My Life on the B-List: Mercato Part 1: Mochiko

So last Saturday we stopped by Mercato Centrale for a quick midnight snack. We were in the area anyway, coming back from a reception at Blue Leaf which was the 3rd wedding we'd attended in a week. We had been planning for months now to have a look at the Mercato scene but every time we planned to go, work stuff would always get in the way. So, believe it or not, and I'm completely embarrassed to say this, but this trip to Mercato was actually our first. They say better late than never right?

So anyways, I've been hearing good stuff about the ice cream mochi here and I've been dying to eat green tea mochi for a while now. Mochi is simply a Japanese rice cake made out of glutinous rice. Traditionally, it's filled with a sweet center like red bean paste and such. The ice cream mochi is sort of a modern take on this Japanese delicacy and it's genius!

The last time I ate ice cream mochi was September of last year in Macau when Yuri and I were on our honeymoon. There was this 24-hour convenience store near our hotel that sold vanilla ice cream mochis in packs of two. They also had the regular mochis lining their shelves but I wasn't interested in that. We went back there everyday to get my ice cream mochi fix... aaaand I might've hoarded quite a few on our last day there. Teehee.

I was first introduced to ice cream mochi during my early teens. Dryer's came out with Green Tea Mochi sold in packs of six and my family and I were instant fans. Since then we'd go through at least a pack a week. I don't have a sweet tooth but I do love rice and green tea! I guess this was and still is the perfect dessert for me. After a couple of years Dryer's stopped selling mochis. I guess it never really caught on, but yeah it's been hard to find a regular supply of green tea mochi ice cream since then.

Soooo I'm pretty sure it's obvious by now how weirdly obsessed I am with green tea mochi ice cream. Lucky for me, I finally found a yummy ice cream mochi source. Darnnit I can't believe I waited this long to go to Mercato.

Mochiko sells all things mochi! Mochiko's shop is all the way up at the Cliffhouse in Tagaytay so it's great that they've become a whole lot more accessible to us at the Fort.

The green tea ice cream is wrapped in a thin dough made out of pounded glutinous rice. Our friend tells us that their cappuccino-flavored mochi's delicious too. They've also got unique ice cream mochi flavors like Azuki and Black Sesame.

Green Tea Mochi Ice Cream Php 70.00

It's best to let the mochi thaw out a little before biting into it to get the maximum effect. The gooey mochi together with the ice cream is just heavenly.

I really didn't go around that much since my feet were complaining from being in heels all day. Plus we were getting funny looks from people. You see, this trip was unplanned so we were all still in our wedding regalia. Harhar. No matter. Bottom line is that I got my green tea mochi. It capped off my night perfectly!