I picked up the most gorgeous mochi (rice cakes) at the recent Japan Festival in Box Hill. After developing an appreciation for such things in Japan, I was quite upset that I couldn’t seem to find any freshly-made artisan ones here in Melbourne. Alas, we probably still can’t find them as these ones came all the way from New South Wales.

This is a Sakura (cherry blossom) flavoured mochi wrapped in a real pickled cherry blossom leaf. It imparts a definite fragrance and saltiness to the sweet rice dumpling which is filled with sweetened azuki (red bean) paste. Unlike many of the mochi I have seen, the grains of the rice remain intact instead of being pounded to a paste. Isn’t it just beautiful?

These are kashiwa mochi so named after the oak leaf they are wrapped in. They are traditionally made on the 5th May to celebrate Children’s Day in Japan. Like the sakura mochi above, you are not meant to eat the leaf. Inside the pounded glutinous rice exterior was the same sweetened azuki (red bean) paste, although I detected a definite honey flavour to it.

Finally, an assorted pack of mochi, although I don’t know whether some of these might be called something else (wagashi perhaps?). Towards the back was a green mochi filled with azuki, perhaps flavoured with mugwort (I’m guessing here). To the front were two rather unusual sweets. The one to the left was filled with the honey azuki paste mentioned earlier and the exterior was gingerbread in flavour. Yup, that’s right. Gingerbread. And the one to the right tasted just like white bread, and it too was filled with azuki paste and sprinkled with goma (black sesame seeds). Traditional? Hmm…perhaps someone can enlighten me?

Just as an aside, apparently a new craze has hit Japan, and that is the moffle - a cross between a mochi and a waffle. Ooh…I must try me some! Sugoi!