This year’s Mid-Autumn Festival falls on Sept. 29, which calls for all kinds of mooncakes. The pastries are commonly eaten around the holiday for Asian countries that participate in the festival, a celebration based on the lunar calendar that honors the harvest moon.
Mooncakes are traditionally filled with lotus seed paste and egg yolk or stuffed with dried pork. These days, there are dozens of flavors of mooncakes to choose from, including taro, mochi, durian, and more. No matter which mooncake flavor you prefer, it’s always preferred to gift them, eat them, and share them with friends and family.
85°C Bakery Cafe
The bakery has Cantonese and Taiwanese-style mooncakes that can be purchased individually or in gift boxes. The Cantonese mooncake flavors include popular almond lotus and red bean yolk. Taiwanese offerings are the sweet and salty dong po, taro mochi, and red bean with yolk. Multiple locations.
99 Ranch Market
The grocery chain sells dozens of mooncake varieties from China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, with brands like Rong Hua and I-Mei. Flavors range from salted egg or mixed nuts to red bean paste or lotus seed. There are even custard and taro-filled mooncakes for those looking to venture and try something a little different. Multiple locations.
H Mart
The Korean grocer has stacks of mooncakes on sale at each of its stores. Flavors lean traditional with lotus seed and red bean fillings. 2625 Old Denton Rd., Ste. 200, Carrollton.; 3320 K Ave., Plano.
Hoja Bubble Tea and Asian Street Food
The Taiwanese street food restaurant in Plano is making a limited number of mooncakes for the festival this year. The fillings include mung bean, assorted nuts, and mochi mooncakes. One mooncake, filled with an egg yolk, is shaped like a tiny puppy and sells for $7.50 apiece. 812 W. Spring Creek Pkwy., Ste. 208, Plano.
Jeng Chi
Jeng Chi has been making mooncakes since 1949 with traditional flavors like date, red bean, and lotus seed. They’ve become such a mainstay in D-FW’s dining scene that they now have a whole website dedicates to their mooncakes, which are now available for shipping. (P.S. The mooncakes come packaged in beautifully ornate gift boxes, so they make excellent gifts.) Available through Sept. 29. 400 N. Greenville Ave., Ste. 11, Richardson.
zTAO Marketplace
The Chinese grocery store sells packages of mooncakes of all varieties, including durian, pineapple, taro, and purple sweet potato. 2049 Coit Rd. Ste. 300, Plano.
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