- Moon Festival is taking over Sydney this weekend with lanterns, feasting and, of course, mooncakes.
- From traditional flavours to creative new twists, there’s a mooncake for everyone.
- Here’s where to find Sydney’s best mooncakes this Mid-Autumn Festival.
A time-honoured tradition in Chinese culture, the Moon Festival (also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival) was originally conceived to celebrate a successful harvest. Today, however, just about everyone joins in on the lunar celebration, tempted by the occasion’s crumbly symbolic baked good: the humble mooncake.
Moon Festival celebrations will descend upon Sydney on Friday, September 25, bringing with it a weekend of feasting, colour, lanterns, and of course, mooncakes. We’ve got the ultimate guide to the city’s mooncake offerings to make sure you fill your boots with the best of the best this festival.
What is a mooncake?
Step into any Asian bakery around the world, especially during autumn, and you’ll spy rows of boxes with colourful variations of the mooncake, a popular Chinese pastry that’s shaped like a full moon.
As per the many nuances of Chinese culture, the shape is important. The mooncake’s roundness represents completeness, wholeness and family unity, which is why gifting a box of mooncakes is seen as a show of respect, gratitude and generosity.
The hand-held treat is typically golden on the outside, with either a sweet or savoury filling that’s dense and packed full of flavour. There are many variants nowadays, but the traditional mooncake must have at least one egg yolk to represent the full moon.
And it’s not all just about the taste. Part of the fun of shopping around for Sydney’s best mooncakes is seeing all the incredibly elaborate, beautiful packaging that holds these circular bites of wonder.
Where to find the best mooncakes in Sydney
Emperor’s Garden Restaurant & Bakery
You can’t go wrong with Emperor’s Garden Restaurant & Bakery. Although their Yum Cha and Bakery is currently closed, you can pick up 16 (yes, 16!!!) different flavours of mooncakes at their BBQ storefront on Thomas Street in Chinatown.
They’ve got savoury flavours like Chinese ham and mixed nut, alongside classics such as lotus seed paste and red bean paste, plus plenty more to choose from. Head to Haymarket to check out the impressive mooncake display in the storefront window; you won’t be disappointed.
Where: 213-215 Thomas St, Haymarket NSW 2000.
Jim’s Malaysia
With a few locations around Sydney (the most popular being in Chatswood and Rosebery), Jim’s Malaysia is where you should go for all different kinds of hand-rolled mooncakes.
Owner Jim Yong spends a considerable amount of time making various versions of the lunar treat, from Teochew-style mooncakes that are more like multi-layered spiral pastries to Hong Kong-style snowy mooncakes with buttery egg custard. Every mooncake is handcrafted under his direction, so you can trust that they’ll be high quality, authentic and delicious.
Where: Chatswood Chase, Macquarie Centre, Rosebery, Miranda Westfield Shopping Centre.
Golden Century X Black Star Pastry
Two Sydney hospo heavyweights, the iconic Black Star Pastry and Cantonese dining institution Golden Century, have teamed up to create three exclusive mooncakes. Choose from traditional salted egg yolk (a timeless favourite), red bean and matcha (a modern take on a classic combo) or strawberry and rose (lighter and more contemporary).
If you can’t make up your mind, you can also opt for an assorted box for all three.
Where: Available online or in-store across Black Star Pastry’s nine locations.
Thaikee IGA
This is basically where everyone goes to stock up on their mooncakes for the season, and it should be your first stop if you really want to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival at home or with loved ones. Thaikee IGA has held the title of the largest Asian Supermarket in Sydney Chinatown since 1980, so you can trust they have a great selection.
You’ll find every flavour of mooncake you can think of, from lava custard to red bean and more. If you want the best and most traditional, look for anything from Wing Wah, a historic Hong Kong cake shop that now ships all over the world.
Where: 9-13 Hay St, Haymarket NSW 2000.
Sweet Lu
Drop by Sweet Lu’s adorable Dixon Street store and try their colourful mooncake selection. With flavours including Dubai chocolate pistachio, matcha yuzu lava, rose lychee cheese, red wine cranberry and snow skin durian, there’ll be a mooncake for every taste. It’s also a fun excuse to pop in-store and check out all their incredible, creative bakes.
Where: 2a/63 Dixon St, Haymarket NSW 2000.
A Bowl of Noodles
Head to A Bowl of Noodles’ Chippendale store to make the most of their weekday lunch special. Choose one of their four signature dishes (fish soup noodle, crab meat and roe with dry noodles, stir-fried eels with dry noodles or fried pork chop with rice cake) and receive two free mini sweet mooncakes.
You can also secure three different flavours of mooncakes at their Haymarket store, including savoury pork ($5.50), red bean paste ($4.80) and crab roe and pork ($6.90). Made fresh in-store with authentic Shanghainese recipes, these mooncakes have golden flaky pastry and a rich, indulgent filling.
Where: 735 George Street, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2000 and Shop 3&4/85 O’Connor St, Chippendale NSW 2008.
Tong Li
Tong Li has stores all around Sydney, and is a reliable choice of supermarket to stock up on your mooncakes. The massive Asian grocer chain can be found in suburbs like Eastgardens and Ashfield, and much like Thaikee, they stock an incredible assortment of mooncakes.
Where: Various locations across the city including Haymarket, Riverwood, Chatswood, Eastgardens, Ryde and more.
