Mid-Autumn festival falls on September 13 this year, and brands are already pulling out all the stops.

We've categorised a number of mooncakes into the following three categories: New-fangled flavours, best packaging, and value-for-money.

New-fangled flavours

1) Marina Bay Sands

Marina Bay Sands is introducing three brand new traditional mooncakes this year (S$80 nett for a box of four):

• Yuzu white lotus mooncake
• Brown sugar Chinese longan mooncake
• Red bean mooncake

As well as three brand new snowskin mooncakes (S$80 nett for a box of eight):

• Strawberry lychee mooncake
• Honey fig passion mooncake
• Coffee avocado mooncake

The average millennial spends on affordable luxuries like artisanal coffee and avocado toast, so why not try this combination of flavours in a coffee avocado mooncake this mid-autumn season?

These mooncakes will be available for purchase at Marina Bay Sands Hotel Lobby Tower 3 and on Bay Level of The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands (opposite Black Tap) from August 13 to September 13, 2019.

Early birds will enjoy a 25 per cent discount for purchases made from now until August 12, 2019, while Sands Rewards LifeStyle members will enjoy a 20 per cent discount from August 13 to September 13, 2019.

Bulk discounts are also available for orders of more than 50 boxes from 13 August, 2019.

For more information, click here.

2) Yan Ting at The St. Regis Singapore

Yan Ting at The St. Regis Singapore will be introducing three new creations this year:

• Taro paste with Salted Egg Yolk Truffle and Almond Flakes Snowskin Mooncake (S$78+ per box of eight)
• Chendol Paste with Melon Seeds Snowskin Mooncake (S$76+ per box of eight)
• Royal Milk Tea Paste with Oolong Tea Truffle Snowskin Mooncake (S$78+ per box of eight)

The chendol mooncake, as well as royal milk tea mooncake with oolong tea truffle caught our eye.

You can pre-order these mooncakes now and collection will be available at Yan Ting Restaurant and La Pattiserie from now till September 13, 2019 between 10:30am to 10pm.

On-site purchase of mooncakes are subject to availability, and can be made from now till September 13, 2019.

If you're an American Express, Citibank or Maybank credit card holder, you'll be able to enjoy an exclusive 15 per cent + five per cent early bird discount on purchases made from now to August 23, 2019, and a 15 per cent discount for purchases made from August 14 to September 13, 2019.

For more information, click here.

3) Grand Shanghai

Award-winning restaurant Grand Shanghai has introduced one new flavour this year:

• Shanghainese Lava Egg Custard with Salted Egg Yolk (S$68 for a box of six)

From the photo above, it looks like there will actually be lava flowing out from the mooncake.

The mooncakes can be ordered online from now till September 13, 2019 and UOB cardholders are entitled to a 25 per cent discount off any mooncake box.

For more information, click here.

4) Aroma Truffle & Co

Local truffle chips brand Aroma Truffle & Co has just launched what they claim to be the world's strongest truffle mooncake in two flavours:

• Premium Truffle Durian Snowskin Mooncake (S$88 for a box of four)
• Premium Truffle Chocolate Molten Snowskin Mooncake (S$88 for a box of four)

These mooncakes can be purchased online or at any of these locations from now till September 12, 2019:

• Aroma Truffle Boutique, Chinatown Point, #01-20
• Takashimaya Square, B2
• Compass One, L2 Atrium
• Novena Square, L1
• Jurong Point, L1
• Raffles Xchange

For more information, click here.

5) Kam's Roast

With no preservatives, artificial flavouring nor colouring, the Kam's Roast Assorted Nuts with Roast Duck Mooncake (S$68+ for a box of four/ S$18 per piece) contains a selection of nuts like walnut, sesame seeds, almond, melon seed, and olive seeds.

Along with the Kam's Roast Red Bean Orange Peel Mooncake (S$68 for a box of four/ S$18 per piece), the mooncakes will be available for pre-order from August 16, 2019 onwards at Kam's Roast outlets in Pacific Plaza and Jewel Changi Airport.

Customers who make a pre-order in August will get an early bird discount of 25 per cent.

For a list of addresses, click here.

6) Icenoie Hokkaido

Icenoie Hokkaido is Hokkaido's number one selling gelato and soft serve specialist.

This year, they're making their mooncake debut with a series of six kawaii cow-embossed raw milk gelato snowskin mooncakes.

These are the six flavours available (S$6/piece) from August 8 - September 13, 2019:

• Chocolate
• Double Cheese
• Fresh Strawberry
• Cookies & Cream
• Matcha
• Fresh Milk

Note that sizes for these run a lot smaller than average, though.

The brand will also be giving away a free limited edition Icenoie Hokkaido cooler bag with every S$30 purchase, or if you simply top up S$2 with any mooncake purchase.

For more information, click here.

7) The Fullerton Cake Boutique

The Fullerton Cake Boutique has come up with three new mooncake creations this year, which you can check out here:

Best packaging

8) Hai Tien Lo

The boxes feature the artworks "Bird and the Blossom" by Selena Seow on the cover and "Botanical" by Nurul Amirah Binte Zain on the side.

"Botanical" is also featured on a special tote bag which retails at S$15.

Hai Tien Lo at Pan Pacific Singapore has whipped up four new mooncake flavours this year:

• Coconut and Pineapple Snowskin (S$68.80 for a box of four)
• Gianduja (chocolate and hazelnut) and Yuzu Snowskin (S$68.80 for a box of four)
• Earl Grey and Cherry Snowskin (S$68.80 for a box of four)
• Passionfruit and Mango Snowskin (S$68.80 for a box of four)

The mooncakes are available for purchase from now till September 14, 2019, and customers placing advanced orders with eligible credit cards from now till August 4, 2019 will enjoy savings of 25 per cent on all prepaid orders.

There will be up to 20 per cent savings on all orders placed between now till September 14, 2019.

For more information, click here.

9) Shang Social

This year, Shang Social's "Four Treasures" Collection of traditional hand-baked mooncakes comes packaged in an two-tiered crimson silk box with floral motifs.

The traditional hand-baked mooncakes come in a box of these four flavours for S$80 nett:

• Reduced Sugar White Lotus Paste with Double Egg Yolk
• Reduced Sugar White Lotus Paste with Single Egg Yolk
• Reduced Sugar Plain White Lotus Paste
• Black Sesame with Taro and Cashew Nuts

There will also be a complimentary miniature Shang Social Glutinous Pu Erh Tea with every purchase of the Shang Social "Four Treasures" Collection.

Customers can purchase these limited edition mooncakes at Shang Social from now till September 13, 2019, while stocks last.

For more information, click here.

10) The Marmalade Pantry

Local bistro The Marmalade Pantry has come up with two gift sets this year:

• The Marmalade Mix (S$64 nett) with a piece of each of the four new flavours
• The Classic Collection (S$68 nett) with four pieces of the Double Yolk with White Lotus Paste Mooncakes

The mooncakes come encased in a ruby red bag with olive branches in gold prints on cut-outs.

This see-through bag which is made of PU leather and lined with red suede, and can be used as an everyday bag if you feeling adventurous, fashion-wise.

If you wish to purchase either of these gift sets, you can do so online or go down to The Marmalade Pantry Petite outlet at SBF Centre from August 8 to September 13, 2019.

From now to September 13, 2019, MasterCard holders will enjoy a 15 per cent discount for every purchase.

For more information, click here.

11) GEMStory Biz

GEMStory Biz has come up with a limited edition Hello Kitty Superior QQ Skin Musang Mooncake set (S$108 for a set of eight) to celebrate Hello Kitty's 45th Anniversary this year.

Customers can expect 100 per cent pure musang king durian pulp filling within a thin layer of Hello Kitty embossed QQ skin or bamboo charcoal QQ skin.

The mooncakes come encased in a three-tiered box which can also double up as a jewellery box.

They are currently having an early bird discount where customers can purchase each set for S$98, while stocks last.

Alternatively, you can opt for a mooncake set from GEMStory Biz's Sanrio collection (S$58 for a box of four).

The flavours available are:

• Emerald Jade
• Pure White Lotus
• Single Yolk White Lotus
• Double Yolk White Lotus

The box sets come in four different different designs:

• Mystical Hello Kitty Baked Skin Mooncake Set
• Mystical My Melody Baked Skin Mooncake Set
• Mystical Little Twin Star Baked Skin Mooncake Set
• Mystical Gudetama Baked Skin Mooncake Set

When pieced together, all four box sets form a full picture:

Customers are entitled to an early bird special of four boxes for the price of three, while stocks last.

For more information, you can WhatsApp them at 8857 4396.

12) Cherry Garden by Mandarin Oriental Hotel

Cherry Garden is retailing a variety of traditional and mini snowskin mooncakes from August 8 to September 13, 2019:

We're especially loving their packaging this year, which sees mooncakes in a silken box with floral patterns that open up to four drawers.

For more information, click here.

13) Hong Kong MX Mooncakes

Hong Kong MX Mooncakes are popular among both adults and children for their cartoon character themed mooncake gift boxes.

This year, they've created three new signature styles (S$38 for a set of four):

• Marvel Mini Heroes-Avengers Lava Custard Mooncakes
• Marvel Mini Heroes-Iron Man Lava Custard Mooncakes
• Disney Princess Musical Castle Creamy Custard Mooncakes

The Disney Princess Musical Castle gift box is the brand's first musical mooncake gift box, with "A Whole New World" as its chosen track.

Here's a video of it:

[video width="464" height="848" mp4="https://static.mothership.sg/1/2019/08/IMG_9049.mp4"][/video]

The Iron Man gift box, on the other hand, lights up at the touch of a button.

However, it will not be available for sale until August 21, 2019.

The rest of the gift boxes are on sale at the following locations:

For more information, click here.

14) Chang Ho Sek

Chang Ho Sek has come up with bubble tea mooncakes in tingkat boxes, which you can find out more about here:

The bubble tea flavour is rather novel, too.

Value-for-money

If you're not one to pay S$70 to S$80 for a box of mooncakes no matter how unusual the flavours are or how chio the packaging, here are two relatively affordable options you can consider:

15) Tim Ho Wan

Tim Ho Wan is known for not just for their dim sum, but perhaps for their modestly-priced mooncakes as well.

This year, their signature mooncake trio is back:

• Low Sugar Pandan & Lotus Seed
• Black Sesame & Melon Seed
• Single Yolk Low Sugar White Lotus Paste

This mooncake set retails at S$25 nett from now till September 12, 2019, and purchases can be made either in-store or via pre-order at 6955 0185.

For a list of Tim Ho Wan outlets, click here.

16) Thye Moh Chan 泰茂栈

Thye Moh Chan is Singapore's 76-year-old heritage brand that specialises in affordable handcrafted Teochew pastries.

This year, they've come up with a selection of modern renditions like their new flavour Milky Yuzu (S$38.80 for a box of four) and signature favourites such as the limited edition Mao Shan Wang Durian (S$43.80 for a box of four).

There will be an early bird special from now till August 29, 2019, where customers can get S$3 off each box of 4-piece mooncakes (U.P. S$33.80) with a minimum purchase of two boxes.

Each box will also come with complimentary S$4 discount return vouchers.

For more information, click here.

Top image via Hai Tien Lo, Thye Moh Chan, Marina Bay Sands, Tim Ho Wan