Mochi from the popular GOMAJI mochi in Hualien.
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Have you ever heard of Mochi? It is the kind of sweet dessert that is made of rice flour, and stuffed with sweet-flavoured fillings. It is soft yet chewy. Hualien is famous for mochi since millet of native species are grown in the area. Instead of buying mochi at the local tourist gift shop, I highly recommend you to walk into the alleyway to search for GOMAJI mochi.
GOMAJI Mochi is a Mochi place which is not easy to find in Hualien City. Simply checking out the long waiting line in the alley, you would know it must be pretty good.
We arrived at 07:30 to this tiny side street house in Hualien, walked in the front door and down a hallway where a long line of customers were already waiting! You can check their FB page before visiting to make sure they are open and there are still some mochi to buy.
Inside the kitchen of GOMAJI Mochi, many hands were at work moulding mochi around either red bean paste, sesame powder, or peanut powder.
There’s just something about sticky, chewy rice flour mixed with water, filled with something that little bit sweet. I can’t quite describe it, but just like us English pair a biscuit or scone with a cup of hot milk tea, I can totally see how Japanese (traditionally, of course) can sit down with some mochi and a hot cup of green/mocha tea.
Moulded expertly around a perfect amount of filling (in this case, red bean), GOMAJI Mochi is the perfect afternoon tea accompaniment.
Additionally, how cute are these boxes? Priced at $180 for 12 mochi, it’s a bloody steal! Each individual mochi is $15 – unreal!
Be prepared to get the best texture and the best flavour of the mochi on the day you buy. It’s recommended to finish the box within 3 days, and I can testify that the longer you leave it, the harder the texture becomes. I really enjoy these mochi, the skin is chewy but not hard to swallow (sometimes some mochi can be too chewy and you would be scared of swallowing), the texture is just right with the sweet yet not too sweet filling. As a mochi lover, I think this is one of the best mochi have ever tasted in Taiwan.
Peanut anything just floats my boat. So peanut powder inside this perfect mochi hit the spot. But, also, the sesame powder was awesome, too!
The red bean flavour was good, too, but not quite as palatable to me as the sesame and peanut both were.
If you are looking for some gifts to take back, you should plan GOMAJI mochi as the last stop of your trip, so you can take the fresh mochi home to share with your friends and family (make sure to finish the box within 3 days for the best quality!). I am pretty sure they would be appreciated.
GOMAJI Mochi, as well as these incredible 剝皮辣椒 will go down in my phone as must-buys every time I go to Hualien.
If you love Hualien like I do, click here to check out some good food I recommend in Hualien!
- Want some food recommendations in Hualien? Click for more posts in Hualien.
- Hualien Restaurant – 055龍蝦海鮮 1 of the best Taiwan Seafood restaurants for lobster!
- Hualien, ShouFeng Township – Feng Chun Ice 豐春冰, Delicious all-year-round
- Hualien – Jia Shing 佳興冰果店
- Hualien City – Yi Wan Xiao 一碗小
- Hualien City – Salt Lick 火車頭烤肉屋