But these days, their mochi donuts have become just as popular.īutarbutar used to make an Indonesian sweet steamed rice cake with his Mom called Kueh Lapis, so using rice flour was something he was used to. At Third Culture Bakery in Berkeley, partners in business and in life, Chef Sam Butarbutar and Wenter Shyu started their wholesale business with their now famous mochi muffin back in 2016. However, not all mochi donuts follow the same formula. “Our company mission is to spread the greatness of Japanese food culture.” Third Culture Bakery owners, Sam Butarbutar and Wenter Shyu (Elaine Wu/KQED) Yamamoto says they’re also hoping to add more Bay Area locations and even expand to Southern California and Texas. They don’t have to be donuts.” They plan on expanding the menu with other non-donut items and beverages in the future. “We’re trying to focus on mochi desserts, so we can do anything mochi. There’s no doubt that Mochill’s business is built on a trend, but Yamamoto believes their longevity is secure because of a flexible business model. But I don’t think customers wait more than an hour.” “We sell-out an hour before we close every day. Since opening in July earlier this year, they’ve been selling out daily. Flavors of the day displayed at Mochill (Elaine Wu/KQED) They offer six flavors every day, three of which change every few days. “We have Fruity Pebbles, White Chocolate, Kinako (a soybean powder that’s a popular flavor in Japan), and we’re working on a peanut butter and jelly, and a Nutella flavor,” he says. Their mochi donuts don’t stray from the currently popular Pon de Ring style, but the owner’s son Taisuke Yamamoto says that Mochill’s main differentiator is their flavors and the addition of toppings like dried fruits, macadamia nuts, and cereal. When they decided to open a takoyaki in Japantown, they wanted to add a separate brand that would focus instead on a sweet snack. Their family business is more accustomed to making takoyaki (fried octopus puffs) in Honolulu where they have made a name for themselves with their restaurant, Yama-chan. To be a recognizable part of any trend, timing is everything, and Mochill knew they wanted to be the first ones out of the gate in San Francisco. Shared storefront between Yama-chan and Mochill (Elaine Wu/KQED) Since then, MoDo’s pop-up shop has made appearances every few months in the South Bay, and their popularity hasn’t waned judging by continued long wait times. Mister Donut in Japan is credited with first selling this donut hybrid in 2003, where they call them “Pon de Rings.” Seeing how popular they were in Japan, second-generation baker, Chris Watanabe decided to start his own mochi donut shop in Honolulu called MoDo Donuts in 2017 and added signature glazes like lilikoi (passionfruit), matcha and black sesame.īy the time MoDo set up their first temporary pop-up shop in San Jose’s Mitsuwa Marketplace in April of 2018, Bay Area foodies waited upwards of 90 minutes just to get their hands on one of these donuts. And its eye-catching appearance comes from several donut balls stuck together to form a circular ring shape, making it look more like a bracelet than a snack. The mochi rice flour adds a chewy, almost bouncy texture to a normally dense, cakey donut. The combination of the American donut and Japanese mochi, a traditional rice cake made of sweet glutinous rice flour, makes a food trend that is both yummy AND photogenic. But these days, social media is filled with images and mentions of the mochi donut. Cupcakes, cake pops, and cronuts have all had their 15 minutes of fame in the food world.
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