Mochi is a delicious rice flour dough ball wrapped delicately around sweet bean paste- typically called Anko, Koshi or Adzuki, and is enjoyed by many across the Asian continent as a sweet dessert. To learn more and taste the sweetness for myself, I went to Dragon Star Oriental Market to get a closer look (or lick). Here’s my findings based on how, well, tasty they were.

Royal Family (Red Bean Mochi)

(Red Bean Japanese Mochi by http://www.royal-family.com.tw/eng/tasty-q-mochi/jap-red-bean.html)

The Royal Family brand of mochi has the most variety and diversity with their flavor combinations-So many that it’s hard to choose. They had green tea, strawberry, adzki, blueberry, durian, dragon fruit, you get the idea. I stuck with the red bean on this one, and the simplicity was worth it. It was sweetly mild, the bean paste smooth and the flavor bursting through to compliment the rice dough. Altogether, 8/10.

Steamed Rice Cake

(Steamed Rice Cakes/Cow Cakes/Steamed Honeycomb Cakes (Banh Bo Hap) by http://runawayrice.com/desserts/steamed-rice-cakescow-cakessteamed-honeycomb-cakes-banh-bo-hap/)

Not technically Mochi, but it is rice and….sweetness. The texture of these particular cakes was rigid, a solid cake you could sink your teeth into. The only drawback was there was a soapy aftertaste. Nothing if not refreshing 5/10.

Family Sweet Rice Cake Mochi

(Mochi Rice Cake 8pc (Family) by http://chaosasianmarket.com/product/mochi-rice-cake-8pc-family/)

I got the exact same package as pictured above, and these mochis were probably the better tasting of the batch I got. I highly recommend the Taro flavor, such a specific tasting sweetness left me wanting more. Smooth insides, some crunchy outsides, all together 9/10

Shirakiku Sanshoku Dango

(Shirakiku Japanese Rice Cake (Sanshoku Dango), Red Bean Flavor (12.69oz) by https://www.mercato.com/shop/sunrise-mart/item/shirakiku-japanese-rice-cake-sanshoku-dango-red-bean-flavor-1269oz/26101)

These ones were the same flavor of the Royal Family mochi (red bean paste) but had many subtle differences. The paste inside was not as smooth, allowing for more of the pure bean flavor to push through the rice dough. The texture was off-putting to me, but it’s otherwise a perfectly serviceable, and delicious mochi 7/10

Blueberry Duo Snowy Mooncake

(But since fruity flavours are quite common now, people are coming out with more new flavours. Like how blueberry cheese is no longer just a flavour for cakes. by http://says.com/my/lifestyle/funky-mooncake-flavours-you-didnt-know-about)

Do you like blueberry cheesecake? You might enjoy these snow skin cream cheese blueberry mooncakes, I mean you don’t have too, but you can. While still not technically mochi, these sweet cakes are soft, pliant, and the perfect snack cake to eat around the holidays 8/10.

Yuki & Love Mochi

(2 x 10.5 Yuki & Love Japanese Rice Cake MOCHI STRAWBERRY by Yuki & Love by https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U9VZUH8/?tag=recipesfood-20&pcd=130417013430)

Let’s save the worst for last, shall we? This mochi was not an actual mochi, but a marshmallowy traitor disguised as a soft, inviting but still pungent with the tastes of the factory mound that you shove into your mouth. There’s no actual beans or bean paste in this, but rather a tangy ‘surprise’ of something in the middle. It tastes awkward, it’s weird to have in/and or around your mouth, and i had to eat 23 of these because I bought the thing on sale for 2.99. 2/10

Thank you for taking the time to explore these sensational desserts with me. If you’ll excuse me, I have to re-think my choice of buying and eating 6 different packages of mochi.