Our favourite mooncakes to share this Mid-Autumn Festival

Mid-Autumn Festival is a public holiday celebrated midway through the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calendar, which typically falls in September or October of the Gregorian calendar. In 2025, it falls on October 6. There are many ways to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival in Hong Kong – whether that’s watching the Tai Hang Fire Dragon Dance, admiring displays at the Mid-Autumn Lantern Carnival in Victoria Park, or simply taking in the full moon – a symbol of completeness and reunion. However, of all the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations, none can beat the most beloved activity of all: making and munching on mooncakes.

This year, get ahead of the Mid-Autumn rush with our guide to the season’s best mooncakes, all available on the Cathay Shop with up to 40% cash or 30% miles off. We’ve picked a range of flavours to suit all tastes, from premium lotus seed paste for grandpa to sweet chocolate ice cream for your young niece. Better yet? They’re exquisitely packaged – making them instant crowd-pleasers.

Dalloyau’s innovative mooncake alternative

Not a fan of mooncakes? You can still celebrate the holiday with an inspired alternative. A collaboration between Dalloyau and chef Eric Raty of the two-Michelin-starred Arbor, Da Choco offers chocolates that spotlight Hong Kong’s unique flavours, such as salted egg yolk custard and black sesame. Presented in gold packaging, the Golden Autumn Crispy Chocolate set consists of milk and dark chocolate embellished with a colourful and artistic paint splatter effect. 

Fortnum & Mason’s tea-infused mooncakes

Fortnum & Mason stays true to its roots with mooncakes featuring a British twist, perfectly paired with its signature teas in two delightful ways. First, savour a bite of the custard-filled, tea-infused mooncake in three flavours – Royal Blend, Fortmason and Rose Pouchong. Then, complete your teatime indulgence with the gift box’s mini tea caddies, available in Fortnum’s Royal Blend, Fortmason and Earl Grey.

Maxim’s snow skin mooncakes 

For a lighter, more refreshing take on decadent mooncakes, opt for Maxim’s iconic snow skin mooncakes. The Snowy Premium Delicacies gift box and Snowy Polar Lights gift box both boast a wide array of delicious and unique flavours, some of which are inspired by local treats like mango and pomelo dessert, red bean iced drink and iced lemon coke. Animal-lovers will adore the Panda Snowy Duet Mooncake gift box, adorned with round, tumbling pandas. Inside, you’ll find black-and-white snowy mooncakes offered in milk with cheese and black sesame flavours. Animal-lovers will adore the Panda Snowy Duet Mooncake gift box, adorned with round, tumbling pandas. Inside, you’ll find black-and-white snowy mooncakes coming in milk with cheese and black sesame flavours.

Cathay's delightful mooncakes

Our first-ever collaboration with The Peninsula Boutique, this new mooncake gift set unites two brands that share a rich heritage and deep love for our home city. The collection is housed in an elegant Cathay Jade keepsake box, designed with celestial artwork and a rotating lid to track the different phases of the moon. Discover three premium mooncakes showcasing the best of classic and modern flavours, including white lotus seed paste with yolk, signature mini egg custard, and Earl Grey tea-flavoured egg custard.  

Conrad Hong Kong’s pistachio mooncakes

Pistachio fans, take note. In addition to perennial favourites like white lotus seed paste with egg yolk, and mini custard egg yolk, this year marks the debut of Conrad Hong Kong’s mini pistachio mooncakes. Premium pistachios are used to create a silky purée with a rich, nutty aroma, while the addition of crushed pistachios elevates the golden, flaky crust with an addictive crunch. Another crowd favourite, the mini Musang King durian mooncake, is also back. Made with top-notch Malaysian durian – revered by durian connoisseurs to be the ultimate “king of fruits” – these festive treats are encased in a gilded cookie crust for a luxurious finish.

Häagen-Dazs’ ice cream mooncakes

This year, the beloved ice cream brand unveils its new Wish Upon the Möon collection of gift sets, complete with dreamy and whimsical packaging. The Deluxe Collection features eight flavours of ice cream mooncakes, ideal for sharing with the family. Its “Moon” centrepiece is coated with Belgian chocolate, macadamias and pistachios, with an indulgent lava chocolate filling. The smaller “Star” mooncakes come in nuanced flavours, including caramel biscuit and cream, coffee with hazelnut chocolate, strawberry cheesecake, mango with pecan chocolate, and vanilla and green tea with cashew chocolate.

Patisserie La Lune’s lava mooncakes 

Housed in sleek, minimalist packaging, Patisserie La Lune’s modern mooncakes truly stand out. If you love ooey-gooey textures, you’ll be delighted by the smooth, molten fillings of their lava mooncakes. The umami-forward lava matcha mooncake is made with premium Japanese matcha, while the creamy Hong Kong-style milk tea mooncake is crafted with aromatic Lipton black tea. In partnership with local dessert shop Grindie, the brand’s special-edition mooncake gift set sees the return of the beloved lava pistachio mooncake, while also introducing the new lava black sesame cashew mooncake – a perfect blend of tradition and innovation.  

All listed products, prices, promotional offers and Asia Miles redemption rates are accurate at time of publication and may be subject to change.

This story was originally published in August 2023 and updated in September 2025.