6 places to munch on mochi donuts in North Carolina

Mochi donuts are, as they say, trending in a big way. Here are a handful of locations across North Carolina to get them.

With their bright colors, playful shapes, and delectable textures, mochi donuts have taken foodies by storm in recent months as the Japanese-inspired treat makes its way into cafés and restaurants across the United States.

North Carolina is no exception to this growing trend: International mochi donut shop chain Mochinut has already opened a pair of locations in Cary and Pineville with plans to expand into more locations across the Carolinas.

About mochi donuts 

So what makes these doughy rings so irresistible? According to Namiko Chen, an expert in Japanese cuisine who was interviewed by The Food Institute, the popularity of mochi donuts in the U.S. traces back to its invention in Hawaii, where the chewy texture of mochi ice cream had already garnered a devoted fan base. In recent years, more and more Asian pastry shops began to offer mochi donuts, which Chen describes as a distinctly “Asian-American creation.”

Perhaps it’s the shape of mochi donuts that keeps fans coming back for more: Made of eight dough balls arranged into a circular shape, not unlike a baby’s chew toy, these treats are usually covered in brightly colored candy coatings, only adding to the dessert’s drool-worthy presentation.

Or maybe it’s all about the mouth feel. Chen notes that mochi donuts’ signature texture, which some describe as dense and chewy or even bouncy, is owed to its base of glutinous rice flour, though several shops in the U.S. utilize a gluten-free batter. Pair this with the donuts’ hard and sometimes crispy coatings of chocolate or fruit flavors, and each doughy ball in the donut ring becomes a satisfying salve to your taste buds. Some mochi donut lovers prefer to separately tear each dough ball from the ring before popping the bite into their mouths, while others describe the unique joy of sinking their teeth into the entire ring, stretching the dough to its limits.

Where to get mochi donuts in North Carolina

Take a bite out of this growing trend by visiting one of the handful of teahouses, cafés, and restaurants across North Carolina that serve fresh batches of mochi donuts each day:

1. Moji Teahouse – Charlotte

Mochi donut fans have been known to form a long line outside of Charlotte’s Moji Teahouse in hopes of biting into one of these perfectly baked treats. At Moji, variety is the spice of life, and the teahouse introduces new mochi donut flavors each week. Recent top-sellers include the lychee lemonade glazed donut, the cookie monster donut featuring chocolate cookie crumbles and a milk glaze, as well as the ever-delicious original donut, complete with powdered sugar. Wash down a half-dozen with a soothing boba milk tea or one of their several flavored teas, including jasmine, taro, and ginger. Moji is open until 7:30 p.m. each weekday, making it the perfect stop for an after-work pick-me-up.

2. 1368 Sweet Corner Café – Charlotte

1368 Sweet Corner Café in Charlotte is a casual Vietnamese eatery that serves up mochi donuts alongside sweet and savory dishes, including boba tea, iced coffee, Korean beef short ribs, vermicelli noodle bowls, and k-mochi dogs, or Korean corn dogs made with a delightfully chewy mochi pancake mix. Fans of 1368 Sweet Corner rave about the café’s diverse selection of mochi donut flavors: Find your favorite among strawberry, lychee rose, cookies and cream, matcha, and more. Not in the mood for a full-service restaurant experience? This eatery offers a lounge seating area perfect for a quick rest, mochi donut in hand.

3. Boba Baba – Cary 

At Boba Baba, a craft tea and sweets shop in Cary, mochi donuts are baked fresh each day using a rice flour base and a house-made glaze. A rotating cast of donut flavors includes classics like blueberry, strawberry, passionfruit, and chocolate hazelnut, as well as innovative combinations like honey black sesame, pistachio-lemon, and buko pandan, named for the Filipino chilled dessert composed of young coconut, sweetened cream, jelly cubes, and pandan, a tropical plant that tastes of vanilla and coconut. Pair your donut with one of Boba Baba’s specialty drinks, like the mango butterfly fresca, which sees house-made mango puree combined with floral jasmine tea, lemonade, and butterfly pea tea.

4. & Coffee – Charlotte

Located inside Charlotte’s Urban District Market, & Coffee is a cozy and convenient place to satiate your next mochi donut fix. The coffee shop’s extensive menu of coffees, smoothies, pastries, and toasts is complemented by a free library full of books to peruse while you enjoy your snack, as well as stationery, stickers, and other paper products for purchase. Since & Coffee is open Thursdays through Sundays until at least 9 p.m., it serves as the perfect place for a first date or weekend catch-up session with friends and family members.

5. Mochinut – Cary & Pineville

Mochinut, the popular chain of mochi donut restaurants with locations across the United States, South Korea, and Thailand, has finally reached the Tar Heel State, with locations in Cary and Pineville’s The Centrum shopping mall so far. The mouth-watering ingenuity of Mochinut’s signature donut flavors is matched by the eye-catching glazes that adorn these doughy rings. Savor flavors like cotton candy, white chocolate churro, Rice Krispies, peanut butter and jelly funnel cake, dragon fruit, and blueberry pomegranate. Mochinut also specializes in Korean corn dogs, which come with a variety of toppings like crispy ramen, hot Cheetos, mozzarella, and potato.

6. ISO ISO Ramen & Boba – High Point

You might want to arrive at ISO ISO Ramen & Boba at 11 a.m. when doors open if you want a chance to devour one of their freshly made mochi donuts—as the fast-casual ramen restaurant located in High Point reports on its Instagram, their homemade batches sell out quickly each day. Pair your matcha or cookies and cream-flavored mochi donuts with one of ISO ISO’s signature milk teas, available in honeydew, oolong, and wintermelon, among other flavors. Of course, no visit to ISO ISO is complete without sampling one of their ramen bowls: Choose among vegetarian, chicken, shoyu made with braised beef, tonkotsu made with pork belly, or their namesake variety complete with spiced ground beef and bok choy.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.