review: momiji-an summer wagashi line-up

review: momiji-an summer wagashi line-up

momiji-an is a delightful little wagashi-ya in sakai-machi (naka-ku, hiroshima city). after undergoing a major renovation in may, the small, but well-known japanese confectionary has launched quite a few new wagashi standards, as well as new limited edition summer wagashi.

i tried two new ohagi (tomato, roasted corn, respectively), as well as the annual pione daifuku.

first, ohagi. 

for those unfamiliar with these little guys, ohagi is chewy mochi rice ("glutinous rice" -- what?), wrapped in anko, a lightly sweetened red bean paste (smooth or chunky, depending on preference). it can also be the opposite --- anko wrapped in mochi rice. either way, these rounded treats are have just the right amount of sweet and salty and, of course, go great with tea.

which brings me to the first summer ohagi -- tomato ohagi.

i know, tomato?! what? how does that -- no, no --- 

trust me, i know. i was skeptical too. the light red colouring, the little shiso leaf for a stem. 

okay, it's adorable, i'm not gonna lie. 

but how does it taste? 

surprisingly good. it's like they mixed tomato juice into the shiro-an (white anko made of white beans) that surrounds the mochi rice. it's got just the right amount of tomato flavor and salt to make it more a snack than a dessert. tomato lovers will definitely dig the fresh tomato flavour too.

next we move on to (brace yourself) roasted corn ohagi.

this one is an example of mochi rice surrounding anko variety --- kernels of roased corn, lightly buttered and seasoned with soy sauce dot the surface of the mochi rice with a chunky anko (tsubu-an) center. i'll be honest, i was really, really skeptical anout this one until i finally took a bite.

it's crazy how well these ingediants go together. the saltiness of the corn brings out the sweetness of the anko and the chewy mochi rice goes great with texture of roast corn. who'da thought, right?

last we have the annual summer favorite, pione daifuku. 

pione, pronounced pee-oh-nay, is a brand of grapes grown in miyoshi city (nothern part of hiroshima prefecture). these dark purple (and very expensive) grapes are often given as gifts and are very, very sweet. 

daifuku, for those unaware, are little rounds of anko wrapped in pounded mochi rice (a.k.a mochi). 

put the two together and you get one large pione grape wrapped in lightly sweeted smooth anko (koshi-an) wrapped again in mochi. the soft and chewy mochi goes great with the juicy pione center, and the koshi-an does a great job bringing them both together.

if you're in the mood for some non-traditional wagashi, then i would definitely recommend these summer confections!