This is my very bad review of Minamoto mochi. A long time ago, I bought mochi from Minamoto, located inside the NJ Mitsuwa store, and there was a tiny, dead bug inside the box, squashed against the inner paper packaging. It was gross, but I thought... maybe it's just a bug from nature and maybe it's okay since it's not in contact with the food itself. The mochis were wrapped in a paper bag, and the bug was on the other side of the sealed bag. Visions of Japan, trees, random insects, whatever... So I got over my OCD a bit and figured the product was expensive and it must still be good. Besides, I read online that this brand was supposed to be fine, etc. etc. So fancy, yada, yada.
I went to Mitsuwa recently, and felt glee at seeing the display of desserts everywhere. What do people do when they go somewhere and see something they like and want to share with others - photos and videos of course. Then a Minamoto employee came up to me and said, 'No video,' in a rather rude tone. At first I was surprised, since I didn't see any signs about photos or videos being prohibited, but ok, fine. I asked if photos were allowed, and she said no. That's it, with no reasoning as to why or any apologies. No friendly smile or customer service. Here's a photo of her before our meeting.
I read that some older Japanese women can be racist towards people of other ethnicities. Gotta wonder. Reminded me of the time I went to the nearby Japanese bookstore (Kinokuniya) and asked the older employee there if they sold calendars, and she just abruptly responded 'No,' and then ignored me. Like okay, I won't be buying anything there if you're going to be like that.
After shopping at Mitsuwa (the larger supermarket), I returned to this Minamoto counter and decided to get strawberry mochi since I traveled so far and it's been on my mind for a while. Another employee seemed friendly and offered a box from the freezer, claiming that it was the freshest one. That'll work, since there's a long drive back home and I've got an insulated bag.
Following a walk along the riverside, I returned to Minamoto and considered buying the peach mochi since the employee previously mentioned that was the most popular flavor. Who knows when I'll be back in that neighborhood. The employee was about to sell me the display box on the counter. I then asked if there was a newer one in the freezer. She replied that the ones in the freezer are the same date as the display box. Okay, but I'd prefer a frozen one since I bought a bunch of refrigerated items and have a long drive home. So the employee starts debating with me on how the display box is just as good, if not better, than the ones in the freezer. This, after she just sold me the frozen strawberry mochi, claiming that the frozen ones are fresher. She adds that the frozen peach ones are in another freezer that's locked and she can't get into it. What a lie. It's gotten ridiculously funny.
So she's telling me that there is a freezer, a second freezer, but it's locked and employees can't get into it. I should've offered to buy 2, just to see her reaction. Would she magically be able to open the freezer then.
Obviously I didn't buy the peach mochi. And I won't be returning to Minamoto to buy anything else.
About the taste - is it worth the price of 20 bucks for a box of 8 tiny, soft, squishy mochis with hardly any rice covering? Nah. Of course not. I gave it a shot, but nope. And that's a good thing, because now I can stop wasting money on it, and there's really no need to go all the way there just for overpriced mochi with terrible customer service and the potential of dead bugs. Oh, and there was a giant dead rat on the riverside walkway. Granted, it wasn't in the store, but still nasty. And no, I did not take a picture of a dead rat. Ew.
At home, nobody here wanted to try the mochis. One person thought it looked strange when I asked him if the outside white stuff looked like mold. I wound up throwing that one away, even though they all looked like that, in images as well. The white surface looked almost glittery, felt gritty and odd. It was bumpy, covered with tiny white circles.
I ate 2 pieces soon after purchasing them, and then got very sick later that night. Today I had one again to see if the mochis were the cause of sickness, and felt somewhat nauseous soon afterwards. Hard to pinpoint for sure since I do eat other things throughout the day. There are 4 more left to experiment with if I'm ever constipated lol.
Welp there's my review. Totally not worth it. This is a reminder to myself, and also a suggestion to anyone reading this. Minamoto mochi - nope. Minamoto - no. Iieeeeee. (I think that's 'no' in Japanese.). Too expensive. Makes me sick. Bad customer service.
EDIT: I've thrown away the remaining half of the mochi package, since the nausea after eating one eventually turned into serious sickness (i.e. diarrhea) that night. This is similar to what happened the other day after I had some. No good.
