No matter how far from fresh mooncake — or home — you might be, here’s where you can order the pastries online and get them shipped right to your door.
Like all of our pastries, these are made to order. Making the filling is a seven-step process, from rinsing and soaking the mung beans to boiling and sifting them. The dough is hand-layered like a croissant and wrapped one at a time. Its unfussy look understates the effort required – until you take your first bite.
When it comes to mooncakes, Sheng Kee is a classic. There are dozens of styles and fillings to pick from, which all arrive in beautifully wrapped boxes perfect for gifting—to others or to yourself. If mooncakes aren’t your first choice and you’re not a traditionalist, Sheng Kee also offers pineapple cakes, mixed nut candies, and individually wrapped melon cakes.
If there’s one bakery associated with mooncake season, it’s undoubtedly Kee-Wah Bakery. This Hong Kong bakery has been around since 1938 and churns out so many different designs of mooncakes with fillings galore. Whether you want lotus seed paste, red bean, or even chocolate, it’s likely Kee-Wah has it. You can order through the website, as well as on GoldBelly, or visit a location in California.
Each fall, customers eagerly await Lady M’s mooncake collection, which always arrives in a showstopping box with unique flavors and fillings. This year, the box is shaped like a lantern with a golden rabbit adornment on top and cut paper rabbit decor on the sides. In true Lady M fashion, the lantern lights up in astonishing, color-shifting shades of purple and yellow. Inside the lantern are six mooncakes made in partnership with Kee Wah Bakery in the flavors caramel coffee, earl grey, and purple yam. Although the box is already sold out online (you have to buy them as soon as they release, almost like a sneaker drop), you can try your hand at picking one up at locations in Chicago, Boston, DC, New York, and California. If they’re still not available, the new calamansi jasmine cake, or returning purple yam crepe cake, will be just as welcome to any Mid-Autumn Festival gathering.
Mid-Autumn Festival is a celebration of the harvest time, where it is believed that the full moon brings luck to provide bountiful yields of fall produce. It is celebrated throughout East and Southeast Asia and culminates in family gatherings, moon-viewing parties, and of course, food—with the namesake mooncake being one of the most popular dishes to eat. Whatever you’re searching for, here’s where to buy some mooncakes before Mid-Autumn Festival begins on September 10.
This Taiwanese bakery took America by storm when it first arrived in 2008 thanks to its fresh bread, sea salt-topped coffee, and flaky pastries. During Mid-Autumn festival, the chain also serves mooncakes and gift boxes. Although they’re currently sold out of the mooncake gift boxes online, you can try your hand visiting one of the dozens of locations in California, Texas, and Washington.
Mooncake 101 (月餅) Tasting & Buying Guide
FAQ
Are moon cakes legal in the US?
Are mooncakes sold year round?
Can mooncakes be shipped?
Are mooncakes an acquired taste?
Where can I buy mooncakes online?
You can buy mooncakes online with ease, directly from the source or from Amazon, where you’ll find a range of celebratory gift sets suited to a range of flavor preferences and price points. For the traditionalists and modernists alike, here’s a roundup of the best mooncakes you can buy online ahead of this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival.
Can You bake or buy mooncakes?
You can bake or buy your mooncakes — just be sure to try them! At last, fall is here! I don’t want to rush my favorite season, but September 29 marks the beginning of Mid-Autumn Festival, also referred to as the Mooncake Festival. The festivities last for a week and include lantern lighting, family gatherings, and, of course, mooncakes.
Where can I buy a nut mooncake?
Traditionalists can opt for the lotus seed, red bean, and mixed nut mooncake gift sets (with optional salted egg yolk inside, of course) at Fay Da Bakery in NYC. But if you want to add some color to your life, go for the rainbow-hued Lava Collection, which boasts fillings of gooey custard, orange, matcha, and durian.
Where to buy mooncake in Hong Kong?
While some swear by mooncakes from high-quality Hong Kong institutions like the Peninsula Hotel, Maxim’s and Wing Wah, expertly navigating all the imports is a minefield. You’ll avoid problems with mislabeling, freshness, preservatives and worse by buying from a bakery in your local Chinatown here in the United States.