Yuen Fatt mooncakes: Traditional handmade shanghainese mooncake

I'm no fan of mooncakes for the mid-autumn festival. But this changed when the bf brought me these oval shaped goodies last year.

#goodthingsmustshare

How good can this be, I thought. I posted this on instagram and received many comments on how good this is and how fantastic it will taste when it is being toasted in the oven.

Check out the golden hues of these goodies

It's not uncommon to find durian, XO, champagne, chocolate flavoured mooncakes during the festival. I'm no fan of quirky flavours, but this pandan flavoured, which is also the signature flavour of the traditional bakery appealed to my tastebuds

A few reasons why I don't like most mooncakes is that, the crust is usually thick and tasteless, and the fillings being excessively sweet.  But these traditionally handmade mooncakes from Yuen Fatt, changes my opinions.

The buttery crust crumbles upon cutting, evident of the phrase melts-in-your-mouth, or 入口即化。

The fillings have a perfect mix of savoury, sweet and fragrant. Perfect for my picky tastebuds

The bakery offers a selection of 

1. Pandan (highly reommended)

2. Lotus paste

3. Red bean

And the best thing is you can choose a box of mixed flavours. 

For egg yolk lovers, they also have the golden option for you.

It was a tough fight last year trying to get our orders as they were submitted too late. During the festive season, Yuen Fatt has 30k orders which works out to about 100k mooncakes to bake considering they still have to bake for open door sales! It's a small family business and to complete the overwhelming orders during this festival, the staff bakes daily till 2-3am to satisfy the tummies of their mooncake's fans. Top quality butter is used in these shanghainese mooncakes and they are hand-kneaded to achieve the crumbly & melt-in-your-mouth texture.

With the mooncakes handmade and baked freshly, there is no need to add preservatives or too much sugar to prolong the shelf life of these goodies. Put them into the fridge and you can extend the shelf life for a week.

And the best thing is, no pork or lard is used too

Price list for Yuen Fatt mooncakes ( one box comes in 3 pcs)

Without yolk  $23

With one yolk $26 

Available flavours

1. All Pandan (my pick)

2. All Lotus paste

3. All Red bean

4. Mix ( 1 pandan, 1 lotus, 1 redbean)

**Above details restructured on 1Sept'14

A few readers have asked whether they should order it with the yolk. I would recommend it without as the paste is not too sweet and having the salted yolk with it will overwhelm the flavour

Do send in your orders to eatloveshoot@gmail.com by 7th July'14 if you would like it in time for Mid-Autumn Festival(:

**Email amended on 1Sept'14

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Bangkok 13-18May'14, Day 4

We really didn't like the previous room (Read here) and requested for a change in the room.

The hotel staff kindly obliged to our request reason being the water from the showerhead was uneven and trickling (it's true)

This time we got a larger room (corner room), which has a much more sensible layout, cleaner toilet, and also more space. We were much happier in this room than the previous (:

As breakfast wasn't provided by the hotel, we settled our breakfast at Chabuton.

There were many raves about this restaurant, and being the Top 10 best restaurants in Bangkok. But sadly we didn't find it that impressive. Perhaps its because we have very picky tastebuds, as there are still many good reviews out there for this Japanese restaurant.

Chabuton

426-427, Siam Paragon Shopping Center, 

991 Rama 1 Rd, Pathum Wan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand

After hearing so many raves about the legendary shibuya toast from this cafe, I knew I had to try it this time!

And i know, we have been eating, eating and eating.

But, this is not to be missed!

Look at the layers of fragrant butter soaked toast! The boy and I are very picky eaters, but this is worth every single calorie, rave and sensation that has swept through it's fans.

*swoons*

I can so have another portion of it right now <3 <3

You can visit any of the After you outlets as below(:

Aww, so cute, I didn't know my boy loves cuddly bears :p

Live band by the roadside as we captured this shot from the overhead bridge to MBS.

Don't belittle this metals tins, as this guy is really good! I was still wondering where the awesome beating came from and absolutely fascinated that it was created by this chap near the roadside. Many curious onlookers whipped out their cameras and phones to capture this.

After shopping at MBS, we headed to the next destination for MOOKATA! Yay, it's kinda one of my favourite eats and we were so glad to be able to eat it in Bangkok. Located a stone throw away from Victory Monument BTS, this Pla Thong buffet seems to be really popular among the locals, and among all ages.

Prices are very very affordable at 149baht per person if you come with at least 2.

Which makes it to approx only 6SGD each! Is it like the cheapest buffet ever? Or as much as I know and can recommend of :p 

This place has a hugeeee housing capacity but it is easily filled up during the peak hours

Select form your variety of meats, vegs and noodles

We ordered ice cold coke which was not included in the buffet package. The ice has to be purchased too, but only at a nominal price (:

The place got really packed during dinner time, but turnover seems pretty fast as we didn't spot a long queue despite the place being very crowded. Perhaps a 6.45-7pm timing will be appropriate. Too early and there could be many flies buzzing around you. Reach at the above timing and they will be fed well enough to not bug you. Didn't spot much flies around by that time.

Temperature wise, This place is really quite warm despite of all the fans and stuff, due to the overwhelming crowd and heating up mookatas. But well, it is the same too in Singapore(:

They even have a cooked food counter to serve some dishes like bacon wrapped mushroom. We didn't get that as we were too stuffed from dinner

You can even enjoy complimentary ice cream after dinner

Below is a brief snapshot of the directions on how to get to the above buffet place(:

1. Take a BTS and alight at Victory Monument Station. Look out for signs pointing towards Century Movie Plaza exit and follow accordingly. You should find this plaza on your left.

2. Walk down the bridge and walk straight along the street( with Century Movie Plaza on your left)

3. You will spot this eatery , Eat Am Are, across the street junction (look out for the green signboard)

  Eat Am Are seems to be a very popular western/steak hangout among the locals too.

4. Pla Thong Buffet is just behind Eat Am Are.

5. And there you are! Enjoy(:

Scored myself a pair of lace jeans shorts on the way back to the hotel at 100baht (4 SGD), from the little night market outside Centara Watergate *Claps hands with glee*

Review on Centara Watergate Hotel here and here

And it's Chatuchak and Rhod Thai market for the next day(:

 

Store instagram: @thedancingjewels

Personal instagram: @yellowdaisypetals

Facebook: @thedancingjewels

Summary

Bangkok Day 1: Centara Watergate Hotel review 1, JJmall. Chatuchak

Bangkok Day 2: Centara Watergate Hotel review 2, Maeklong Railway Market, Baiyoke Sky Night Market

Bangkok Day 3: Chinatown, Berkeley room review 1, Genshiyaki Restaurant

Bangkok Day 4: Berkeley room review 2, Charbuton, After you, Pla Thong Mookata

Bangkok Day 5-6: Chatuchak, Rod Fai railway market