Mochi, Japan’s beloved sweet treat, is a rice cake made of glutinous sticky rice. The cake is traditionally stuffed with a sweetened red-bean paste, and has an entire festival dedicated to its making. Mochitsuki is the Japanese festival where glutinous rice is communally pounded in preparation for making mochis for New Year. Edo Café plays on tradition, and has as many as 15 varieties of the traditional mochi. Located on the trendy Citywalk (Jumeirah, Dubai), Edo Café has the clean, minimalistic yet chic look associated with all things Japanese. Beautiful Japanese dolls line the window ledges, adding exotic hues to the setting. After being enchanted by Ping Pong Restaurant’s flowering Japanese tea (see my earlier post here), we decided to try out Edo’s Japanese Blossom Teas. Edo Cafe’s Blossom teas are not as dramatic, but still look very pretty and exotic in their clear mini teapots. We had Edo Cafe’s Blooming Heart of China (a mildly tart green tea with a refreshing aftertaste of jasmine), and Mu Dan Tea Rose (a floral bouquet of tea leaves entwined with scented rose). At first, it was hard to distinguish the teas from one another, but as the minutes passed by the brew got stronger and each took on its own characteristic fragrance and bold, tea-infused taste. It was pretty tough narrowing down to a plateful of mochis, every single one on the menu looked so enticing! And here is what we settled for:

We all had our personal favorites. Hubby voted for the Milk Chocolate and the Mango. I liked the Mango too, it had a very refreshing taste of fresh mango, and the staff assured us this is because it is made from the actual fruit and not artificially flavored. I also loved the Pistachio, apart from its gorgeous green color, it tasted like a cusp between a Japanese treat and a traditional Arabic pudding. The light yet decadently flavored cream filling in the mochis made these a splendid treat, and we cleaned up the plates in record time. The teas went beautifully with the mochis. Edo Café mochis can be bought in boxes, and make the perfect gift. These would make a more  interesting treat than a regular box of candies or donuts. Speaking of gifts, you can buy the gorgeous Japanese dolls they have on display as well as Edo Cafe’s pretty serving plates, teapots and cups and saucer sets. Visit the Edo Cafe website for details.