Introduction
We have previously written a photographic narrative and a guide to Japanese wagashi sweets, Lilliputian works of art that are the “Jimmy Choos” of the Japanese dessert world. Although we have yet to spot such high-falutin sweets in NYC (or indeed, elsewhere outside of Japan itself), another form of Japanese dessert has become increasingly popular across NYC. As we review below, one can increasingly find traditional “mochi” balls in a number of places, as well as more contemporary inventions that fuse a Western sensibility with the Japanese tradition – “mochi doughnuts,” for example. Even if the results can sometimes be rather perplexing, dessert creativity that transcends borders is always something worth a little stomach space, we think!
*Updated January 2023.
Traditional mochi
Dessert destination: Minamoto, Financial District and Midtown East, Manhattan.- Short and sweet story: Box of 8 = approx. $20. If you have been to Japan before, you will know that many traditional sweet stores are set up in a rather high-end way, with the sweets behind glass counters. Minamoto offers Japanese sweets in the most rarefied of shop environments in NYC. While we do not recommend the colourful jellies here, we do recommend the boxed mochi sets. Either the strawberry or the white peach mochi – pillowy soft with slight chew – will make fine accompaniments to your daily afternoon tea session.
Elegant plated mochi desserts
- Dessert destination: Cha-An Teahouse, East Village, Manhattan.
- Short and sweet story: $12-$15. As we have blogged before, Cha-An Teahouse is one of our favourite dessert spots in NYC, a little sanctuary away from the crowds… although on a recent visit, the ambience was somewhat more raucous than we last remembered. For reasonably-priced elegant Japanese desserts, there’s no better spot in NYC. For example, the “Hojicha Anmitsu” is essentially three different textures of hojicha tea – jelly, mochi and ice cream. Contained within a small vessel, it is further layered with a sweet syrup to balance the slightly bitter, earthy hojicha tones. By contrast, the “Mochi Mochi” features a large scoop of hojicha ice cream and several types of mochi, the rice-based shiratamamamochi and the more jelly-like, powdery green tea warabimochi cubes.
Mochi on a stick
- Dessert destination: Cha-An Bon Bon, East Village, Manhattan.
- Short and sweet story: $4. If you don’t have the time for a plated mochi dessert, or the stomach space for a full mochi doughnut, another option is mochi on a stick – also known as “dango.” The only place that we know of in NYC that offers dango is Cha-An’s smaller sister store, located adjacent to the teahouse. Slightly overpriced for the tiny dessert satay that you receive though, the dango balls come in a variety of rotating flavours (e.g. green tea, yuzu, sakura, strawberry etc). They are a little bland and hard.
Mochi icecream
- Dessert destination: Mochii, East Village, Manhattan.
- Short and sweet story: Mochi icecream ($3 for 1 piece). Mochi icecream was probably the the first foray that we sighted of dessert shops attempting to fuse the traditional Japanese confection with more Western dessert sensibilities. Today, it’s fairly commonplace, one can easily find it in most grocery stores in the icecream aisles. If you have never had it before though, mochi icecream is essentially an ice cream dumpling — a circle of rice flour is moulded around a ball of icecream, so in one bite, you get the textural contrasts of savoury and sweet, smooth and chewy. Of the handful of places that one can find mochi icecream, we particularly like the small dough balls from Mochii, a semi-hidden, below-street-level store in the East Village. The green tea matcha and the lychee here are our favourites, making for a slightly sweet treat regardless of whether it is bone-chilling winter or sticky humid summer in NYC.
Mochi cookies
- Dessert destination: The Boiis Co.
- Short and sweet story: Mochi cookie. If there is one dessert that NYC excels in over other types of desserts, it has to be cookies — home-style cookies, chunky cookies, cookies as big as a dinner plate, you got it! To add to that mix are mochi cookies, chewy, pull apart, and with Filipino-infused flavours, look out for Boiis Co pop-ups around town or order online.
First mochi doughnut trendsetter
- Dessert destination: Alimama, Chinatown, Manhattan.
- Short and sweet story: Mochi doughnut ($4). Opening in early 2018, almost two years ago now, Alimama was — in our recollection — the first place in NYC to offer “mochi doughnuts.” If you are craving something slightly lighter than the hyper-glazed saccharine doughnuts from the likes of Dough or Doughnut Plant, this may be an idea. These Dessert Correspondents however, are not entirely persuaded that Peter Pan‘s simpler fried dough creations can be beaten. In any case, over several visits, we have sampled a few of the flavours available at Alimama, most of which are painted in shimmering, almost cosmic colours. The silvery chocolate one is our favourite, though for the matcha lover, we have no hesitation in recommending the particularly intense matcha mochi doughnut. Be warned that Alimama’s interpretation of this Japanese dessert craze is ultra-chewy. A jaw work-out. Also, do note that Alimama’s mochi doughtnut creations are the more dear of the other mochi doughnut offerings in NYC. (If you are not enchanted by Alimama’s doughnuts, do try the bubble tea cream puff, which we previously reviewed here. It is a dessert wonder.).
Pon-de-ring mochi doughnut
- Dessert destination: Dough Club, Chinatown/Nolita, Manhattan.
- Short and sweet story: Mochi doughnut ($3). If there’s a tried-and-tested marketing plan for attracting the Instagram generation, it would be this: paint a shop in white and pink, make sure to include some neon signage and install bright lighting fixtures. Note, for example, Momofuku Milk Bar, which we have previously reviewed (see here). Following this formulae, not a day goes by that one does not see the Dough Club’s mochi doughnuts posted on Instagram. Distinctive for its “pon-de-ring” shape, the doughnuts are essentially eight small dough balls in a circlet form, and come in six different flavours: matcha, miso bacon (!), strawberry, hazelnut chocolate, cookie, ube with fruity pebble cereal (our favourite). We have also sampled a seasonal peppermint variety. Texture wise, we found the doughnuts lacking a “mochi chew,” being more similar to a Hong Kong-style bubble or egg waffle. That said, the mochi doughnut from Dough Club are easier to eat in entirety than the far denser mochi doughnuts from Alimama.
Pon-de-ring mochi doughnut v2
- Dessert destination: Bear Doughnut, Koreatown, Manhattan.
- Short and sweet story: Mochi doughnut ($3.75). Bear Donut is a sleek, blue-white-coloured dessert store specializing in a range of en-vogue desserts. There are enormous luscious cream buns destined to be a hit summer dessert, and there are also a small selection of mochi doughnuts. Of the latter, we tried the lavender and pink chocolate. Similar to Dough Club’s doughnuts, Bear’s doughnuts were subtly-flavoured, and airy, rather than chewy, in texture.
Pon-de-ring mochi doughnut v3
- Dessert destination: Mochinut, East Village, Manhattan.
- Short and sweet story: Mochi doughnut ($3). Mochinut’s mochi doughnuts here can be distinguished for their ultra-vibrant, almost neon colours. The doughnut themselves erred on the sweet side, and similar to Dough Club and Bear Doughnut, lacked the tough mochi chew factor of Alimama’s mochi doughnuts. Instead, Mochinut’s mochi doughts were more airy in texture, and of the flavours we tried, we loved the milk tea and blueberry the most.
Pon-de-ring mochi doughnut v4
- Dessert destination: Mochi Mochi, Koreatown, Manhattan.
- Short and sweet story: Mochi doughnut ($3.75). Located at the back of a bubble tea and coffee shop in the middle of Koreatown, Mochi Mochi bakes a selection of mochi doughnuts that are similar in texture to Mochinut, Dough Club and and Bear Donut — i.e. airy light, rather than ultra-chewy.
When cake meets mochi
- Dessert destination: Oh Mochi, Midtown West, Manhattan.
- Short and sweet story: Mochi doughnut ($2.75). Aside from desserts, your Dessert Correspondent’s other favourite hobby is…shopping. As such, when we heard that Nordstrom finally opened a multi-level store in NYC, we struggled to contain our excitement because truly, aside from Bloomingdales, what other department store caters for all budgets? Not Saks, not recently-bankrupt Barney’s, not high-society-only Bergdorf Goodman, and arguably, not really Macy’s (does anyone else find the 34th Street Herald Square Flagship completely anxiety-inducing?). The new Nordstrom store a few streets away from Columbus Circle/Lincoln Centre (one of the few uptown areas of Manhattan that we do enjoy venturing too) is quite wonderful. While it doesn’t hold as much stock as the fabulous online platform, the store is beautifully designed, spacious, airy and light-filled…and it has a mochi doughnut store downstairs! Yes, desserts and shopping in one! Oh Mochi offers a dessert that marries a cake doughnut and a mochi together. If the Dough Club and Mochi Nut has spongy mochi doughnuts, and Alimama’s require much teeth strength, Oh Mochi’s mochi doughnuts lie somewhere in the middle. Moderately chewier, with a dense cake doughnut-like texture. We have sampled the Red Velvet and Champagne Confetti flavours, and would recommend the Lemon Citrus glaze one with freeze-dried strawberry slices.
The glamourous mochi doughnut
- Dessert destination: Buddakan, Chelsea, Manhattan.
- Short and sweet story: Mochi doughnut ($15). Back in the 2000s, Buddakan was a “Sex-and-the-City”-famous restaurant. Today, it is still an exuberant, extravagant venue. It’s definitively one of the few remaining restaurants you go to when you want to feel like you are living in the ultra-glamourous NYC portrayed in Hollywood movies. One day soon, we will return and review Buddakan’s full dessert menu, but for now, let us tell you about its mochi doughnut. It comes out straight from the oven, dusted in a snow shower of cinnamon sugar. Dip the perfectly slightly-chewy, slightly-pillow circlet into condensed milk chantilly and dream a little dream.
Dessert Correspondents 