Savory mooncakes are becoming a new trend for celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival within Singapore's Chinese community this year, prompting local bakeries and restaurants to experiment with innovative fillings such as meat, crayfish, salted egg yolk, and more.
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approaches, the Ngee Ann City complex is hosting a mooncake fair, attracting local and international bakeries and restaurants to offer a variety of options for residents.
While traditional flavors like lotus seed paste and crushed nuts remain popular, savory mooncakes -- particularly those with meat fillings -- have emerged as the hit this year.
"We started with Shanghai savory meat mooncakes and later experimented with crayfish, salted egg yolk, and our special recipe, crab meat mince mooncakes. We did not expect that, after launching them on the market, Singaporean customers would go from initially being surprised and shocked to fully accepting them. Now, they even place orders with us in advance," said Wang Yanqing, who initiated the creation of the new type of mooncake at a local restaurant..
The restaurant reports that more than 70,000 mooncakes were sold in just one month. The savory mooncakes have received many compliments and have quickly become a new local favorite.
"This is the first time I’ve tried a meat mooncake. Let me put it that way: it’s savory. It is a brand-new type of mooncake for us. It tastes very special, very innovative," said Fang Xiaolin, a Singaporean customer.
"Actually, it was the first time trying the savory mooncakes. I think it's so innovative and interesting because it's just very different from the usual mooncakes that we have in the market, so it tastes really savory and fresh, and I think a lot of Singaporeans will like it," said Fu Lina, another Singaporean customer.
In addition to enjoying a variety of mooncakes, Singaporean Chinese celebrate the festival with lantern shows, similar to traditional Chinese customs. The annual Mid-Autumn lantern show lights up Niu Che Shui Chinatown every night, attracting both locals and visitors.
The Mid-Autumn Festival has long been a cultural cornerstone for Chinese communities around the world.
Savory mooncakes gain popularity as Singapore celebrates Mid-Autumn Festival
