If you've never had mochi, let me give you a brief education. Very brief.

Mochi is a Japanese rice cake made of glutinous rice pounded into paste and molded into shape.

Now, perhaps some knowledgeable readers can help out here, but I feel like when mochi is prepared in such a way that it's sort of a round ball filled with stuff, it falls into Daifuku territory. (a little help?)

But at any rate, on a recent visit to Wheat Garden Bakery in Richmond, British Columbia, it was called mochi, it was filled with a sweet sesame seed and peanut filling, coated in coconut, and it was freaking yummy.

The saltiness of the peanuts served as a nice flavor contrast to the very sweet outer coating, and both the coconut on the outside and peanuts inside added a nice crunchiness to slightly gummy mochi texture (it's not for everyone, I will admit).

Wheat Garden was a bit of a treasure, too--I happened to pull off of the highway on my way back to Seattle from Vancouver, and was intrigued by the Richmond Public Market--this place was in an unassuming strip mall just across the street. They had a variety of traditional Asian sweets and savory baked goods, including all sorts of buns, breads, cookies, and cakes.

But I'll be going back for more mochi.

Mochi from Wheat Garden Bakery, #155-8191 Westminster Hwy, Richmond, BC V6X