Mochilato

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oc food diva

Joined 2 years ago

Beard Papaâ??s serving up â??eatertainmentâ?? cream puffs in Irvin. In December 2011, our dream became a reality when Beard Papa’s opened a store in Irvine. I was a little confused as the location kept saying, “Mochilato”. Once I saw the Beard Papa’s sign on the window, I was so there! Beard Papa’s occupies a small section inside the Mochilato store. While the store displays some pricey specialty items, the unmistakable aroma of the Beard Papa’s cream puffs reminded us of Vancouver. We placed our order with the courteous staff but had to wait a bit while they dealt with an empty or malfunctioning custard tank. A little bit of “Opening Night Jitters,” maybe? That was a little disappointing hiccup in prep and presentation. Once our order was filled, they lovingly boxed our selections. Just a few steps away were long wooden tables where we had our coffee and Beard Papa’s delights.



We chose a couple of each type of puff shell – Original, Éclair, Cookie, Cocoa, and Paris Brest. We did a half and half with the original Vanilla filling and the Special Flavor was Chocolate that day. As I sat down to eat a Cocoa shell with Chocolate filling, savoring the fresh baked scent of the cream puff, I was ALMOST back in Vancouver. As I bit into it, the chocolate puff was crisp and divine, but the chocolate filling was a bit too viscous and messy, unlike the custard I had expected. The Vancouver puff filling was easier to eat without having it squirt every which way. When I went home with my box of puffs, I tried a different method of conquering the soft filling. This time, I chose the Éclair puff with Vanilla filling. I tilted it with the filling hole facing upward and broke a piece of the shell off. Instead of biting into it, I simply broke off pieces of the shell and dipped it in to the filling. That solved the “mess” problem. The Éclair shell is divine and decadent, kind of like a cruller with chocolate icing on top. The Vanilla filling, unfortunately, fell short of my expectation. It seemed to be a watered-down version of the Vanilla custard I first tried in Vancouver.

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Lilian Lee

Joined 5 years ago

Citysearch Editorial Review. It’s easy to get carried away inside this sweet shop. After all, how can you decide between creme brulee and Nutella-flavored mochi ice cream? Thankfully, at just $1.25 a pop you can have all of these delicate and delicious combinations of mochi and gelato. Another popular dessert option is the shaved ice, which unlike the mochi gelato, can be shared by multiple people. Similar to those found at other Asian dessert shops, the ice can be loaded with anything from frozen yogurt and fresh fruit to red beans and green tea powder. The sleekly decorated and spacious front room offers large tables perfect for large groups or solo dessert outings with your laptop (WiFi is free).