Find Mooncakes for Mid-Autumn Moon Festival at These Shops in Honolulu
Chinese bakeries and restaurants are stocked with cakes for the Sept. 29 Moon Festival.
Editor’s Note: Originally published in September 2019, this story has been updated for this year’s Moon Festival on Sept. 29, 2023.
Photo: Mari Taketa
On the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, when the moon is full, Chinese all over the world celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival or, as it’s commonly known, the Moon Festival. With roots dating back some 3,000 years, the festival is also celebrated in Korea, Vietnam and other cultures heavily influenced by China. The moon is a symbol of prosperity and family reunion, and it is tradition during this season to give mooncakes as gifts to be enjoyed while gazing at the full moon.
In Honolulu, Hong Kong and Cantonese-style mooncakes are the most common. They traditionally feature a tender pastry crust wrapped around fillings like lotus seed paste, red beans (azuki), coconut paste, wintermelon, ham and nuts. All can be had with or without salted duck egg yolks, another symbol of the moon, and one that has the mooncake-eating world divided. Being a lover of egg yolk, I encourage you to give it a try.
These places around O‘ahu make their own mooncakes in sweet and savory, traditional and contemporary versions.
SEE ALSO: Food Meets Moment: Mooncakes
Bread House
Photo: Jason Chin
Bread House produces a number of great Chinese-style pastries, and their mooncake offerings are no exception. These feature traditional fillings like lotus seed paste ($7.50 with salted egg yolk, $7 without), red bean paste ($7 with egg yolk) and mixed nuts ($8 with egg yolk). The crust is noticeably flakier than some other mooncakes I’ve tried. Available for walk-in purchase until Moon Festival ends.
1041 Maunakea St., Chinatown, (808) 548-0218
Elvin’s Bakery
Located in the Kapālama Shopping Center, Elvin’s Bakery offers a variety of baked mooncakes, including lotus seed paste, red bean, mixed nuts with ham, coconut, and wintermelon. Mini mooncakes start at $4.25; full-size ones are $8 to $11. You can get them eggless or with one or two egg yolks. It’s common for bakeries to offer beautiful red and gold boxes with magnetic clasps for gifting; Elvin’s box makes for a pretty gift.
1210 Dillingham Blvd., Kalihi, (808) 848-8118
Harbor Village Cuisine
This longtime Hawai‘i Kai fixture makes mooncakes with traditional fillings like lotus bean, red bean and mixed nuts with dried scallops. Options include eggless, single yolk or double yolk; by the piece, mini mooncake or large mooncakes, with prices varying accordingly. Some cakes will be available for walk-ins, but it’s safer to call ahead to order.
7192 Kalaniana‘ole Hwy, Hawai‘i Kai, (808) 395-2311
JJ2 Bakery
Photo: Andrea Lee
Mooncakes at JJ2 are squarish and come in two sizes. Smaller ones range from $3.75 to $4.15; larger ones are $9.50. Fillings include red bean paste, date paste and pineapple, with or without egg yolks.
1440 Kapi‘olani Blvd., Ala Moana, (808) 942-0888, jjbakeryusa.com/honolulu-hawaii, @jj2bakeryhawaii
Legend Seafood Restaurant
The Chinatown dim sum parlor sells mooncakes filled with lotus seed paste, red bean paste, and mixed nuts, all with no egg yolk, one yolk or two. Available for walk-in purchase and pre-orders.
100 N. Beretania St., Chinatown, (808) 532-1868
Mango Mango Dessert Hawai‘i
The Hong Kong-style dessert chain from New York City is offering gift boxes of eight mooncakes in four flavors: red bean paste with salted egg yolk, white lotus paste with salted egg yolk, green tea with red bean paste center, and green bean paste with pineapple. Gift boxes are $58.99.
Multiple locations, @mangomangohawaii
Sing Cheong Yuan Bakery
Chocolate strawberry mochi mooncake. Photo: Thomas Obungen
In addition to the traditional baked mooncakes they’ve been making for generations, Sing Cheong Yuan makes bing pi or mochi mooncake. Sometimes called snow skin moon cakes for their delicate, translucent appearance, they’re lighter in flavor and taste great chilled or slightly frozen (about 15 minutes). They somehow leave one with a little less guilt than the baked variety. Particularly with their bing pi mooncakes, Sing Cheong Yuan offers non-traditional fillings, including mango, green tea, Okinawan sweet potato, chocolate with fresh strawberry (think Two Ladies Kitchen), wintermelon and durian. Yes, even the king of fruits makes the lunar lineup. Walk in and buy or order below.
Multiple locations: Sing Cheong Yuan owns Crack Seed Store in Kaimukī, which means mooncakes are available for online ordering and shipping at crackseedstore.com.
U Choice In
The longtime takeout spot outside Don Quijote on Makaloa Street has mini black sugar mooncakes (no egg) for $2.75 and large lotus bean paste mooncakes with one egg yolk for $8.25. While the mini mooncakes are available for walk-in customers, order ahead for a large one.
801 Kaheka St., Ala Moana, (808) 941-3393
Water Drop Vegetarian House
Downtown’s vegetarian Chinese eatery sells mooncakes stuffed with red bean, mung bean, black bean, coconut, pineapple, sesame and green tea fillings ($3 for small, $5 for medium, $7 for large).
801 Alakea St., Downtown, (808) 545-3455, fgshawaii.org/waterdrop
Wishing you a joyous Mid-Autumn Festival and hope you get to enjoy some tasty treats with family and friends.
