On September 25, 2026, the Mid-Autumn Festival, the time when the moon reaches its roundest state, is a reminder to slow down, value family, find joy in shared moments, and well, enjoy mooncake.
The dense pastry holds cultural symbolism and is meant to be sliced into thin wedges and be shared among family or loved ones. But as much as it holds deep history, the sweet cake typically made of lotus seed paste, red bean, or salted egg yolk, has enjoyed creative iterations as of late, thanks to global trends and modern bakeries.
The Mooncake Festival may be a time-honored tradition but as many know, culture continues to exist not by standing still but by evolving. And so we bring you a list that gives you brand-new ways to savor the exact same timeless feeling.
1. Black Sesame with XO Dried Conpoy Mooncake from The Manila Hotel
The Manila Hotel’s signature mooncakes, available at Red Jade and Delicatessen come in an elegant gift box inspired by the architecture of the Grand Dame, and it contains four pieces—Single Yolk Red Bean, Single Yolk Pure White Lotus, Milk Golden Sand House, and the most interesting of the lot, the Black Sesame with XO Dried Conpoy.
2. Baked Jackfruit Paste with Mixed Nuts from The Conrad Manila
Prepared by Chine Blue by Jereme Leung, the hotel’s award-winning Chinese restaurant, the mooncakes come in two curated gift set selections, both of which can carry any or all of their flavors—classic favorites like White Lotus, XO Paste, and Red Bean Paste, or this artisanal option, local jackfruit filling with a crunchy medley of mixed nuts. They also have baked coconut custard.
3. Coffee Snow Skin Mooncake from Grand Hyatt Manila
Unlike traditional mooncakes, which are covered in a golden-brown baked wheat crust, snow skin mooncakes are packaged in a delicate wrap made of cooked glutinous rice flour. Grand Hyatt has a curated box where you can mix and match the Coffee flavor with other local, contemporary snow skin variations like Pandan & Coconut, Ube, and Mango.
4. Tea-Flavored Mooncake from The Peninsula Manila
The Peninsula Manila’s mooncakes are flown in from Hong Kong and sold exclusively in limited quantities through their Boutique. What’s particularly interesting and exciting is that their mooncakes this year still have the velvety egg custard center but this time around, is infused with premium tea: Tie Guan Yin, Jasmine, Earl Grey.
5. Purple Ube Mooncake from Solaire
From Solaire’s six mooncake offerings, each handcrafted by the master chefs at their Chinese restaurant Red Lantern, there is one that easily stands out for honoring Filipino heritage—the Ube Mooncake. The trending purple yam paste is cast in an ensemble of other delightful fillings, namely, mixed nuts with abalone, red wine with egg yolk, egg custard, Suzhou black sesame, and traditional red bean.
6. Matcha Mooncake from Nathaniel Uy’s The Hungry Chef
When it comes to trendy flavors, Nathaniel Uy has it down pat. This year, he collaborates with Cacao de Davao, a proudly homegrown chocolate brand from Davao City established in 2013, to come up with two particular flavors: chocolate pistachio and tiramisu. But as this year is turning out to be green, his matcha mooncake might easily edge the two out of the race.
7. Spicy Beef Mooncake from Manila Marriott Hotel
Manila Marriott Hotel breaks the sweet mooncake mold by a headline-grabbing creation from Man Ho: the Spicy Beef Mooncake. Swapping traditional lotus paste for a rich, slow-braised beef center with a kick, this savory, Western-inflected variation comes packaged alongside crowd-pleasers like Woodland Mixed Nuts, Imperial White Lotus, and Ruby Red Lotus.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Mid-Autumn Festival is a celebration of the autumn harvest in Chinese culture. It’s all about giving thanks, reuniting with family, honoring legends and traditions like admiring the moon and eating mooncakes.
A mooncake is a traditional Chinese pastry that has an intricate design and is either rounded or square-shaped. Though they can come in many flavors, the usual flavors of mooncake include lotus seed paste, red bean, and salted egg yolk.
Eating mooncakes is one of the key traditions of the Mid-Autumn Festival. Eating them symbolizes reuniting with your loved ones, honoring that autumn’s harvest, and celebrating the moon.
Solaire Radiance Gold Box’s offers the Purple Ube Mooncake. The Grand Hyatt Manila’s Mid-Autumn Collection also has both Ube and Pandan mooncakes. Meanwhile, The Conrad Manila has a mooncake filled with a baked jackfruit paste and mixed nuts from their China Blue by Jeremy Leung collection.
More unique takes on the mooncake include black sesame with XO dried conpoy mooncake from The Manila Hotel, tea-flavored mooncakes from The Peninsula Manila, matcha mooncake from Nathaniel Uy’s The Hungry Chef, and spicy beef mooncake from Manila Marriott Hotel.
