The Japanese dessert trend is showing no signs of losing steam, with matcha, mochi and black sesame scrawled on café, ice-creamery and dessert menus across town.
Now, there's a new Japanese-inspired dessert set to steal the sweet show (hybrid? Tick. Buzzy Japanese ingredients? Double tick).
Dennis and Monique Chan, the couple behind Sydney fried chicken truck , have launched the country's first mochi doughnut, and it might just knock the cronut off its puffy glazed perch.
The Chans stumbled on the crisp, chewy treats on a trip to Tokyo where mega-franchise Mister Donut pedals several flavours of the rice flour 'pon-de-rings', as they’re referred to in Japan.
"We thought it was absolutely amazing," Chan tells SBS Food. "Crisp on the outside with a slight chew in the middle – it was something we'd never had before."
The couple began redeveloping the recipe once they returned home, but it took years before they nailed the ratios.
"We worked out you need a good balance so that it forms its shape, doesn’t absorb too much oil, and isn't too sugary or sweet."
A pharmacist by trade, Chan fell in love with fried chicken on a trip to the US with his now wife, Monique, so they swapped drug scripts for drumsticks and launched Banksia's Dirty Bird food truck two and a half years ago.
But they still had doughnuts on their mind and it was only a matter of time before the followed (the name is a play on their wedding social media hashtag – a mix of Dennis and Monique – and the word 'mochi').![Dennis and Monique Chan swapped pharmacy careers for ones in hospitality, launching Dirty Bird two and a half years ago.]](https://sbs-au-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com/drupal/food/public/dirty_bird_0819_0.jpg?imwidth=1280)
They've parked it next to their Banksia chicken truck for a two-punch dinner act, and have just launched another outlet in Flemington. There's plans to expand wider and to wholesale out soon.
Dennis and Monique Chan swapped pharmacy careers for ones in hospitality, launching Dirty Bird two and a half years ago.] Source: Supplied
Demochi is tapping into the Japanese sweets trend by using the stretchy glutinous rice paste and its choice of flavours. They’re doing a black sesame mochi doughnut, a yuzu one, and even a strawberry mochi doughnut with hundreds and thousands "to be traditional", Chan says.
Their most popular pon de ring to date has been the original honey glaze.
"The honey gives it more of a fragrant sweetness rather than a sugar rush."
If you're picturing the same mouthfeel of the regular glazed yeasty treats, think again: the mochi puts these rings in a textural league of their own.
Their most popular pon de ring to date has been the original honey glaze. Source: Supplied
"Mochi gives more of a bite to the doughnut rather than just an airy, fluffy centre," Chan explains, adding that it's more of a subtle bounce than a bubble-gum chew.
Chan recalls wolfing down translucent bags of hot cinnamon doughnuts as a kid. It's a memory that's stuck with him, and he's happy to be giving his after-school favourites a fresh spin.
Keep an eye out for some fun new flavours in the near future, including a pearl milk tea version, and fruit loops-topped ones.
286 Princes Hwy, Banksia 6pm-9pm
Paddington Night Markets, Flemington (Entry via Austin Ave) 6pm-10pm
