Mochii Donuts: the story behind the mochi donuts that are the sensation on Av. Aviación

A mochi donut has half the calories, which is reflected immediately by taking a bite and not feeling the rapid cloying that sweets produce. That was decisive for Shang Long Dai and his wife, Valentina Chen Zeng, decided to start the business.

Achieving the perfect recipe was not easy. They spent a year testing and the first tests were not good. “We started by pouring a lot of water and we were left with a soft donut, but after 15 minutes it deflated and filled with grease,” Shang recalls the beginnings of the venture that opened its doors in July of this year and that, in less than a month, already had long lines thanks to a video that made them go viral.

A trip to the other side of the world

Shang Long Dai was born 30 years ago in Wuhan, a city in central China that became famous in late 2019 as the site of the first coronavirus outbreak. “It’s a bad reference,” says the businessman who arrived in Lima long before the pandemic. Him 14 years ago, when he was still a teenager and didn’t know much about Peru.

“I knew so little about Peru that, when I was in high school, I remember being asked where my father was working. I told my friends that in Peru. They asked me where it was and I, who didn’t know anything, said it was a city in the United States. Now it makes me laugh,” says Long Dai, who suffered enough to integrate into Peruvian culture.

“My mother wanted me to get to know more cultures and since my father had a wood export business in Peru, I came to see another world. Upon arrival I was surprised how different everything was from China. At first I hated it here, all my friends were on the other side and I felt alone. I suffered a lot to learn Spanish. Now I love Peru. That’s why when I finished university, I decided to stay”, says the young man who had several trades before entering the world of gastronomy.

He opened his first food-related business three years ago: a restobar called Kar Boom that prompted a trip to the United States to learn more about mixology and where he would find the inspiration to start Mochii Donuts.

color and flavor

“Young people are very curious, they are always looking to try new things and we had these donuts. But our idea was also to be attractive to the eyes”, explains the businessman who poured his design knowledge and that of his wife into the business: he was in charge of the graphic part in the logos and she was in charge of the striking decoration of the space, which has quickly become recognizable at the intersection of Av. Aviación with San Borja Norte, where a giant donut highlights the color of its proposal.

On the menu, they have included Asian flavors: like matcha, Shang’s favorite, but also a local flavor: picarón. “People who try mochi donuts always tell me that they look naughty and that they taste naughty. ‘You’re selling me a picarón!’, they tell me”, he jokes about how he decided to include that flavor that is served with house honey.

“When we went viral, a lot of people came. And it was inevitable that the negative comments were also given. That got me pretty bummed out, but I always focus. I look for mistakes to learn and improve”, explains the businessman who plans to open positions in shopping centers to reach more people.

At the moment, they also offer very popular flavors such as strawberry and Oreo, which are among the best sellers, and novelties such as the Barbie donut, to follow the wave generated by the Greta Gerwig film. The letter is renewed every two months. The plan is to always stay in trend.