Mooncake Season is Upon Us - Episode 1 - Mooncakes By Komugi

I am guessing by the name and beautiful packaging that Komugi is a Japanese Brand.  Dear Ann texted me one day and asked if I would like to check out some mooncakes, (she was very mysterious about it, and did not reveal which moon cakes they were), and I was excited to see that it wasn't from the usual suspects.

So, the Japanese have their own version of the mooncake festival as well, called Otsukimi, celebrated the same time as the Chinese Mid Autumn festival, ie, 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar, but is called the moonwatching festival, and according to folklore, a Rabbit who lives on the moon sent by Japanese Gods for being kind, dances around the moon making mochi.  Well, I'm not sure I want to be banished to live in the moon for being kind, but aneeeway,... that explains the interesting inscription inside the box, which reads

Rabbit oh rabbit, what do you see that makes you hop?
I'm looking at the full moon, it makes me hop.

The mooncakes in various stages of undress....From upper left corner, clockwise, ...Traditional White Lotus, Matcha with Apricot, Blackforest and Azuki Bean Milk

An extra bonus came in the form of this Baumkuchen cake....

..which I quickly consumed with a cup of coffee...that soft sponge, not too sweet with subtle layers,  sandwiched with jam, I think, which actually was originally a German cake, but seems to be equally popular if not more so, in Japan...yes, that's available at Komugi too...

I will not hide the fact that I was CRUSHED, SHATTERED, that none of the aforementioned flavours had salted egg yolk, and whilst my heart lifted for a brief moment when I saw that promising glint of gold in the Matcha one, I realised that fate had played a cruel trick on the eyes, and that it was actually apricot.

Azuki Milk, the sweetness of rich red bean paste, made from selected red beans with the added crunch from melon seeds.  The kids, my co-tasters, voted this the 2nd favourite.

Green Tea Apricot - Despite the devastation of initially believing the apricot was a yolk, matcha with lotus paste actually is a lovely combination.

The German Blackforest, inspired by the cake of the same name, I presume, complete with the mandatory cherry synonymous with its cousin cake, ... For chocolate lovers, a must. Like eating a rich chocolate truffle.  Can't say I cared much for the skin though,....

And finally, the unanimous winner in our household, the LOW SUGAR WHITE LOTUS... which is the most traditionally Chinese of the lot...again, to me, a yolk or two would not have gone amiss.

These Komugi mooncakes are selling for RM88 for a box of 4.   To order...

Just in case you're like me, and can't ead small print...