Purple Cane, 2015 Mooncakes: Review

Balancing classic tradition with contemporary trendiness, Purple Cane’s tea mooncakes are uniquely beautiful creations that capture the mid-autumn season’s spirit, harmoniously blending familiar mooncake flavours with subtle notes of Chinese tea.

An Alluring Variety

An alluring variety, with tea laced in the crust or the paste. The most distinctive mooncakes have a green tea crust, with red bean paste (RM7.60), dates paste (RM9.30), black sesame lotus (RM10.20), white lotus (RM10.20), assorted nuts (RM10.80) & salted egg yolk custard with pandan lotus (RM10.80). There’s also a purple potato crust with white tea lotus paste (RM10.20) & Cantonese crusts with black tea red bean paste (RM7.60), green tea lotus paste (RM9.30), puer tea lotus (RM9.30), jasmine tea lotus (RM9.60), rose tea bamboo charcoal lotus (RM10.20) & puer tea, dang gui & Chinese wolfberry nuts (RM11.50). Note that all prices are subject to 6 percent GST.

Goldfish Biscuits

There are also cute Goldfish Biscuits available in three choices – puer tea, green tea & bamboo charcoal. All these mooncakes are halal, & almost every one of them is vegetarian-friendly, abiding by an ethos of light & wholesome eating, featuring the natural benefits of tea, relatively low sugar & no preservatives, to cultivate a sense of indulging with solely pleasure, no guilt.

Our personal favourites include the green tea crust with either dates paste or pandan lotus paste & salted egg yolk custard, as well as the Cantonese crust with rose tea bamboo charcoal lotus paste – the nuances are lovely, with undercurrents of delicate complexities that buoy both the flavours & fragrance. We gobbled a lot in one sitting but still felt relatively refreshed by the end.

The colourful packaging & boxes are also cool, with vibrant, evocative illustrations. These mooncakes are now available at Purple Cane restaurants & stores, with wide-ranging locations including Shaw Parade, Mid Valley Gardens, Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall & Paradigm Mall. You can also buy them online at www.purplecane.my – for Eat Drink KL readers, use the eShop voucher code eatdrinkkl to get a discount of RM5 off each mooncake order (valid for the first 20 orders, until Oct. 31).

If you’re visiting to purchase mooncakes, make it a full meal with Purple Cane’s hearty array of tea-tinged recipes. We had a terrific lunch: Prawns with mashed salted egg yolks, oats & Ding Ding Oolong tea (RM39), chicken bak kut teh with Dong Ding Oolong (RM36), mixed vegetable curry hot pot with lychee black tea (RM23), stir-fried abalone mushrooms with dried chillies & lychee black tea (RM19), pan-fried egg with anchovies & Tie Guan Yin (RM13), & the most satisfyingly thick & flavoursome Lei Cha tea soup we’ve had in recent memory (RM7.90). Many thanks to Purple Cane for hosting us.

Checking out Purple Cane in Shaw Parade? Take a peek at their store upstairs, where the invigorating aroma of tea is unmistakably in the air. A calm, soothing space, where tea tasting & classes are held to complement the store’s vast products.