Fill Bakeshop

Locally early to the mochi donut trend – which originated in Japan before migrating to Hawaii and then California – Costa Mesa’s Fill Bakehouse set a high local standard for unique donut flavors (think matcha crunch, black sesame, Vietnamese coffee, mango, blueberry pie, ube haupia crunch, and french toast donuts) while also innovating in intensely flavored, chunky ice creams, leading to long lines even though the prices weren’t cheap. Iterations such as Mango Sticky Rice and Toblerone flavors were spot-on recreations of the classic Thai and Swiss treats.

Over time, mochi donuts (of varying quality) became widely available across Orange County, but Fill’s Hawaiian- and Japanese-inspired flavors remained solid if not always perfect; for instance, a Hokkaido Cheesecake was less decidedly Japanese – described as milky black tea with cream cheese – and the Hawaiian-inspired Kona Mud Pie tasted less of coffee glaze than Oreos with white and dark chocolate.

A second location opened, but after nixing the ice creams and emphasizing mochi cookies, the original location closed, and the business shifted entirely to wholesale and catering.