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Where to find the most irresistible mooncakes in L.A. this season

By Tiffany Tse

Sept. 13, 2024 3 AM PT

Growing up, there was one fall holiday that I always looked forward to — and it wasn’t Halloween. Rather, it was the Mid-Autumn Festival, celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar. During this special time of year, local Chinese grocery stores would stock their shelves with mooncakes, and my sister and I would eagerly indulge in these irresistibly rich treats, carefully slicing each pastry into wedges to share.

Traditionally round to mirror the shape of the moon, mooncakes are typically made with a sweet, thin pastry wrapped around lotus seed or red bean paste, often with a whole salted egg yolk in the center that’s also meant to symbolize the full moon. In Chinese culture, roundness represents unity and harmony, making the full moon a perfect symbol of reunion. The Mid-Autumn Festival isn’t just about enjoying mooncakes — it’s a time to gather with family, savor a delicious meal and wish for luck and prosperity.

The festival’s traditions date back thousands of years, when it’s believed that ancient Chinese emperors hosted feasts to honor deities and express their gratitude for the year’s harvest. Over time, these customs evolved to include giving thanks to the moon, praying for longevity and fortune and coming together with loved ones. Mooncakes are a central part of any Mid-Autumn Festival celebration, with people often sharing the decadent treats with family or gifting boxes to relatives and friends as a gesture of goodwill.

Whether you prefer the classic Cantonese style with its glossy, golden-brown crust, or the crisp, flaky layers of the Taiwanese variety, it’s easier than ever to find mooncakes that cater to every taste. Even better, flavors have expanded beyond the classic lotus seed or red bean paste filling to include chocolate, matcha, black sesame and even durian.

This year, the Mid-Autumn Festival falls on Sept. 17, presenting the perfect opportunity to explore and savor these diverse and delicious treats. Here are 11 of the best places in Los Angeles to get mooncakes, including a vegan bakery in Chinatown and THC-infused varieties that you can order via Instagram.

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Sunmerry Bakery

Temple City Bakery $

By Tiffany Tse

Founded in Japan and introduced to Taiwan in 1986, this bakery chain has become a household name. With several locations now in the U.S., including multiple outposts in the San Gabriel Valley, they boast one of the most diverse selection of mooncakes: soft lava mooncakes with a refined Japanese-style crust, multi-layered Taiwanese mooncakes known for their crunchy, flaky exterior and traditional Cantonese mooncakes made with lye water for that signature golden-brown hue. True to Sunmerry’s innovative spirit, they offer some of the most creative flavors too, including chocolate, mocha coffee and milk tea. Mooncakes are available individually or in stunning, gift-ready boxes.

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This artisanal dessert atelier masterfully blends high-end pastry techniques with Asian flavors

Dōmi

Downtown L.A. Desserts $$

By Tiffany Tse

This artisanal dessert atelier masterfully blends high-end pastry techniques with Asian flavors that evoke nostalgic memories of childhood and travel. Owner Evelyn Yu, who trained in acclaimed Michelin-starred restaurants like Park Avenue Seasons and Eleven Madison Park, brings a fresh approach to traditional mooncakes. While the fillings remain classic — such as red bean, lotus, jujube and black sesame — Yu introduces modern twists, including a milky shortbread cookie crust and a more petite size, inspired by her childhood belief that mooncakes were always too large. Her treats also come in a beautiful muted color palette that’s practically made for Instagram.

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85°C Bakery Cafe

Alhambra Bakery $

By Tiffany Tse

With over 1,000 locations globally, 85°C Bakery Cafe is the go-to for Taiwanese-style gourmet coffee, bread and cakes. During the Mid-Autumn Festival season, they offer both Taiwanese and Cantonese-style mooncakes in a range of delicious flavors like taro mochi, Hokkaido milk and almond lotus seed, all made with premium unsalted butter and Taiwanese egg yolks. You can buy mooncakes individually or opt for beautifully packaged gift sets.

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Aliya Lavaland

Monterey Park Desserts $$

By Tiffany Tse

Owner Alise Mekaswarn specializes in fusion mooncakes — which combine the elements of Chinese salted egg yolk buns, French chocolate lava cake, and a traditional Thai dessert called kanom pia. Her standout lava mooncakes feature a flaky pastry with a salted egg yolk custard center that oozes with every bite. Made fresh daily, mooncakes come in delectable flavors like signature mung bean, taro made with hand-picked taro and coconut milk, ube crafted from Okinawan purple yam grown in Hawaii, matcha using authentic Japanese matcha and black sesame made with roasted seeds. She also offers traditional mooncakes without the lava filling, which are equally delicious. While this shop is one of the few places that offers mooncakes year-round, Mekaswarn’s special orange version — which looks exactly like the real fruit — is only available during the Mid-Autumn Festival season.

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Still owned and operated by the Chan family

Phoenix Bakery

Chinatown Bakery $

By Tiffany Tse

Still owned and operated by the Chan family since its founding in 1938, this beloved Chinatown institution continues to handcraft every mooncake during the Mid-Autumn Festival season, producing up to 500 mooncakes daily. Staying true to tradition, they offer classic fillings such as red bean or lotus paste, available with or without yolks. Each tempting treat is shaped using traditional wooden molds, showcasing a variety of designs that range from intricate floral patterns to symbols of traditional Chinese blessings. On weekends, the bakery is so popular that lines often stretch out the door, with customers flocking here not only for mooncakes, but also for its legendary strawberry cream cakes, almond cookies and sugar butterflies. Email [email protected] or call to place an order.

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Bakers Bench

Chinatown Pastries $

By Tiffany Tse

Owner Jennifer Yee honed her skills in Michelin-starred kitchens like the French Laundry and Jean-Georges before becoming the pastry chef at Konbi, where she crafted the restaurant’s renowned croissants. Seeking a new challenge, she turned her focus to creating the best vegan croissants, which led to the birth of Bakers Bench and its (mostly) vegan treats — including Yee’s seasonal mooncakes. Traditionally made and decorated, her mooncakes offer nontraditional flavors, from a pineapple coconut variety that blends pineapple and yuzu juice to a black sesame tangerine version that stars Rooted Fare’s crunchy black sesame butter. Instead of the customary egg yolk, she uses a chewy, fruit-based candy center in coconut filling. The dough is rolled thin to encase the filling before being pressed into molds for intricate designs. After freezing and baking, the mooncakes are left to age for a week at room temperature, allowing their signature chewy crust to fully develop. You can also join Yee and Rooted Fare for a hands-on mooncake workshop on Sept. 14 and 15.

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JJ Bakery

Torrance Bakery $

By Tiffany Tse

This family-owned bakery blends Asian ingredients with French pastry techniques for an East-meets-West vibe. Inspired by Taiwanese bakeries, they opened their first location in Hacienda Heights in 1996 and now have seven shops, including three in the San Gabriel Valley. The lotus paste mooncake is a crowd favorite, skillfully balancing ground lotus seeds, caramelized sugar and oil to create a smooth, silky filling. The pastry’s thickness is carefully perfected to achieve just the right texture and pattern. After baking, the mooncakes are left to rest for 24 to 72 hours, allowing the oil to seep into the crust, transforming it from flaky to its signature soft, moist texture. But don’t sleep on JJ’s other tasty varieties, including an egg yolk custard mooncake with a Japanese wagashi-style golden pastry.

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Moonies Bakery

Bakery $$

By Tiffany Tse

Friends William Lam and Tom Ngo, who both grew up in the San Gabriel Valley, began baking THC-infused, Cantonese-style mooncakes in 2020, initially sharing them just with friends and family. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and word spread quickly. This success led them to establish Moonies Bakery, a referral-based membership club that offers freshly baked mooncakes all year round, keeping an age-old tradition alive with a new-age approach. The flavors are out of this world — from cocoa mooncakes bursting with tangy, sweet, finely ground pineapple to matcha mooncakes filled with creamy adzuki bean paste. Each treat is baked with hybrid THC distillate oils infused with coconut oil, so be mindful of your dosage when consuming. To order, you’ll need to request to follow Moonies on Instagram and mention this article. Once your request is accepted, watch for updates on upcoming Moonies batches, then send a direct message to place your order. Be prepared to submit an application form and provide ID for verification.

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Kien Giang Bakery

Echo Park Bakery $

By Tiffany Tse

This family-owned bakery has been a staple in Echo Park since 1980, turning out special-occasion cakes for birthdays, weddings and quinceañeras. But come Mid-Autumn Festival, they also roll out an impressive selection of mooncakes made fresh on-site. This year, they’re offering an astounding 43 varieties to cover every possible craving — from soft, chewy, Vietnamese-style snow skin mooncakes made with glutinous rice flour to golden-baked delights filled with savory abalone, mixed nuts or roasted chicken to sweet flavors like coconut, taro, mung bean or durian.

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Lady M

Sawtelle Bakery $$

By Tiffany Tse

Lady M is best known for its trademark mille crêpe cakes, with layers of paper-thin crêpes and airy pastry cream, and they bring the same level of finesse to their seasonal mooncakes. This year, they’ve teamed up with Kee Wah Bakery to create flavors like Earl Grey, black sesame and passion fruit — an homage to its best-selling cakes — as well as matcha chocolate custard. While mooncakes aren’t available individually, they come in charming gift boxes that double as handheld lanterns. Each velvet box features illuminated dioramas capable of projecting intricate laser-cut illustrations. Complete with a USB cable for charging, these keepsakes are designed to be treasured long after the Mid-Autumn Festival season ends.

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Kee Wah Bakery

Monterey Park Bakery $

By Tiffany Tse

Founded in Hong Kong in 1938, Kee Wah Bakery has earned a reputation for its Cantonese-style mooncakes both at home and abroad. In 1985, responding to the growing Chinese immigrant community in the U.S., Kee Wah opened its first location in Monterey Park. Known for its traditional flavors like lotus seed, red bean and mixed nuts with ham (a crowd favorite), as well as options featuring varying numbers of salted egg yolks — ranging from none to six in a single mooncake. They’ve also embraced more modern takes over the past decade, including yolk custard centers and unique flavors like Earl Grey. While almost all of their mooncakes are made locally in L.A., some limited-edition varieties are imported from Hong Kong.

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