Chewy Mochi Donuts – Mister Donut, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Das Gute

My quest for Mister Donut did not start out great….first of all the location listed in our tour book was no longer around…and Googling did not help either.  So basically I had given up on the first night.

The next morning we were on our way to Insadong.  Fannypack suggested we take a walk to Chungmuro Station instead of starting out at MyeongDong Station.  We walked and walked…I wasn’t paying attention to anything really just yakking away…when suddenly Fannypack stopped and said, “Mister Donut???”

I looked at where she was pointing.  I jumped for joy.

Why do I love Mister Donut so much???  Well I’ve often noted just how much I love any chewy glutinous concoction such as rice cakes, rice balls, mochi, anything of the sort.  Mister Donut’s main event is their “Pon De” line which is a donut ring of chewy rice flour based donut balls, together as a donut ring.  I first had it in Japan and I’ve fallen in love with them since.  It’s constantly on my mind.  I’ll never forget them.

Immediately I darted inside.  It was around 10am and it was surprising to see that all the patrons were adult men.

There we so many to choose from.  I picked two even though I was extremely full from our breakfast of waffles and honey toast at Caffe Bene.  For my first two, I picked the Pon De Double Strawberry (1,500W) and the Pon De  Choco (1,100W).  There were lots more to choose from but I resisted.

The Pon De Double Strawberry was heavenly and probably the best I’ve ever had.  It is their signature regular Pon De donut, glazed with strawberry flavored white chocolate, topped with bits of freeze-dried strawberries.  Biting into it you’re hit with a strong authentic strawberry aroma.  The chocolate glaze is done just right, not too thick, not too thin.  I believe this is a limited edition donut.

The Pon De Choco is again the Pon De donut, glazed with milk chocolate.  This is one of their staples and is always a good choice.  I find Mister Donut’s donuts are never too sweet.  It’s so fun to bite off each little ball!!

On another note…I saw that they actually had miniature versions of their donuts in a variety pack and they were just so darling!!! But again I resisted…

And recently I found out that the Japan branch collaborated with Hello Kitty to make HK-themed donuts…I would’ve died.  Seriously.

Same day, different donut shop.  When I gave up on Mister Donut earlier, my next choice was to go to the Korean franchise of Dunkin’ Donuts because they have a Asian-region only donut called the Chewisty with has the same concept, and same look too.  I got another two this time.  The flavors were the Green Tea and Cheese.  Ya I like my unusual flavors.

I will have to say that the texture is very similar, but my tastes lie with Mister Donut just because they were my first ;).  The Cheese flavored one was mildly cheesy which was more than I expected.

I must inform you that we accidentally bumped into another Mister Donut on our third day and I had another two even though I was superbly full.  I can’t waste any chance of eating them!

Home-cooking Recipe: Stir fried Veggies with Mochi Fishcake; Steamed Egg Tofu

I actually cook more often than this blog would have you know.  I enjoy cooking, and I’m proud to say that more often than not, my creations are edible and actually yummy.  You see, I’m the type to just throw in whatever condiments/seasonings I have on hand in whatever amounts I think is right.  I think I got that from my parents, mostly my dad, who is a far better cook than my mom (sorry mom!)

Another reason why I cook so often is simply…I find my stuff is more tasty than Hitman’s!!!  I much prefer Chinese cooking than Caucasian, but we do have pasta quite often as it’s very easy.

I would like to share more of my cooking on here..it’s not easy as it’s difficult to take pictures while you’re busy stirring or chopping and your hands are all dirty.  But here’s a start.

Recipe: Stirfried Veggies with Mochi Fishcake and Steamed Egg Tofu

Stirfried Veggies with Mochi Fishcake

Note:  I got the Mochi Fishcake at T&T Supermarket, where you get the various hotpot fishballs and such.  I think this is their creation.  You can for sure substitute any other ‘meats’…this particular night this was the only easy-to-thaw ‘meat’ I had on hand.

Ingredients:

• 6-7 Fishcakes, cut into 3
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 6-7 dried shrimps
• 2 cups frozen veggies
• approx 2 tbsp Somen Sauce (a type of sweetened soy sauce)
• approx 2 tbsp Low-sodium soy sauce

(Again, I didn’t measure the condiments…I just splashed them on to taste).

Instructions:

1. Soak the dried shrimps in a little water till tender and cut in half. Save the water.
2. Spray pan with olive oil spray and heat on medium. Meanwhile, microwave frozen veggies according to directions (4 mins for me).
3. When pan is hot, add onions and cook til tender.
4. Add dried shrimps (without water) and heat till fragrant.
5. Add fishcakes and stir till hot.
6. Add microwaved veggies.  Stir till hot.
7. Add the Somen sauce and low-sodium soy sauce and the shrimp water.  Cook until everything’s heated through.

Steamed Egg Tofu with Garlic Black Bean Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 pkg egg tofu
• 1/2 tsp garlic black bean sauce
• 3/4 tbsp cold water
• 1/4 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp chopped green onions
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro

Instructions:

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil for steaming.
2. While waiting, cut open package of egg tofu and slice into 3/4 inch rounds.  Assemble on a platter.
3. Mix together garlic black bean sauce, cold water, and corn starch. Pour onto the egg tofu rounds.
4. Sprinkle half of the green onion and half of the cilantro on top. Save the rest for afterwards.
5. When the water is boiling, place the platter into the steamer and steam for 15 minutes.
6. After 15 minutes, take the platter out and sprinkle the rest of the green onion and cilantro on top.

Bon appetit!

Random Eats – Kyoto

Honestly, while in Japan, I never went into a meal or ate anything because I was hungry.  It was more because I HAD to eat it because I’m IN FREAKIN’ JAPAN.  It may be a while before I come back so I needed to eat everything I wanted to eat.

Which will explain the insane amount of food pictures I took.  It would be too much of a hassle to do separate posts on each thing so I’ve decided that, for some of them, they’ll be by day.

Before we headed off to Kyoto, we found a little cafe just across from our Shin-Osaka hotel.  After taking a look at their menu outside, we decided to have breakfast here.

Again I must reiterate- Japanese coffee is damn good.

Anyways for my breakfast I chose the Egg & Cheese toast.  It came with a salad of sorts.

Japanese bread is notorious for being soft, fluffy, chewy, and this was no different.  It was thickly sliced and topped with chunky scrambled eggs, ketchup, and cheese.  It was simple and so good.  I’ll probably try to make this at home.

Bubble Queen’s 7 Flavor Mochi

EDIT: Just so anyone’s interested, the hours for Bubble Queen are as follows: M-Thu 2-8pm, F-Sat 2-12am, Sun 2-6pm.

If you can’t tell already, my favorite BBT place is Bubble Queen.  Honestly, I’ve had an assortment of drinks from them and I’ve NOT had a miss yet.

But it may not be obvious but they actually serve an assortment of non-beverage items too.  Recently they’ve come out with some stuffed mochi/rice ball things.

I think they’re more like tong yuen 湯圓.  There are a total of 7 flavors: Chocolate, Matcha, Strawberry, Mango, Taro, Sesame, and Coconut.

And each are stuffed with a flavor.  Chocolate with chocolate, Matcha with red bean, Strawberry with white choco, Mango with mango, Taro with black sesame, Sesame with black sesame, and Coconut with black sesame.

So I ordered one for Boyfriend’s Mom.  That being said, I didn’t actually get to taste them.  They are interesting though and I will for sure try them myself another time.  Boyfriend’s Mom and Dad seemed to enjoy them though.

Bubble Queen Mango Mochi

Hi just wanna update you guys that Bubble Queen now offers flavored mochi!  You can get the big size with filling or the mini size which goes on top of drinks!

Above is the Mango Mochi and it’s SOOOOO GOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!

On a side note, does any of you foodies out there know where I can get authentic Thai Tea (besides Tapioca Express)?