MochiCat Donut & Hotdog

After the mochi donut craze kicked off in Southern California, spawning the multi-store chain Mochinut and numerous competitors, MochiCat’s owner split from Mochinut and reopened under the new name inside Irvine’s Zion Market. The revised shop offered two options: Korean-style rice-battered hot dogs, and Hawaiian-style mochi donuts.

Like many other small mochi donut shops, MochiCat only offered six flavors at a time, most differentiated solely by glaze-style top icing; a fully cinnamon/sugar-powdered churro was also frequently available. On occasion, the shop would offer a new and/or super compelling flavor to draw in customers for a week, then flip to something else as an experiment. Its deep-fried “rice hot dogs” included spicy sausage, cheddar, mozzarella, and half mozzarella/half sausage cores with potato, sweet potato, ramen, or plain rice coatings with or without adding sugar and/or sauces.

Counter-style service at the location was generally mediocre, and over time, the pre-made donuts lost appeal. MochiCat closed its Zion shop in 2023 after two years in business, pivoting to offering catering services for weddings and other events.