My one obsession at this time of the year, during mid-autumn: traditional hand-made mooncakes [photos here]. These artisanal treats are so hard to find these days, especially after my previous traditional favourite 大中国饼家 stopped making them by hand and went to over to the dark side of industrialization, making dry, soulless, factory things that they think their old time customers won’t be able to tell. Nope.  

So you can imagine my elation to find 大同餅家 Tai Thong Cake Shop which still follows its artisanal heritage and hand-craft these heavenly baked treats painstakingly and doggedly, tucked away on a quiet street in Chinatown.

The outer soft biscuit-like shell is still shiny from egg wash, and the imperfect imprints give away the decades-old, worn-out wooden molds that they used to make the mooncakes by hand. The aromatic baked taste of the crust is the first signal of heaven on first bite. The sweetness of the lotus paste balances well with the salty, sandy texture of the still-moist egg yolk - a sign of freshness! Sometimes, you get a surprise crunch from the lotus seeds… and pine nuts? An innovative addition for sure!

Every year I go on a hunt for these lovelies. Next year, I’m keen to check out the Hainanese, Hokkien and Teochew ones that I had read about. Sadly, more and more artisanal shops like Tai Thong are being rebranded and revamped into commercial, industrialized entities without its heritage soul. Scrappy is good. Old is fine. Please keep them that way. I’ll be happy to pay more for it.