There’s a new donut in town. It’s called a “mochi donut,” and you gotta try one. But beware … once you’ve had one, you might never go back to your old donut shop.
Mochi donuts are one of several Asian-inspired menu items available at Donutchew, a new bakery located in Baytowne Plaza. Michael Blair, a Chinese-American, opened the shop about three weeks ago, bringing to the Webster/Penfield area some sweet treats that our area has never really seen before.
That’s not to say that mochi flour and mochi-based desserts are anything new. The confections have been wildly popular in Japan and Hawaii for years, and that popularity has been slowly spreading across the U.S.
How is a mochi donut different from your standard American donut? I asked Michael to explain, and he struggled a bit with the answer.
“You have to taste it to know,” he began. “The flour is a lot lighter and the texture is chewier. It might taste like a lighter fried dough.” While most American donut products are heavier and denser, he continued, “with these, you can probably eat three or four and you feel OK about it.”
But what really sets Donutchew’s mochi donuts apart from the rest are the wide variety of unique toppings and flavorings. Don’t expect to find glazed, cinnamon, powdered, or chocolate-iced donuts here. DO expect toppings like Oreo cream cheese, mango, Earl Gray and s’mores, and Asian-inspired flavors like black sesame, imported straight from Japan. There are even some kid-friendly options, like Cookie Monster and Fruity Pebble.
“It’s a fun thing,” Michael said. “That’s what brings people in, the fun flavors on the top and the different texture when they bite into it.”
Aside from their taste, what I find most intriguing is the donuts’ unusual design. It’s kind of like a beaded bracelet, perfect for bite-sized snacking (a theory I tested on my drive home with delicious results).
Donutchew’s mochi donuts lead a menu of several other Asian-inspired sweet treats that are hard to find on the east side, like Korean corn dogs, boba teas (with tea sourced from the family’s tea farm in China), croffles, and tanghulu.
Never heard of tanghulu? This traditional Chinese snack is fruit on a skewer — strawberries, grapes, pineapple — wrapped into rock candy, giving it a crunchy outer layer. Michael’s grandmother would make the snack when he was growing up, and she’s the one in the Donutchew kitchen making it every day now. Ask a young person about it, because it’s huge on TikTok.
Opening his first bakery in the Webster/Penfield area was not Michael’s first choice. “To be honest,” he said, “coming to Webster was kind of a gamble for us.”
In my opinion there’s not much diversity here. If you compare to Henrietta, Brighton, you see a lot more Asian Americans who live out that way, which is good and bad. The good thing is, there’s a greater variety of Asian restaurants, bubble tea places in the area. But the people in Webster who enjoy that type of cuisine have to drive all the way to Henrietta or Brighton. So we thought if we could create a successful location here, that would save a lot of time for the east-side community.
So far, that gamble has paid off. They’ve already started to develop a steady clientele, and customers are telling them how much they appreciate having a boba tea shop nearby.
“The feedback has been super positive,” Michael said. “People are beginning to learn who we are. Once they learn what it is and who we are, they’re coming back.”
Donutchew is located on the south side of Baytowne Plaza, 1900 Empire Blvd., Webster, in the former Royal Dynasty Restaurant. They’re open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. Find out more about them on their website, Facebook page, and Instagram (@donutchew_rochester).
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(posted 2/24/2024)
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Sounds interesting! I’m not sure about the toppings. I guess one needs to try them before making a judgement. Nice to have a variety of businesses in Webster!
They’re really delicious!
I hope your success remains in our area for a long time