A unique American barbecue-flavored mooncake, custom-made for Shanghai Museum's ongoing landmark exhibition "On Top of the World Tree: Ancient Civilizations of the Americas," blends South American charcoal barbecue aroma with traditional Chinese flaky pastry.
With the Mid-Autumn Festival still a month away, time-honored restaurants in Shanghai are refreshing traditional mooncake recipes, launching low-sugar options and trendy flavors to appeal to health-conscious shoppers and younger generations while retaining classic festive tastes.
This year's festival falls on September 25. As seasonal mooncakes hit shelves across the city, century-old food retailers are moving beyond conventional high-sugar, high-oil formulas.
Sunya Cantonese Restaurant on Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall with its history dating back to 1926 has rolled out a new low-sugar mooncake series to meet rising public demand for healthier treats amid growing awareness of weight management and light eating lifestyles.
The upgrades balance long-standing baking craftsmanship with modern dietary demands, catering to consumers of all age groups.
Consumers buy mooncakes at Sunya Cantonese Restaurant.
The collection features four best-selling flavors with drastically reduced sugar content — red bean paste; tangerine peel red bean; wuren, or a five-nut stuffing that includes peanuts and walnuts; and creamy coconut. Both its Cantonese-style and Suzhou-style mooncakes enjoy enduring popularity among local residents.
The recipes eliminate the common stereotype that low-sugar desserts compromise flavor, highlighting the original taste of ingredients such as creamy coconut and layered nut fillings.
Major shopping venues in downtown Shanghai have launched dedicated mooncake zones to facilitate one-stop shopping for festival treats.
A unique American barbecue-flavored mooncake, custom-made for Shanghai Museum's landmark ongoing exhibition "On Top of the World Tree: Ancient Civilizations of the Americas," blends South American charcoal barbecue aroma with traditional Chinese flaky pastry.
Long queues have formed in front of the booth selling vegetarian mooncakes from Longhua Temple at Shanghai First Foodhall on Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall, which have gained massive popularity among both residents and tourists.
The food store has also debuted four self-developed trendy mooncake flavors targeting young consumers. They are: Sichuan pepper crispy chicken and bamboo shoot, sukiyaki beef, pickled vegetables and pork with cheese.
At Wang Bao He on Fuzhou Road, another time-honored brand of the city known for its crab cuisines, newly-launched mooncakes occupy prime display areas. Pastry chefs work at full capacity making signature treats, including mooncakes with classic xiefen (crab powder fillings) shrimp, xiefen pork and pure xiefen fillings.
Mooncake making involves several procedures.
New additions such as mushroom beef, bacon cheese and red bean taro paste have boosted strong early sales.
Meanwhile, popular old-brand stores have introduced purchase limits to cope with booming demand. Guangmingcun Restaurant on Huaihai Road M. now restricts sales of its signature pork mooncakes. Famous for flaky crusts and juicy, firm fillings, the freshly baked pork mooncakes remain the perennial bestseller, with shoppers queuing even in hot weather.
Limited-edition innovative flavors have also become major highlights of this year's market.
A unique American barbecue-flavored mooncake, custom-made for Shanghai Museum's ongoing landmark exhibition "On Top of the World Tree: Ancient Civilizations of the Americas," blends South American charcoal barbecue aroma with traditional Chinese flaky pastry. Limited to 100 boxes daily, the specialty sells out quickly.
2026-08-28
