traditional treat.
This slice looks like a creepy smiley face with a missing eye... Nonetheless, I found the Mango Crunch to be quite enjoyable as well. 4/5
Here's a cute way of advertising. Props to you Maxim! This definitely caught my attention when I was in Hong Kong last year and it probably contributed to me buying their fondue dip ice mooncakes.
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| Demon Crunch/魔鬼脆脆& Angel Crunch/天使脆脆 |
In the kit, there were two Demon Crunch/魔鬼脆脆 and Angel Crunch/天使脆脆 ice mooncakes, a heart shaped silicon mold, a bag of sprinkles and chocolate chips.
The Demon Crunch is milk/dark chocolate whereas the Angel Crunch is white chocolate. I remember these being disappointing as they didn't have much flavour. They are similar to the Mango Crunch as they have the crunchy chocolate biscuit balls inside.
I just really liked the dipping concept. And sprinkles. Who doesn't like sprinkles?
I hope you enjoyed this post! And no, I am not affiliated with Maxim at all. It's just a big part of my childhood ^^ *rushes a wave of nostalgia* If you've never tried mooncakes, I really suggest you in giving them a chance. Sometimes, it's the cultural experience that's really worth it :) Good night~!
