Strawberry mochi: MyMochi

The summer mindset comes with a new ice cream flavor for everyone, moving away from creamy chocolate to bright and fruity palettes. And what better to taste on a hot summer day than the classic summertime flavor, strawberry? This flavor on its own may seem like a sunny-season cop out, but we found a dessert with an interesting twist: mochi. 

Zoya Hasan, 9: The first time I tried mochi, I didn’t like it because the outside was hard, icy and chewy, and the inside was like biting into a block of ice. But I must say the strawberry mochi caught me off guard in a good way; the outside shell was covered in rice flour, it was chewy and slightly icy, and sweet, but tasteless with no flavor, I didn’t know how I felt about it at first, but when I took another bite, the creamy, light-weight filling stole my heart. In my opinion, the texture is something you adjust to. After a bite or two, you start to enjoy the combination of the shell and the scrumptious filling. 

I loved that the treat tasted like a real strawberry! It didn’t seem artificial at all— The authenticity was refreshing to my taste buds. However, I don’t think this treat would be my go-to because I feel like there are better options out there in terms of both texture and flavor. Still the filling was absolutely mouthwatering and I wouldn’t at all mind eating this dessert. If you’re thinking about trying something new or you just like strawberry flavor like Sophie, I’d recommend you try this. If you’re picky about textures, though, stay away. Overall, I give this treat an 8/10 because even though it’s not my go-to, I know if I was having the midnight munchies, I would want this sweet, mouthwatering delight in my fridge. 

Sophie McCarthy, 9: I’ve seen mochi before and I’ve always wanted to try it. I would beg my mom to buy it for me at the grocery store — that chewy dough with cold, creamy filling looked delicious — but that didn’t happen. And strawberry mochi? It makes this summer treat even more enticing because  I’m a major strawberry ice cream lover. The second we walked into Target, I bolted to the freezers and took that mochi off the shelf. 

Let’s just say trying it was an interesting experience. The texture of the dough was different than I expected. It was gummy-like, chewy and stretchy with a powder coating on the outside. The texture is a quality of this dessert that you either love or hate — even so, it was like biting into a soft, fluffy pillow. But the dough didn’t have much taste, and since the entire dessert was covered in it, it made it slightly difficult to not notice the lack of sweetness. However, the unflavored dough allowed the strawberry ice cream inside to shine through. I don’t mess around when it comes to ice cream, especially strawberry, so when I say that this ice cream was absolutely mouthwatering, I don’t mean it lightly. Creamy, cold and oh-so delicious, the strawberry flavor was not too strong and perfectly authentic. Although the ice cream filling was utterly impeccable, the dough was a miss for me. Overall, I would give this a 7/10, despite the dough, because I would eat the entire package just for that ice cream.