A MOONCAKE workshop and tasting session? It sounded too good to be true, especially after hearing that it would be hosted by the Lai Ching Yuen restaurant in the Grand Millennium Hotel, Kuala Lumpur.
But it turned out to be a most delightful session indeed, with chef Thye Yoon Kong of the Grand Millennium Hotel personally guiding each and everyone of the guests on how to make a snowskin mooncake with passion fruit lotus paste.The ingredients used include charcoal powder, rice flour and mineral water.
When asked why he used mineral water instead of boiled water, Thye said either one was fine, but it is important to wait for the boiled water to cool down to room temperature before using it.
“Mineral water is used instead of tap water because we want to consume the mooncake directly, therefore tap water is out of the equation,” he further explained.
The tasting session was a feast for the eyes too as the many colours caught everyone’s attention.
Thye served the guests with all the flavours available on the mooncake menu.
The traditional varieties available include the white lotus paste mooncake, assorted nuts mooncake, white lotus paste mooncake with single yolk or double yolk.
“The traditional mooncakes are still our bestsellers,” the chef said, “as people still like to be conventional when it comes to the mid-autumn celebration.”
For snowskin-mooncake lovers, you can choose from a range of eight flavours: White lotus, red bean, durian, pandan, green tea, and new to the family are the passion fruit, red dates and spirulina.
Made fresh daily, customers can be assured that no preservatives or food colourings are added to the mooncakes.
The duriansnowskinmooncake issmooth in textureand guarantees tosatisfy durianlovers.The traditional baked mooncakes can last up to two to three months if unopened and kept in a cool, dry area, while the snowskin mooncakes can be refrigerated for up to a week.
Worth mentioning is the durian mooncake, for which Thye tweaked the recipe this year to better cater to the wants of customers.
Guaranteed to satisfy durian lovers and draw new fans, the durian mooncake features a mixture of D24 durian and custard, as well as the usual aroma of the king of fruits.
The passion fruit mooncake was a hit as well, partly because the guests each made one for themselves during the workshop session.
This mooncake filling contains less sugar, and the passion fruit flavour subtly leaves a lasting impression in the mouth.
The Fortune Mooncake Gift Box comes with a choice of four items which customers can select from the traditional mooncakes menu, at a price of RM112.
The Full Mooncake Gift Box contains a choice of eight items from the mini snowskin mooncakes menu, priced at RM108. For further enquiries, email to LCY@grandmillenniumkl.com or call 03-2117 4180. <p\>
