Our World in Words

Dessert finds: Mochiko and Cinnabon

During a lunch meetup at SM North Edsa, a UAE-based childhood friend let me try Mochiko, a Japanese-inspired confection akin to mochi-filled balls.  The outer covering, made from glutinous mochiko or rice flour, wraps around a solid ball of luscious premium-grade ice cream.





Currently there are 13 flavors, but we only tried the bestsellers which were Oreo and milk, and cookie dough which contains French vanilla ice cream and cookie chips inside. 

Cold mochi desserts: Oreo and milk, and cookie dough

Mochiko offers an exciting take on Japanese mochi desserts. It sheds a lovely play of textures, with the smooth ice cream lying on a thin bed of a sticky outer mochi. I love how the ice cream is soft but doesn’t melt quickly when you bite into it, and how wonderful the shell tastes with the ice cream. I wish they had splurged more on the cookie bits though. 



It is a little pricey (P70 each for all flavors) for something as small as an oreo cookie, but the ice cream filling explains it all.  It is subtle yet sublime, and doesn’t taste like commercial ice cream at all.



As parting gift, I offered her a box each of the regular-sized bons (classic and chocobon, P95 and P85, respectively) from Cinnabon , and got a box of 5’s each of the minibon classic (P85) and mini chocobons (P75). We were supposed to get Cello’s doughnuts as I have a voucher for that but  turns out  we had to reserve at least a day prior to pick-up.


Regular sized classic cinnamon rolls and chocobons from Cinnabon and other desserts

This is the first time I purchased minibons and the chocobon, and I was curious if the quality is consistent with the regular-sized ones (In my experience, when an establishment offers budget or mini versions,  they usually don’t taste as good as the regular ones).


Indeed!



While the bons aren’t as soft as I remembered regular-sized ones to be, the taste remained the same.  The pungent cinnamon flavor of the classic bons goes sooo well with the light cream cheese frosting, and left me wishing that Cinnabon has an option for extra cream cheese.


Cinnabon’s Minibon classic
However, the chocobon for me, takes the cake. If you’re averted to cinnamon, then this would make a lovely dessert. The cinnamon flavor is very light, almost next to none, and the chocolate gives off rather than an elegant, dark taste than a sweet and milky one. Sarap!!!





Cinnabon minichocobon: a piece of heaven!

The mini bons are a perfect choice if you’d like to just try different flavors or would like to share without spending a lot. You’d better consume the bons right away though. I stored some in the fridge for a day, and even when kept enclosed in the box then microwaved, the center became tough to chew.


I wish everyday could be dessert day!

About the Author

Gretchen Filart

Gretchen Filart is a writer from the Philippines, where she weaves poems and creative nonfiction about motherhood, love, healing, nature, and intersectionalities. Her works have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net, received distinction from phoebe’s Spring Poetry Contest and Navigator’s Travel Writing Competition, and share space in local and foreign publications. Connect with her on Twitter, Instagram, and Bluesky @gretchenfilart. She’s usually friendly.

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Comments

  1. Mommy Roxi says

    Ooh I love Mochiko! Been a fan since they started at bazaars pa lang. I always get Mango. I agree that it's a bit pricey so I always look for boxed ice cream mochi at the grocery. I did chance upon this one brand at Rustan's same taste, but softer mochi. The best one I found was in New Jersey from an asian grocery. It was around $10, 6 mochi ice cream in a box. I swear I finished one box in a day. Mas masarap pa sa Mochiko. It was like filled with Magnolia Mango ice cream!

    Reply

  2. Filipina Explorer says

    Oh there's ice cream mochi at Rustan's? Sigh…the perks of living in the metro! I'd love to try the mango flavor next time 🙂

    Reply

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