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Ever seen a mooncake noob attempt to make a snowskin mooncake? Here you go:

That was how I made my not-so-nice mini snowskin mooncake with passion fruit lotus paste and I got to take it home for rif to try. He didn’t believe I made the mooncake. Ok fine, I didn’t make the dough or filling, but I assembled it. Good enough la.

Among the mooncakes we sampled, my favourites were the passion fruit lotus paste, pandan lotus paste, durian lotus paste and the traditional white lotus paste with double yolk. The snowskin was as delicate as it could be, and evenly spread around the lotus paste. No colouring is added to the skin; instead, charcoal powder, yam, pandan, rose and green tea is used to give flavour and colour.

I also noted how the mooncakes weren’t overly sweet unlike many commercialized versions you get outside. That said, I wished they had included the pandan lotus paste in the baked variety – that’s a classic favourite of mine.

If you’re keen on buying the mooncakes, here’s the order form:

We were also treated to a sumptuous 8-course dinner which included a large platter of char siew specially prepared by Chef Kong. The deep fried golden mushroom and soft shell crab were light and moreish appetizers. I preferred the latter, for the combination of tenderness and crunch makes it a delight to eat.

The double boiled chicken soup with clam and white cabbage tasted like the soup loving mothers would make for the family. Light yet concentrated from the essence of the chicken, the cabbage imparted a mild sweetness to the broth.

The highlight of our dinner was the barbecued roasted pork with honey (char siew), boasting a deliciously unctuous with caramelized, charred edges. Each slice had a good ratio of fat and meat, with a sticky-sweet flavour from the marinade.

I wasn’t a fan of the braised bamboo fish head in clay pot – there were too many bones which I found difficult to remove. In the end, I gave up after tackling half the portion. Bony challenges aside, the peppery sweet gravy was quite tasty.

The homemade bean curd with angled luffa gourd and scallop was another favourite of mine as flavours were uncomplicated and the bean curd was smooth, soft and egg-y. Short lengths of green Australian asparagus were beautifully tender and crisp, and lightly tossed with garlic and XO sauce.

The braised local loh mee came as a surprise, for I had expected the chef to serve fried rice or fried noodles. This was adequately tasty, especially with generous drizzles of black vinegar. We finished with a bowl of sea coconut with red dates and white fungus – a light end to dinner.

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Lai Ching Yuen
1st Floor,
Grand Millennium Kuala Lumpur
160 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2117 4180
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: facebook.com/laichingyuen, facebook.com/grandmillenniumkl
Business hours: 12noon to 2:30pm, 6:30pm to 10:30pm