Want to know the difference between traditional mooncakes and non-traditional mooncakes? Then head on over to any branch of Vikings Luxury Buffet Restaurant in every weekend this September 2014. Mission is to determine which among their mooncake variants appeal to your taste buds most. Allow me in this post to take you through another foodie adventure, in the light of the Chinese Mid-autum Festival season. δΈη§θεΏ«δΉοΌ
Short background about mooncake: The mooncake is the special food of Mid-autumn Festival. It’s on this day/season when people sacrifice mooncakes to the moon as an offering and eat them for celebration. Mooncakes come in various flavors. They are round, symbolizing unison and reunion of families and evoking longing for distant relatives and friends. Nowadays, people present mooncakes to wish a long and happy life.
Vikings SM Megamall Mooncake Festival Feature
Trying out the traditional and non-traditional mooncakes is an absolute must when you visit the Philippines’ largest buffet restaurant. Good lord, the mooncakes are delicious! My only warning is that they’re not the most nutritious and you might get hooked and let things get out of control. But whatever. I know you can handle it. π
We started our “afternoon tea meal” with tea and hot dishes. Vikings now includes additional four Twinings tea flavors, namely: Pure Green Tea, Jasmin Green Tea, Earl Grey and Japanese Sencha. Drinking tea is especially good stimulate the digestion and uplift the spirit, so drink up!
The tea was quickly followed with: the Minched Goat Cheese Mooncake with Mango Coulis and the Beef Bourguignon Mooncake with Choron Sauce. I liked that the sauces well complemented the taste of the mooncakes. The tempting mango coulis was composed with earthy spices together with ripe mango. The choron [show-RAWHN] sauce is a hollandaise or bΓ©arnaise sauce that has been tinted pink with tomato purΓ©e. The mooncakes were tender with a little chew. Eat them as quick as you can; a little heat takes them to great heights.
Next came the Asado Mooncake and Crusty Shrimp Cheese Mooncake, which were unbeatable. Gone are the days really when all we can associate with mooncake filling are mongo, red bean paste, lotus seed paste and egg yolk. I commend Vikings chefs’ innovation and creativity when coming up with different exciting flavors like these two. The asado mooncake was full of meaty chunks of asado, and the shrimp cheese mooncake tasted exactly like shrimp with cheese. Make sure you’re prepared for what’s to come. These almost didn’t taste like mooncakes. π
With creamy texture, the Salted Lotus Mooncake tasted the closest to traditional mooncakes. It was dense and sweetβsimilar to red bean paste, but not too beany. Its freshness made for an easy win! It’s interesting to learn that they were not made by a special mooncake molder but manually by hand. π
Finally, it’s time for some real talk. After trying all the mooncakes for the main course, we pleasantly were served with desserts which were also mooncakes! They’re pretty unique and addicting. The Choco Trifle Mooncake was my dream moooncake. It was impressively filled with real rich chocolate that wowed us all. This sweet filling is a rare sight and worth trying out.
Also hewing closer to dessert than an afternoon snack, the Wild Berry Cheese Mooncake was good although some of us commented that the outer layer had a hint of artificial flavoring. In any case, I loved them both.
If traditional mooncakes sound more favorable to you, know that Vikings also has them prepared for diners. The mellow and sweet lotus bean paste brought to mind peanut butter with less stickiness. These ones were wonderful, no less.
Wrap Up
Vikings Luxury Buffet do stand above the rest, offering in-season food offerings every time. They got the ideal mooncakes with a perfect harmony between outer casing and inner filling. Generally, the outer skin of the mooncake tasted familiar like that of the crackly shell of “hopia.” Each piece was phenomenal as I haven’t tasted anything like these mooncake variants before. These featured food of the month will no doubt get Vikings more customers coming. Eating them with chopsticks or spoon and fork was hard, so feel free to swallow these bite-size pieces with your hands instead and thank yourself afterwards. If you have any favorites, share in the comments. π
Now you don’t have to go far to find stellar variants of mooncakes. They are available at Vikings every Saturday and Sunday this September! Don’t miss. π The menu varies depending on the branches of Vikings. Each branch offers different flavors according to the in-house chefs’ creativity and taste. Sadly, the mooncakes are not sold in boxes for take-out. The whole package could have been a great gift to family and friends for Mid-autum Festival.
For rates and other information, please refer to the Vikings website.Β You may also read my published review of Vikings SM Megamall here.
wacky group pic with bloggers and marketing manager Raquel
About Rochkirstin Santos-Sioco
Health and technology freak. Food and lifestyle blogger with a large appetite for food and travel.
the mooncakes look so divine… I’m gonna check them out! π
Oh you should. π The chefs here are happy to serve hand-made delectable pastries.
Wow! I would like to taste those mooncakes. I hope Vikings will open a branch here in Cebu.
With their business running ever so successfully, I don’t see how it’s not going to be possible. Vikings already has a branch in Davao so they might also consider Cebu since it’s a large city with plenty of potential customers waiting to grab a table and taste their food. π
OMG, i think i am high from moon cakes right now! We’ve had mooncakes for weeks around our house, and even though i very rarely touch them (and only eat like a tiny cut every time) since i am not much of a sweet-kind of person i think i am ready for a full year on no-moon cakes (until the next moon cake festival, that is haha). I do like them (in small portions) and always fond of the traditional ones, the unusually-flavored ones kinda scare me! But the beef one seems interesting, maybe i should not think of it as a moon cake if i ever try one!
Mooncakes are mostly available and widespread for only once in a year. I can see that you have already reached your quota in eating them haha. Yeah, for those who are not into sweets, getting the smallest bit may suffice. The beef and asado mooncakes will suit your test best. π
All the food looks so good!! It is making me more hungry!
Hehe food pictures tend to always make one hungry. π These feature an interesting blend of mooncake variants with a certain degree of complexity. Everything ended up surprisingly harmonious.
That place looks amazing, and those moon cakes look delicious. If I’m ever in the area, I’ll have to stop in.
Sure. That sounds like a good plan. π
The mooncakes look absolutely delicious, now I need to go out and get myself some!
Yeah check them out in any weekend this September before another set of special/ limited edition items come out next month. π
Wow those looked delicious, such a variety. The dessert mooncakes look very yummy.
If you’re up for some sweet stuff, both the pink and yellow mooncakes for desserts pack a good punch!
Mmmm, so many different kinds of mooncakes! They all look so incredibly tasty too!
Yup, these are refreshing pieces from the usual lotus paste counterparts. π
I’ve never heard of mooncakes before. I love moonpies. Not sure I would enjoy the first mooncakes you shared but I would love the dessert ones.
I’m not sure I’ve tried moon pies before. A familiar name especially with the older generation is the tau sah piah as this prides itself upon handmade pastries even till today. Is this the same as the moon pie? Anyway, the yellow dessert mooncake by Vikings is really OMG-good!
I hear the term mooncake a lot lately and have no idea what it is really. I assume it’s like the Demi-Lunes they sell in stores here. I mean, I see the pictures but they’re so varied!
Mooncakes are traditionally eaten and celebrated in family gatherings during this season. No wonder that you hear about it a lot now. Trying different flavors of mooncakes is an exciting affair.
YOUR PICTURES ARE REALLY GOOD, AND IT MAKES ME REALLY WANT A MOON PIE!
Thanks, Amanda! The non-traditional mooncakes were a pleasant surprise for me. You should try them, too. π
Oh wow, all those mooncakes look amazing! I’ve never tried one before, but now I totally need one, now!
The first time I tried to taste non-traditional / modern / flavored mooncakes was two years back, and that was when I was still living in Singapore. Glorious mooncakes come in many colors and flavors and they all are worth to try. These ones remind me of that experience. Go ahead and dine in at Vikings this weekend to quench your crave for it. π
Everything that you featured looks so scrumptious!
Yes, everything here was delicious. The filling in the mooncakes well balanced the layer of soft skin without leaving a sticky touch.
These I would have loved to be at indeed. the mooncakes all looks so good. Yummy!! Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome, Rebecca, and I hope you can go to Vikings to also taste these goodies! I loved how the combination of textures in each piece complemented the smooth paste.
Wow, they have a lot of mooncake alternative in vikings. I’m sure you had a blast.
Yeah, I was so full that it wasn’t easy to stand up straight. π
I didn’t know it was possible to make you full, you just seem to be in all the food places and still look so slim and sexy. It’s nice that vikings adjust their menu on the occasion.
Haha yes of course lah. π
I love how Vikings is making themselves relevant to their Chinese customers
Right. I always have high expectations on Vikings’ offerings, and these mooncakes certainly match up. Serving them with tea is a fond reminder of how mooncakes are enjoyed with this drink traditionally.
the asado mooncake would be an easy favorite for me! too bad they’re only serving them this month. π i hope the dessert mooncakes become a regular at least! >XD
Nice suggestion. I also hope the same, so Vikings will have plus points for having them from the day the dessert mooncakes become a regular. π
I’ll take about 10 of everything please! Vikings really looks like a neat place & I have to say that I love the name.
You can take as much as you want and as plenty as you can. Vikings is a buffet restaurant after all. π
I’ve heard of mooncakes, but have never seen or tasted one. I think it’d be fun to test a variety of them like this!
Yes! Do yourself a great favor and manage to secure a comfortable table for your family this weekend at a cozy corner in any Vikings branch to taste these mooncake variants. π
What a gorgeous display of food on the buffet. I am now starving for some of it!! Thanks for sharing, it all looks fantastic.
Don’t forget that it’s not only mooncakes that you can eat at Vikings. There are more dishes to look forward to in your visit so you can be sure that a trip will be worth your time and money. π
Mooncakes are definitely looking yummy. So many different kinds. Such wonderful pics. I almost can smell them. ~hehe~
These mooncakes by Vikings are yet another unique offering, an unforgettable one. π
Well..thanks!! Now i’m going to have to go out in search of mooncakes. Those look absolutely delectable! I want to try them…think you can send me some?? π Thanks for sharing!
Unfortunately, they are not for taking out / to-go. π But there’s news that the new Vikings branch in SM Aura might offer selling of goodies to customers. We gotta watch out for updates!
I think, asado mooncake’s good and the similarity to hopia fillings; mongo, camote, ube, and the like. Well, mooncakes should be in different tastes because life has different challenges to overcome.
Waah your comment is so deep! π Didn’t think you’ll relate the tastes to life.
Wow! Seems like you had a lot of fun. I love mooncakes by the way!
The two dessert mooncakes were especially sinfully palatable. You should try those. π
I like mooncakes. I specially like lotus seed type. The chocolate mooncake you described so divinely, it is tempting to just go to try it while its there.
Yeah, it’s hard to miss. π That chocolate mooncake was my favorite among all.
I am really curious if what is the taste of mooncake..bec Ive never tried one n my whole life. hahaha! I didn’t know they can be like hopia where we can put fillings in it.
You should try one, Jam! It’s so good that even when it’s not mooncake season, you would want to buy one from maybe Ongpin. π
OMG everything looked amazing. This looks like a truly awesome event that you were at. I have never had a mooncake.
Ohh they look and taste great. I’m a fan of mooncake, both traditional and non-traditional. Go ahead and book a reservation at Vikings one time to know which ones will make the cut for your taste buds. π
I’ve never tried mooncakes before so thanks for enlightening me on the different ways it can be prepared. The shrimp and cheese versions sounds like one that I would thoroughly enjoy! π
The shrimp with cheese mooncake actually tasted quite weird for a mooncake. It’s a good try nevertheless. π
I haven’t really tried going in MEGAMALL Branch but Vikings is a nice place – always fulfilling to eat there.
The ambiance in this place ranks first among all the Vikings branches I’ve been to. Visit it soon and enjoy the art all over as much as the food. π
They served really unique flavored mooncakes at Vikings!
Yes! Aww I missed you in the event, Peachy. π
Phew!! I have never had mooncakes, they look so tempting :/
I need them all
You should taste everything. π They’ll be worth your trip here.