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Mochinut is a new restaurant on Barnett Shoals that serves mochi doughnuts, Korean rice flour hot dogs and bubble tea drinks. On the left is a matcha Frankenstein mochi doughnut and on the right is a mint chocolate mochi doughnut. (Photo/Olivia Wakim)

Mochinut is a new restaurant on Barnett Shoals that serves mochi doughnuts, Korean rice flour hot dogs and bubble tea drinks. The crispy ramen hot dog has dried ramen on the outside of a breaded hot dog. (Photo/Olivia Wakim)

Mochinut is a new restaurant on Barnett Shoals that serves mochi doughnuts, Korean rice flour hot dogs and bubble tea drinks. On the left is a matcha Frankenstein mochi doughnut and on the right is a mint chocolate mochi doughnut. (Photo/Olivia Wakim)

A new eatery has opened on Barnett Shoals Road. Mochinut, a chain restaurant with locations all over the United States, Thailand and South Korea, offers a menu of mochi doughnuts, Korean rice flour hot dogs and bubble tea drinks.

The Mochinut interior is simple, colorful and trendy. On one side, the restaurant features a vine wall with LED lights that welcome visitors to “Mochi Land” above a colorful mochi doughnut. There is ample room for people to sit and study with friends while sipping on bubble tea.

The mochi doughnuts originated in Hawaii. It is a combination of the American doughnut and Japanese mochi, a rice cake made of mochigome. Mochi doughnuts are made with rice flour, which gives the doughnuts a crispy exterior with a chewy inside, according to the Mochinut website.

Mochi doughnuts are typically formed with eight interconnected balls of dough. Colorful icing and toppings decorate each doughnut. I chose the mint chocolate mochi doughnut and the matcha Frankenstein doughnut to celebrate the Halloween season.

The mint chocolate mochi had a very strong mint flavor that overpowered the chocolate drizzle. The mint flavor was almost like toothpaste and a little too artificial for my taste. The texture of the mochi doughnut was crispy and chewy just as the website suggested. It was a bit denser than a classic American doughnut, but I enjoyed the extra chewiness.

The matcha Frankenstein doughnut had a slightly better flavor. The icing was colored green and garnished with Oreo crumbles and two marshmallows. The icing tasted more like white chocolate with the slight bitterness of matcha. The Oreo crumbles added a pleasant chocolate hint and texture. Overall, I preferred this doughnut, although the icing was still very sweet.

Mochinut is a new restaurant on Barnett Shoals that serves mochi doughnuts, Korean rice flour hot dogs and bubble tea drinks. The crispy ramen hot dog has dried ramen on the outside of a breaded hot dog. (Photo/Olivia Wakim)

Additionally, I ordered the crispy ramen Korean rice flour hot dog. On the outside, the hot dog breading was covered in pieces of dried ramen noodles. The first bite was pleasantly crunchy from the ramen, and in the center was a beef hot dog. To put it simply, it tasted like a thick corn dog. Some of the other menu items might have been more exciting, like the hot Cheetos or the potato mozzarella.

The hot dogs were $3-7, and the mochi doughnuts were a little over $3 each. Fans of mochi will enjoy the chewy doughnuts and the mozzarella hot dogs are a fun item to share, but for me, the doughnuts were a little too sweet to be worth the price.

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Olivia is a senior journalism major at the University of Georgia. Her love for writing and sharing stories from the community led her to The Red & Black. She loves being able to highlight the people who make up the Athens community.

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