Hong Kong MX launches a limited run of its mooncake line in select locations in Metro Manila, opening its first pop-up in SM Mall of Asia last Aug. 20. The pop-ups come in time for the upcoming Mid-Autumn festival, a tradition celebrated by the country’s community of Filipino-Chinese families. 

Lava custard mooncakes

Hong Kong MX has been Hong Kong’s bestselling mooncake brand for 21 years now, and its entry into the Philippine market will see the introduction of the brand’s best known flavors such as the classic lotus seed paste mooncake with two yolks (with special variations such as the reduced sugar series, mixed nuts series, yolk series) and the lava and custard mooncake series. The latter is the first of its kind, as most mooncake brands traditionally use a lotus filling instead of a custard one.

“Hong Kong MX is targeting a younger audience, and they’re always trying to innovate their products. One way they’re doing this is through offering the double-baked lava and custard mooncake series,” says Marjorie Fong, operations manager of CoreCrate International, a privately-owned trading and distribution company responsible for bringing Hong Kong MX to the country. 

Hong Kong MX pop-up at SM Mall of Asia

“The reason that we’re doing a limited run is that we just want to be a part of the celebration of the mooncake season… after that period, not a lot of people buy mooncakes,” Fong adds.

The pop-up in SM Mall of Asia will be open until Sept. 22, while a second booth will be launched at UniMart Capitol Commons on Sept. 1 and will be open until Sept. 22. 

 Besides the pop-ups, Hong Kong MX will also be partnering with Lazada to serve two select flavors for delivery from Aug. 17 to Sept. 22. To preserve the brand’s seal of excellence, a stringent security check is in place to assure customers that they’re getting top-quality mooncakes from the Hong Kong brand. 

As for whether or not the brand will be returning to Manila next year for another round of pop-up launches, Fong says that it depends on the Philippine market’s response to Hong Kong MX’s mooncakes.

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