This is the second location of Vancouver’s first of its kind rice cake boutique. I ventured down with Diana of @foodologyca for my first taste of their incredibly giftable wares, just in time for their birthday promotion. From April 16-30th, 2022 everything in store is 10% off to celebrate their Richmond location’s one year anniversary.
For those not in the know: Nam Dae Moon originated in China and has since expanded its franchising opportunities globally with 3 locations in Canada. They specialize in a low sugar version of the Korean style rice cakes, and have since expanded their assortment to include Daifuku and Mochi Cake Tacos. The latter was also launch in celebration of their anniversary and that is what we specifically came in to try today.
But first, it is worth noting that everything they offer comes wonderfully packaged with clean and cohesive branding, perfect for any gifting occasion.
The Mochi Cake Taco is exactly as it sounds. A fluffy sponge moulded into the shape of a taco and filled with chewy mochi and fresh cream and fruit depending on the flavour. Available in 4 varieties as seen here: matcha, vanilla, chocolate, and chestnut. Each made fresh daily, like everything else in the shop. And they taste as light and fluffy as they look. Not too sweet, the promised flavour is a gentle highlight, with the strip of mochi hidden within: the surprise. At $12.95 each the price may seem steep, but you are paying for the craftsmanship and the premium ingredients used to ensure the best product for your own consumption, or as a present to a lucky someone else.
In a similar pricing fashion is their Daifuku. This is the Japanese art of stuffing a glutinous rice mochi with most commonly seen fresh fruit. However other combinations have surfaced due to inspiring trends.
We tried Nam Dae Moon’s seasonal Lava Persimmon Mochi. The $5.49 pricing reflects the amount of workmanship that goes into gingerly hand rolling each perfectly smooth ball. I was impressed by how much sweet fruit they were able to cram into this. The persimmon was softened to a comparable texture to that of the mochi shell. One well accented the other. I would definitely recommend getting a fruit one over any of the other flavoured fillings.
I was less a fan of the Taro and dried meat floss mochi that we also tried. It wasn’t as pictured. The classic florescent purple taro was absent (not that I mind), it is more natural this way. But the taste and texture is what I had issue with. The taro mash was ashy and the treat ate heavy and dense, where as I would have liked the filling to be kept has springy as the chewy mochi surrounding it. There also wasn’t enough pork floss to flavour the ball, and therefore as a whole this ate bland.
And since we were here, we had to try a couple of their staple rice cakes. Each box is served warm, fresh from a steam bath. Should you decide to gift it or eat it later, there are instructions on how to reheat/steam at home to ensure you are enjoying it with its intended texture.
The Chestnut and date rice cake was more rice than cake. A not sweet snack item that is filling. It would pair well with any Chinese tea and especially our drink below.
I recommend the less traditional ingredients for a more tasty treat. The Oreo chocolate lava rice cake was a lot more exciting. On top of its cookie topping and crumbs of the icon cookie embedded within the rice itself, there was a centre of chocolate filling to help push this into dessert territory. It also looked a lot more appealing.
Given the not too sweet nature of all the items we tried, it makes sense that their line of tea based drinks follow a similar recipe. The Osmanthus sea coconut and pear tea didn’t taste like any of the listed ingredients, but it was nice chiles beverage. It felt healthy to have. The floral bits floating around added a texture to chew through. Not for those unfamiliar, as it can be weird in mouthfeel.
As nice as this cafe space was and as necessary as their kitchen is to preparing all these treats fresh daily, this type of food is best suited to a grab and go format. It would do well in busy malls or as a kiosk for last minute gifting solutions. I personally cannot see myself coming in to grab a box and having it in their seating area.
In conclusion I have never had anything else like their fusion rice cakes and mochi. They have taken both these concepts and made it their own with inspiration from trending influences. Overall unique treats worth trying, and if you do so between now and the end of April you get 10% off!
Nam Dae Moon Rice Cake 南大門
6868 Royal Oak Ave, Burnaby, BC V5J 4J3
(604) 559-6789
namdaemoon.ca
