Mochi Cream - Costa Mesa

You know what Asian palates love? Chewy and jellied textures. Think of boba. Think of the tendon in beef noodle soup. And mostly, think of mochi, which is, I think, the penultimate in Asian textural foods. It exists simply because of its chew. The sensation in your mouth is similar to gnawing on your own inner cheek for dessert. And that's appropriate because, my, what desserts mochi makes!

For sure you've had mochi ice cream at Mochilato, or any random Japanese restaurant where they might offer it at the end of a meal. You may have even had J. Sweet Bakery's strawberry mochi, which unfortunately, they stopped making.



What the new Mochi Cream in Mitsuwa's food court does is a combination of the two. Mochi Cream's mochi creams have the smooth oval shape of a mochi ice cream, but are filled with all sorts of things other than ice cream.

I tried three last week and realized the caramel custard one actually contained caramel custard. The strawberry and the chocolate had a sort of mousse tucked inside. And the mochi that surrounded them were of the right thickness and yes, pleasantly chewy. I loved them.

But you know what else they have in common with mochi ice cream? Their price tags. Each mochi cream cost about two dollars. I think they know that Asians who love chewy and jellied textures won't be able to resist. Besides, beef tendon doesn't go so well with chocolate.

Mochi Cream
Mitsuwa Marketplace
665 Paularino Ave
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

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