MoDo Hawaii

Inspired by Japanese receipes but significantly altered by Hawaiian alternatives, mochi donuts had a moment in Southern California in the late 2010s and early 2020s, as new chains popped up to fry the distinctively shaped treats and top them with various flavors of glaze.

MoDo Hawaii set up shop inside a Mitsuwa supermarket in Torrance, churning out dozens of donuts using specially made presses and giant-sized frying pots. Like other Hawaiian-inspired chains, it leveraged tropical flavors (including POG, lilikoi, and pandan) as well as Japanese-style matcha and black sesame, with common others (chocolate, churro, cookies and cream). Although we strongly preferred the ones at Costa Mesa’s Fill Bakeshop, which were much closer in flavor and texture to Japanese mochi donuts, MoDo’s were cheaper by the dozen, and customers could watch as they were made fresh to order.

An Irvine location opened inside Mitsuwa in 2020, then closed in 2022. The Torrance location closed in 2023, leaving MoDo with a single remaining store in Northern California. Though the trend has faded considerably since its peak, a later but faster-expanding rival, Mochinut, has captured a significant amount of market share in MoDo’s wake.