Mochi is a popular Japanese treat. It’s a rice cake traditionally made in a ceremony called Mochitsuki, where the rice is pounded into a paste and then moulded into a shape. Nowadays there is of course a more modern way of mass-producing mochi. There are a lot of flavours of mochi widely available, with and without filling. Popular varieties are Daifuku Mochi, which is mochi filled with red bean pasta, and more recently ice cream mochi, which is filled with, you guessed it, ice cream. Mochi unfortunately often makes the news around new year’s, when a lot of people consume the sticky and chewy treats and some choke in them. Authorities warn people, saying they shouldn’t consume a whole mochi, but rather a small piece at a time.
Given the fact that this Japanese snack is so popular, it was about time I tried it for myself and wrote a review about it. This review contains three flavours of Mochi from one brand, but there are many more available so there’s many more to try.
Taiwan Dessert – Cacao Mochi Chocolate
Price: ±€3,-
These mochi had a very clear chocolate flavour to them, especially the filling clearly had chocolate in it. This seemed to be a creamy chocolate ganache, which might’ve been made with dark chocolate, since it was slightly bitter but not too bitter. It wasn’t overly sweet, but tasty nonetheless. It was soft and chewy at the same time.
Taiwan Dessert – Cacao Mochi Banana
Price: ±€3,-
A creamy white chocolate ganache with banana flavour seems to be the filling of these mochi cakes. Although the banana flavour tastes less like actual banana and more like banana candies. When it comes to texture it was soft and chewy, just like the previous flavour.
Taiwan Dessert – Cacao Mochi Strawberry
Price: ±€3,-
Another version with a creamy white chocolate ganache inside, but this time a mochi with a strawberry flavour. The flavour isn’t very strong, it only seems present in the outer layer rather than in the ganache as well. The texture of this version is the same as the previous versions.
All three of these rice cakes were dusted with, what I’m guessing was, rice flour. The thin layer wasn’t bothersome and didn’t dull the flavours. Each pack also included a small packet to keep the mochi fresh, which was clearly marked ‘do not eat’.
The packaging suited the flavours inside, clearly showing what flavours to expect. Each box contained two packages with four mochi cakes inside. As you can see the actual rice cakes are less bright than the ones on the packaging.
When it comes to the texture of the mochi, I’d never experienced something like it. It was slightly sticky, but also soft and chewy at the same time. My overall favourite was the strawberry version, but that’s no surprise since it’s a flavour and fruit I enjoy a lot. Regardless all three flavours were definitely tasty and all contained the expected flavours.
Have you ever tried mochi? What did you think?
