mochi + pizza = mochizza @ strawberry cones

mochi is so versatile! you can make boobs out of them (reference to a previous post), eat them with all kinds of fillings inside, celebrate the new year with them, pile a few powdery bites on your froyo, or put them on pizza. PIZZA?! yes. pizza. enter strawberry cones in san gabriel, a japanese pizza shop that specializes in japanese style pizza now available for your consumption in our very own sgv.

when i was told about this place, i was puzzled but intrigued. mochi + pizza? as if pizza wasn't fattening enough on its own, now you have glutinous rice cakes on it to really kill you. anyways, i wasn't deterred by the not so healthy aspects of this mochizza so a few friends and i went there last night for dinner. the menu is rather extensive (click on the pic to get a better look at the offerings and the pricing). they also offer a few competitively priced combo meals if you're totally over the golden arches but only have a few bucks to spare for a meal.

we started off with their karaage (fried chicken) appetizer ($3.75). the fried chicken had a thick breading to chicken ratio. the ranch dressing that was provided for dipping was light and airy, almost like a whipped ranch dressing which was nice, but overall, i found the whole thing to be a tad oily and not yummy enough for a repeat order.

we also decided to share a small teriyaki mochi chicken pizza ($11). the toppings consisted of chicken, mochi pieces, red onion, nori strips, mozzarella cheese, teriyaki sauce, and MAYO. yes, MAYO. the initial bite was tasty and the mochi chunks provided a fun, chewy texture to the pizza bite. but after the first slice, i decided the overly sweet teriyaki sauce spoiled it's potential. not to mention the oily mayo pools that you found on top. i don't understand the love affair japanese folks have with mayo...it's everywhere!

the box.

the teriyaki chicken mochizza.

here's a close up of a piece of mochi in the pizza.

we also ordered a half and half pizza with avocado and salmon on one half and margherita on the other half. this is where some spicy tomato sauce would have been nice because the margherita side tasted bland. there's not much of a flavor profile when it's just a wedge of tomato and basil leaf on cheese. i could have skipped this combo pizza entirely.

we ended the meal with one of their desserts, the california walnut and raisin pizza ($9.80), which is made with chikutan dough (bamboo charcoal mixed in the rice flour pizza dough). the crust looked a little off putting because it had a gray/blackish color to it which if you cook enough in general would instinctively make you wonder if it's burnt. i found my first bite to be tasty, but subsequent bites revealed a rather dry and overly sweet dessert pizza. i was done.

another look at the blackened chikutan crust.

i appreciated the complimentary green tea and coffee you got there, but no matter how much green tea i drank, i could not wash away the heavy and greasy mochizza ball i had in my belly. the hook of having mochi on the pizza brought me in, but the toppings and taste in general failed. i WOULD NOT come back again and that's my story and i'm sticking to it like mochi to teeth.

Strawberry Cones
227 W Valley Blvd #118-B
San Gabriel, CA 91776
(626) 293-1852
http://www.strawberrycones.com/

price: $$
verdict: not worth my time