The Ultimate Guide to the Best Mooncakes in Los Angeles

The Mid-Autumn Festival, or Moon Festival, is traditionally celebrated across East and Southeast Asia in China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and Taiwan. The holiday is rooted in the legend of the Chinese moon goddess who ascended to the moon after swallowing

an elixir of immortality and was honored by her husband with offerings of fruits and cakes during the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese Lunar calendar.

This year, the festival falls on September 25, 2026, and is recognized throughout the Southland in Asian communities like Chinatown and the San Gabriel Valley by gathering with family, lighting lanterns, gazing at the moon, and eating mooncakes. The pastries’ round shape symbolizes the full moon and family unity, while the tradition of gifting mooncakes to family, friends, and business associates represents togetherness.

Squat and square mooncakes, often imprinted with ornate designs and Chinese characters, are typically filled with lotus seed paste, red bean paste, and salted duck egg yolks. While Cantonese-style mooncakes are the most common, other regional variations include Taiwanese mooncakes prepared with taro or pineapple fillings and Vietnamese bánh trung thu that contain sweetened mung bean, coconut, or durian. Local bakeries also offer innovative mooncakes that are filled with chocolate or ice cream, or swathed in mochi-like snow skins to appeal to younger palates and generations. Here’s where to procure the best mooncakes in Los Angeles.

Aliya Lavaland – Monterey Park

Aliya Lavaland, a Thai-owned mom-and-pop shop in Monterey Park, bakes Thai-Chinese fusion mooncakes year-round using French techniques. The signature lava mooncake is made with mung beans with a salted egg yolk center, while the taro lava mooncake features coconut milk and taro. The bakery also offers flaky-crusted mini mooncakes without a lava center. Tangerine-shaped mooncakes symbolizing good luck are only available during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Aliya’s mooncakes are offered year-round; however, the specialty tangerine ones will only be available until the end of the month.1790 W Garvey Ave Ste G, Monterey Park, CA 91754, [phone].

The Buttery – Fountain Valley

The Buttery in Fountain Valley prepares standout Vietnamese mooncakes for the holiday. More savory than traditional versions, the mooncakes here are filled with a paste made from 20 different ingredients, including lime leaves, smoked meats, lotus seeds, and wine and sugar syrup, and aged for six months. The flavor lineup also includes bird’s nest and abalone with two salted eggs, assorted mixed nuts with roasted chicken, and mushrooms with five nuts. 9430 Warner Avenue, D, Fountain Valley, CA 92708

Cakes by Dad – Temple City

For 35 years, Mr. Li has worked in the baking industry, including three decades at Asian bakeries throughout the San Gabriel Valley and Chinatown. Now retired, Li continues to bake from his home in Temple City, making custom birthday and wedding cakes, mango-rose tarts, and seasonal treats in small batches. For the Mid-Autumn Festival, he handcrafts traditional red bean and white lotus seed paste mooncakes with salted egg yolks, along with vegan options. Mooncakes must be preordered through Instagram.

Coconut & Co – Alhambra

Coconut specialty shop Coconut & Co is putting a lighter spin on the traditional mooncake with handmade coconut jelly mooncakes made in small batches. Made with 100 percent organic young Thai coconut water, the jelly is filled with real ingredients and comes in four flavors: longan chrysanthemum osmanthus, ube coconut, matcha red bean, and coconut mango. The owners created the mooncakes after hearing from elders who found traditional mooncakes too sweet, opting instead for something lighter and more refreshing. Mooncakes are available individually or in a box containing all four flavors from September 17 through 25, while supplies last. Preorders are preferred. 15 E. Main Street, Alhambra, CA 91801, [phone].

Domie’s Bakery – Rosemead

Old-school Cantonese bakery Domie’s values tradition — it prepares over 45 mooncake variations for the holiday, some with up to five salted egg yolks inside. The wide range of fillings includes white lotus seeds, coconut, mixed nuts and ham, taro paste, orange peel with red bean, and black sesame. Customers can purchase mooncakes individually or as a set intended for gifting. 7609 Garvey Avenue, Rosemead, CA 91770, [phone].

JJ Bakery – multiple locations

Taiwanese bakery JJ Bakery offers an extensive selection of both Taiwanese- and Cantonese-style mooncakes in miniature and large sizes, with delivery available. Taiwanese-style flavors include pork mung bean, mung bean, custard lava, date, red bean, lotus paste, and several versions paired with salted egg yolk, while Cantonese-style options include pineapple, red bean, date, lotus seed, mung bean, and red bean yolk. Mooncakes are also available in assorted gift boxes that combine Taiwanese and Cantonese styles, with multiple options for the number of salted egg yolks in each mooncake. Multiple locations throughout Southern California, including Rowland Heights, Temple City, Torrance, Hacienda Heights, City of Industry, and Arcadia.

Kee Wah Bakery – multiple locations

Kee Wah’s mooncakes come straight from Hong Kong with traditional flavors available in both mini and regular sizes. This year’s selection includes ginger white lotus seed, lotus seed paste, red bean paste, date paste, mixed nuts, and assorted gift boxes. For a more playful option, the bakery also offers mini panda-shaped mooncakes filled with custard. Multiple locations throughout the San Gabriel Valley, including Arcadia, Monterey Park, San Gabriel, and Rowland Heights.

Kim Hung Bakery – Chinatown

Kim Hung Bakery, a staple in Los Angeles’s historic Chinatown for nearly 25 years, offers Vietnamese, Cantonese, and harder-to-find Chiu Chow-style mooncakes. The Vietnamese versions use mung bean and durian fillings with salted egg yolks, while the Cantonese options include red bean, winter melon, lotus, and white lotus paste. The Chiu Chow-style mooncakes with a flaky exterior can be purchased individually or in a set. 959 N. Broadway, Los Angeles, 90012, [phone].

​​Lady M – multiple locations

Lady M brings its signature mille crepe flavors to the Mid-Autumn Festival with the limited-edition 2026 Moonlit Reverie Gift Set, created in collaboration with Kee Wah Bakery. The set includes six mooncakes in three flavors: pistachio, yuzu cheesecake, and red bean. Each gift set also comes with a collectible rotating moon globe projector that casts a soft celestial light, along with a gift bag and personalized notecard. 400 S. Baldwin Avenue, Unit E21, Arcadia, CA 91007; 1947 Sawtelle Boulevard, Suite A, Los Angeles, CA 90025; 2967 Michelson Drive, Irvine, CA 92612.

Phoenix Bakery – Chinatown

The 88-year-old Phoenix Bakery is a family-owned and operated institution in Chinatown. Although best known for its layered strawberry cakes and various Cantonese baked goods, the bakery shifts to baking Cantonese-style mooncakes during the Mid-Autumn Festival. On hand are red bean- and lotus-paste-filled mooncakes with one or two salted egg yolks, as well as mini mooncakes and options without any yolks. 969 N. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA 90012, [phone].

Royal Bakery – Rosemead

The no-frills Royal Bakery in Rosemead is known for its Vietnamese-style mooncakes, which are available in baked and snow-skin varieties. Dense fillings of mashed mung bean or taro, along with mixed nuts and cured meat, make for hearty sweets best paired with hot tea. The mooncakes are sold individually and in boxes of four for gifting. 8450 Valley Boulevard #117, Rosemead, CA 91770, [phone].

Sunmerry – multiple locations

Modern Taiwanese bakery Sunmerry offers a range of limited-edition mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival, including a lava series in chocolate, strawberry milk, coconut milk, oolong matcha, and jasmine peach. The bakery also offers a Cantonese-style mooncake made with lotus seed paste, along with Taiwanese flaky mooncakes filled with taro mochi and sweet potato mochi. Customers can choose any four mooncakes for $16.88 and have them packaged in a gift box. Multiple locations throughout Los Angeles and Orange counties, including Arcadia, Temple City, Irvine, Monterey Park, and Rowland Heights.

Sunny Dumplings – multiple locations

Known for its handmade Shanghainese steamed buns, Sunny Dumplings offers Shanghainese mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival. These mooncakes have a golden, flaky, and slightly crispy crust, achieved by layering dough with lard, similar to puff pastry. The traditional pork filling offers a savory contrast to the delicate crust. 18481 Colima Road, Rowland Heights, CA 91748, [phone]; 310 N. Lemon Avenue, Walnut, CA 91789, [phone]; 24602 Raymond Way, H, Lake Forest, CA 92630, [phone].

85°C Bakery Cafe – multiple locations

85°C Bakery Cafe offers a seasonal selection of both Cantonese- and Taiwanese-style mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Cantonese-style mooncakes come in chocolate, Hokkaido milk mochi, almond lotus, pineapple yolk, and red bean yolk flavors. Taiwanese-style options include dong po, filled with spicy pork sung, red bean paste, mochi, walnuts, and egg yolk and topped with Asiago cheese, along with taro mochi and golden yolk red bean. Multiple locations throughout Southern California, including Arcadia, Hacienda Heights, Irvine, Lake Forest, Rowland Heights, San Gabriel, and West Covina.