Most Popular Mooncakes in Hong Kong (Healthy & Unhealthy)

Mid-Autumn Festival is a wonderful time to celebrate with family and friends. This festival is well known for its legends and stories of ancient times, stunning and brightly lit lanterns, the admiration of the full moon and of course, its famous mooncakes.

Mooncakes are the celebratory festive food consumed during this unique festival, and family and friends exchange boxes of this delicious gourmet during this time. But, our health-conscious society does beg the question: are mooncakes unhealthy? To answer this question, we need to look into what mooncakes are actually made of and the nutritional facts surrounding these traditional treats.

Popular Mooncakes in Hong Kong

More and more different kinds of mooncakes are being introduced into the market over the years due to popular request and demands for variety.

• Traditional mooncakes: These include the lotus seed paste mooncakes with a salted egg-yolk within or the sweet red bean paste mooncakes that leave a sweet-scented lingering taste in your mouth. Another type of traditional mooncake is the five kernel and roast pork flavoured mooncake.
• Snow skin mooncakes: These are non-baked mooncakes which should be kept chilled in the freezer. The outer skin is made up of a layer of frozen glutinous rice and the fillings are often different flavoured pastes, such as mango or matcha.
• Ice-cream mooncake: This new style of mooncake is extremely refreshing and very popular among young people. The outer crust is usually made from chocolate and the filling comprises of an ice-cream of your choice.

Mooncake Facts

According to Hong Kong authorities, the consumption of mooncakes can bring about health issues due to their high calorie content, excessive amount of fat, sugar, sodium and even cancer-causing chemicals in these festive treats.

Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations entail the purchase of different types of mooncakes in Hong Kong, making the overconsumption of calories unavoidable. However, the issues can be solved by choosing a healthier mooncake this year: vegan mooncakes. Many different establishments have been producing these special mooncakes so that customers can enjoy the mid-autumn festivities without worrying about the implications on their health.

Vegan Mooncakes

Choose to eat green this year with some vegan mooncakes! Here are a few different options available in Hong Kong:

• Foodcraft Raw Vegan Mooncakes. With four flavours to choose from (mango skin with matcha filling, matcha skin with strawberry filling, raw cacao skin with mango filling, and strawberry skin with cacao filling) these mooncakes offer a healthy alternative to snow skin mooncakes. Price: HK$198 for a box of four
• Sourdough Diary Vegan Mooncakes. Created by health blogger vANGIEtarian using natural and healthy ingredients, these mooncakes are raw, gluten-free and contains no refined sugar. Four flavours are available: berry, cacao, matcha and vanilla. Price: HK$208 for a box of four
• Green Common Hand-crafted Vegan Blueberry Mixed Nuts Mini Mooncakes. Looking for smaller servings? These mini mooncakes are made with mixed nuts and blueberries. They are completely dairy and egg free. Price: You can purchase a box of four for HK$188 for box of four or a box of six for HK$268

Other Options

The maintenance of a healthy lifestyle is important and sometimes it is hard to do during gatherings and important festivals such as Mid-Autumn Festival.

If that is the case, we would highly recommend getting an irresistibly tasty and healthy fruit gift such as Gift Hamper Hong Kong’s fruit hampers. Deliciously refreshing and packed with vitamins, these are the perfect alternatives to treats and are a great addition to the table, especially after a fantastic feast.