Halal mooncakes used to be a rarity in Singapore but with more and more eateries venturing into the Muslim market, it’s really not that difficult to find these lovely traditional Chinese pastry that Muslims can devour.
Of course, if you’re looking for beautifully packaged, hotel styled mooncakes, it may not be as easy to find halal ones, however, there are plenty of cheaper alternatives that allow us to join in this delicious festival with our friends who celebrate the Mid Autumn Festival!
1. Prima Deli
Image Credit | Prima Deli
Prima Deli is so easily available at almost every neighbourhood mall in Singapore and is delicious too! I was so pleased when I chanced upon their selection, I knew I had to try some of their interesting flavours like Thai Milk Tea with Black Pearl(not pictured here) and the Mini Sakura Matcha (the purple one). My friends also brought some other flavours for our little Mooncake Meetup like Salted Caramel Toffee, Chocolate Mint and Cranberry Cheese. I’ll admit that their mooncakes are a tad bit too sweet for my liking but their interesting flavours are definitely a draw and for $5.40 – $5.60 for a mini snowskin mooncake, I wouldn’t complain too much. I am definitely a fan of the texture of their snowskin mooncakes and I can’t wait to try the rest of the flavours!
2. 1989 by Swee Heng
1989 by Swee Heng is Swee Heng’s slightly more upmarket subsidiary and I managed to pick up some baked mooncakes from their Buona Vista outlet earlier this week. I was curious about their Baked Mooncake with Milk Custard. The Milk Custard is definitely interesting and its consistency is quite similar to the lotus paste that you can find in a traditional mooncake. It isn’t too eggy (for those who do not like egg in their mooncake) and for $7 for 3 small mooncakes, it’s pretty wallet-friendly too!
3. #Bakedwithlurve
I discovered Aisha from #bakedwithlurve (on Instagram) while on another baker’s Instagram site one day and was excited to learn that she bakes halal mooncakes that are available for sale. After contacting her to ask if I could try some of her mooncakes, she was kind enough to let me sample three of her mooncakes: Durian Mooncake ($10), Chocolate Brownie ($5) and Ondeh-Ondeh ($4.50). I was thoroughly impressed with the snowskin on her durian mooncake because it was deliciously soft, chewy and not overpoweringly sweet. Her durian mooncake is also made with fresh durian flesh which generously fills the mooncake. What I loved about #bakedwithlurve was how true to the flavours the mooncakes were. The ondeh-ondeh mooncake was oozing with gula melaka and the chocolate brownie was rich and gooey!
4. Polar Puff & Cakes
Image Credit | Polar Puffs & Cakes
I popped by Polar Puffs & Cakes the other day and noticed they had a whole range of snowskin mooncakes. I decided to try the Pandan Lotus mooncake but I wasn’t a huge fan of the snowskin. The skin is slightly rougher and harder than the other snowskin mooncakes but the flavour of the mooncake was still quite good! They also have their baked mooncakes as well for those who prefer a more traditional taste and the Fruit Series Selection for those who might prefer something more fruity like a Lychee-Tini! If you’re a Polaris Member, there’s a 10% discount running till 15th September 2016! Just like Prima Deli, Polar Puffs & Cakes can be located almost anywhere which makes it so much easier to get your mooncake fix!
5. Old Chang Kee
Image Credit | Old Chang Kee
I was completely surprised when I found out that Old Chang Kee was selling mooncakes to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival! The mooncakes come in four distinctly Singaporean flavours: Teh Tark with Almonds, Yuan Yang with Salted Egg, Kopi with Walnuts and Milo Dinosaur with Kit Kat. The mooncakes cost $10 a piece but it is double the size of the mini mooncakes from Polar and Prima Deli. My friend bought the Teh Tarik with Almonds mooncake and what I loved about it was the rich taste of tea in the teh tarik in the paste. They definitely did not scrimp and save on flavour and there’s a nice crunch that comes with the addition of almonds! However, I can’t help but compare it to the snowskin Thai Milk Tea with Black Pearl from Prima Deli which had more of a pudding-like consistency. Having said that, if you’re a fan of Teh Tarik and baked mooncakes, it’s definitely worth a try!
Time to Eat 
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