ADVERTORIAL
3 STEPS TO THE PERFECT MOONCAKE
KNEAD THE RIGHT DOUGH
The secret is in the special syrup, which the chef prepares a month ahead of assembly and lets rest for stability. After mixing it with flour, oil and other ingredients, the chef again leaves the dough to reach its perfect state.
Chef Kangwal Charoensri (Executive Chef)
MAKE THE SMOOTH FILLINGS
It takes both expertise and creativity to make good mooncakes. Smooth fillings need a lot of care in preparation. And fun ones require a whole lot of creativity.
Celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival with Narai Mooncakes Durian with egg yolk (crispy)
Orange
Custard and egg yolk
For the first time in its history, Narai Hotel, led by Deputy Managing Director Mr. Nathee Nithivasin, has decided to enter the mooncake market this year. What’s more, Executive Chef Kangwal Charoensri has developed his own recipe and made all of the cakes in-house. Narai mooncakes stand out for their dense filling, which stands out all the more thanks to their super-thin onemillimeter crust. Though the cake itself is not as big as the normal 10-centimeter ones, they don’t skimp on adding a whole egg yolk to the fillings. With no preservatives, the little goodies can be kept at room temperature for 30-45 days and come in eight different flavors—four classics and four contemporary updates.
DURIAN
GREEN TEA AND RED BEANS
Taking real and wonderfully sweet OTOP durian paste from Chanthaburi, the chef adds some watermelon seeds for a dense yet heavenly smooth filling.
You can’t have a green tea sweet without its best pairing ingredient, red beans. From the first bite, you’ll experience the intense aroma of real matcha, which also incorporates some roughly mashed red beans for a delicious flavor and surprising texture.
DURIAN WITH EGG YOLK Chef Kangwal adds a twist to the classic durian with salted egg yolk flavor by inventing his own milk-cookie-like dough especially for this filling. The flaky crust has a nice, buttery aroma that compliments the sweet notes of the thick durian paste.
ORANGE
LOTUS SEED WITH EGG YOLK
CHOCOLATE
MIXED NUTS
CUSTARD AND EGG YOLK
The classic filling is made with a paste base imported from Hong Kong. The chef develops his own flavor by adding a whole egg yolk to the middle of the cake.
Lotus seeds, chestnuts and gingko seeds are chopped up and mixed to create a unique filling. Whole almonds and walnuts are also added for a crunchy texture.
This creative flavor is another big twist from Chef Kangwal. Made with dried Sunkist and mandarin orange peels, dried pulp and concentrate orange juice, the result bursts with citrusy flavor.
On top of the chocolate paste, a 10-gram chunk of semi-sweet chocolate is added to Narai’s chocolate mooncake to balance the flavor and add a rice quality to it.
Unlike other brand’s custard-stuffed mooncakes, Narai’s filling is made of custard paste that’s blended with salty egg yolk, instead of putting it inside like the durian or lotus seed ones. With a slightly rough texture, the custard filling has both nice flavor and texture.
Narai Mooncake Booth G/F, Narai Hotel, 222 Silom Rd., 02-237-0100 ext. 8188 Open daily 11:30am-10:30pm www.naraihotel.co.th/mooncake ǀ www.facebook.com/naraihotel
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HAND-FINISH TO PERFECTION
Forming a 50-gram mooncake takes skills, from measuring the exact weight of both the dough and the filling to delicately wrapping the filling with the super thin dough, without breaking it, pressing it into a mold and removing it. The final cherry on top is to brush it with some egg wash after baking.
A PERFECT GIFT FOR EVERYONE
Sold at B60 apiece, the mooncakes will be available at the hotel until end of September. But you won’t want to keep them all to yourself. Plan ahead to give away Narai mooncakes by pre-ordering them now. The premium box (B240) comprises four assorted piece, with gold print adding a nice touch of class. On top of that, you can customize your box by emblazoning it with your name, or that of your recipient’s, in gold. There are also plenty of promotions: get two extra pieces with every five boxes purchased or get one free box with every 10 boxes purchases. For big orders of over 100 boxes, they offer free delivery throughout Bangkok and name engraving, on top of the 10 free boxes. A great deal for corporates: replace Narai Hotel’s logo with yours when ordering a big batch.
8/3/2558 BE 5:54 PM