KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 17 — In Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park, Jeff Goldblum's character — Ian Malcolm — admonishes the park's owner John Hammond with one of the most famous lines in the franchise.
It goes, “Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should.”
That sentiment perfectly describes much of the “innovation” during the Mid-Autumn Festival when it comes to mooncakes.
However, many are delicious and will appeal to those who don't even like mooncakes or those who are just keen to try new offerings.
Here are some of the quirkiest mooncake fillings — discontinued and existing — :
1. Alcoholic Ice Cream
Fancy something boozy and cold as a mooncake? Look no further than Petaling Jaya-based Cake Tella.
Owner Eddie Tan told Malay Mail the inspiration behind Cake Tella's harmonious fusion of old and new alcoholic ice cream snow skin mooncakes came to him because he felt traditional mooncakes were “boring” and “overly sweet” to his palate.
“Every year after the mooncake festival, my parents and I were forced to eat (them) before they go stale.
“So I figured ice cream would be better because no one can resist ice cream and it is naturally frozen and preserved well,” he said in an email interview.
Unlike traditional mooncakes which are served at room temperature, snow skin mooncakes — which originated from Hong Kong — are typically eaten cold.
This year, Cake Tella's mooncake selection includes Guinness Draught Gula Melaka, Roku Gin Sakura Raspberry, Baileys Valrhona Almond, Martell Noblige Orange, Martell VSOP Coffee Hazelnut and the alcohol-free Milo Nugget.
“To resemble the mooncake's core or egg, we used jelly or chocolate truffles. Same symbol but more modern twist that's familiar to others too.
“The reason for alcohol is to give it more aroma,” Tan said, adding that the branded liquors used were chosen specifically for their strong aroma.
2. Kek Lapis
The kek lapis mooncake by Bake By La Petite can be described as traditional meets modernity.
Founder Stephanie Chan said she was initially inspired by her baking guru who sold mooncake variations in the form of kek lapis fillings in Vietnam several years ago.
“For us Malaysians, kek lapis is known for being a very traditional delicacy enjoyed by different races such as the steamed layer cake to (conventional) baked layer cakes and (the Sarawak layer cake) from East Malaysia.
“And that gave me the idea that it is possible to combine both traditional and modern to produce something that is not just good in taste but in its outlook as well,” she told Malay Mail.
Compared to traditional lotus paste fillings, Chan said her kek lapis mooncakes are basically traditional kek lapis wrapped in mooncake skin which required a particular skill as well.
She also said the making of each is a labour intensive process which could take up to two days as every single kek lapis mooncake is handmade by herself and her team.
3. 'Sambal' shrimp
You heard it right, a sambal shrimp or a hae bee hiam (as it is known in Hokkien) mooncake.
The brainchild of 365 Patisserie, the sambal shrimp mooncake is a combination of the Chinese New Year fan-favourite snack spicy dried shrimp rolls with the regional variant of mooncakes from Shanghai, China.
“Personally I do not like sweet (fillings) so I thought about a salty flavour instead.
“We did some research and came up with our own sambal shrimp Shanghai mooncake which is made from scratch,” 365 Patisserie owner Christine told Malay Mail.
Visually different from the conventional Cantonese-style mooncakes Malaysians are accustomed to, Christine said the process was more time consuming due to the preparation of the sambal shrimp filling.
“We need to cook both the sambal (chilli paste) and dried shrimp; and what sets it apart from traditional mooncakes is their expiration date which is shorter,” she said.
4. 'Nasi Lemak'
Inspired by Malaysia's national dish, the nasi lemak mooncake was born in 2018 but it is no longer available.
The idea by HYT Food Industries and its pastry brand, Casahana, came about when they were figuring out how to add a spicy twist to the traditional Chinese pastry.
The ingredients? No prizes for guessing.
Noteworthy mentions from other parts of the world
Cilantro
In 2020, Taiwanese brand Mr Coriander collaborated with a Hong Kong-based bakery to produce the first-ever cilantro mooncake.
The crust and fillings include cilantro powder, dried and fresh cilantro mixed with flour, sugar, salt, eggs, butter, milk and cornstarch.
According to Mr Coriander's Instagram posting, no artificial colours or preservatives are used in the production of the cilantro mooncake.
The cilantro mooncake is no longer available.
Caviar
For this year, Hong Kong-based Royal Caviar Club announced a collaboration with French pastry chef Gael Majchrzak for its 2024 mooncake collection.
The Royal Caviar Club first introduced its signature caviar and truffle mooncakes back in 2020.
The collection offers four different flavoured caviar filled mooncakes that cost HK$580 (RM325) per box.
The flavours are French Dark Chocolate with Black Truffle, Hokkaido Cheese Cake, Italian Strawberry and Madagascar Vanilla.
