The time to relish in the delicacies of Mid-Autumn Festival—and partake in the festivities and feasts that come with it—is upon us. A key part of the occasion’s canon, the role of the once-humble mooncake cannot be overstated, and we turn to an icon, The Peninsula Hong Kong, to embrace the Mid-Autumn Festival tradition. 

Spring Moon, The Peninsula Hong Kong’s very own Cantonese restaurant, is a Michelin-starred jewel where award-winning chefs have created a fine balance between tradition and novelty for nearly four decades. Back in 1986, the culinary team of Spring Moon manifested what eventually became a local culinary phenomenon: the mini egg custard mooncake. The original recipe may have a Western-inspired filling, but the time-honoured cooking traditions are the same, making it a firm favourite. The treat is included in Spring Moon’s Mid-Autumn Festival offerings every year, whilst a limited-edition sesame paste mochi mooncake is also up for grabs this season. This mooncake flavour was created by Chinese cuisine executive chef, Lam Yuk Ming, as an homage to the steamed sesame and lotus seed paste buns that he enjoyed in his childhood,  

Spring Moon is also offering the Mid-Autumn Festival Premium Gourmet Hamper, which is filled with lavish treats including a box of mini egg custard mooncakes, 18-head fish maw, Hokkaido conpoy, shiitake mushrooms, 30-head Middle Eastern dried abalone, caramelised sesame walnuts, Yunnan aged pu’er, and the restaurant’s iconic XO chilli sauce. 

To top it all off, as we endure a sizzling season, chef Lam and his culinary team have attuned the à la carte and tasting menus to involve even more elements of traditional Chinese cooking techniques and ingredients, using zucchini, pumpkin, cabbage, cucumber, and celery, adding nutritional value and a soothing effect as temperature hover in the higher degrees. New dishes include the light and healthy pan-fried cod fish with quinoa, preserved vegetables. Moreover, the cod fish dumpling with minced shrimps and bamboo shoots in Sichuan spicy-sour sauce is simply delicious, and the steamed zucchini flower stuffed with bird’s nest, fox nuts, and beans in pumpkin sauce is pure culinary art.

From the chef’s tasting menu, the crispy fish maw and eggplant with caviar is indulgent; the wok-fried Tachiuo fish with Brussels sprouts, bell peppers, and the famed signature XO chilli sauce; and the Inaniwa udon with Boston lobster, cabbage, and black mushrooms are all new additions for elevated and exquisite dining. For exalting dim sum dining, a novel addition includes the steamed blue lobster dumpling with shrimp, pork, egg white, water chestnut, Chinese celery, and spinach sauce. The haute cuisine dumpling is a spectacular, innovative twist on the classic bite, proving once again Spring Moon’s well-deserved Michelin star for eight consecutive years.

Mid-Autumn Festival mooncakes and the Premium Gourmet Hamper from Spring Moon are available for purchase online at The Peninsula Hong Kong e-shop.

All images courtesy of The Peninsula Hong Kong.