2011 Mooncakes @ Lai Po Heen, Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur

After spending the afternoon in Aquaria KLCC with Baby C, we popped into Lai Po Heen in Mandarin Oriental Kuala Lumpur to get some mooncakes. Ever since I saw Boolicious's tweet about salted caramel mooncakes from MO, I have been wanting to get my hands on them since I love all things salted caramel. Lai Po Heen have displayed some of their mooncakes at the entrance of the restaurant, with two samples of baked mooncakes for their customers / guests to try. Service was a little slow (it was the end of their lunch service), and they also got my orders mixed up but luckily I checked before we left the restaurant.

Classic decor at Lai Po Heen

Mooncake tasting

There are a total of 16 flavours available here, ranging from large, medium and mini sized mooncakes. I purchased 3 mini snow skin mooncakes, 1 medium mooncake and 1 large mooncake. Since this is our first time buying Mandarin Oriental mooncakes, I was slightly taken aback when I saw how small the mini mooncakes were. I measured it, and they were only 4cm in diameter hence making this the smallest mooncake I've come across this year.

Tastewise, both the Mini Snow Skin with Green Tea and Almonds and Mini Snow Skin with Honeydew Flavoured Lotus Paste were pretty good. I did not mention to my mum what flavours they were, but she managed to suss it out after taking a bite since the flavours were quite evident. The filling was also very smooth. Just wish they made them a little bigger.

Mini Snow Skin with Green Tea and Almonds (RM12+)

Mini Snow Skin with Honeydew Flavoured Lotus Paste (RM12+)

The Mini Snow Skin Mooncake with Durian Paste (RM13+) was too mushy though it tasted quite nice. I had trouble getting it out the box and even more while trying to cut it. I know durian mooncakes are usually softer, but this was way too soft.

We only managed to get a small piece each since they were so small

So far this year most of the egg yolks I've eaten out of the baked mooncakes have been a little dry. The one from MO's baked mooncake with lotus paste and twin egg yolks (RM24.50+) fared a little better. The lotus paste though is very fragrant and smooth, so thumbs up. We also managed to sample the Baked Mooncake with White Lotus Paste (RM23.50+) and Baked Mooncake with Diced Chicken Ham and Almond (RM24.50+) at the restaurant and we liked them both.

And finally, the Dark Chocolate Mooncake with Salted Caramel Ganache (RM18+). I'm not sure why this is called a mooncake and also why it is categorised as a medium mooncake. I measured it and it's exactly the same size as the mini mooncake (4cm). The only "mooncake" thing about this is the shape. It is more of a chocolate than anything else... neither baked nor snow skin, but coated with dark chocolate. The girl from Lai Po Heen did not tell us how to store this mooncake, hence we refridgerated it.. however I think you're supposed to leave it out for a bit before eating it so that the ganache filling will be soft when you consume it. Anyway, it was a good chocolate but the salted caramel ganache would be nicer if the salt was more evident.

Chocolate or mooncake?

Lai Po Heen's mooncakes are available at The Mandarin Cake Shop, Lai Po Heen and 1Utama Shopping Centre. From 1 August - 12 September 2011.

Full set of photos can be viewed here.

Location: Lai Po Heen, Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Kuala Lumpur City Centre, 50088 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel: 03-2179 8885