Mochi Doh doughnuts to open on Harding Street Saturday with festivities, Japanese pastries

WORCESTER — A long-awaited doughnut shop will open Saturday on Harding Street in the city's Canal District.

Mochi Doh, owned by Toan Lam and Annemarie Dang, will serve up Japanese-style doughnuts known as pon de ring, which they discovered during a trip to Seattle.

Since then, Lam has developed his own recipe for the doughnuts and plans to serve several flavors, alternating the menu each month.

The new shop is the latest in a long line of doughnut places in Worcester which was named by rent.com as the top best city for doughnuts in 2021.

The city has many unique offerings when it comes to doughnuts.

Rocco's Doughnuts, Glazy Susan and Doughnuts & Draughts, among the dozens of doughnut shops in the Heart of the Commonwealth, all offer colorful, enticing treats.

The Mochi style of doughnuts is believed to have originated in Japan and they became very popular in Hawaii, according to Lam. A circular shape composed of smaller balls of dough make them easy to share.

The texture is light and chewy and different from a traditional doughnut, he said.

Lam, who loves cooking, worked on a recipe for the perfect Mochi doughnuts and often cooks for his family. Both he and Dang are Vietnamese Americans.

The business is not the first for the couple, who with another partner co-own Lush Nail Lounge in Northborough. They've been working for months on this venture.

The new shop is decorated on the outside with brightly colored doughnuts and inside is a clean, mostly black and white color scheme.

To mark the grand opening, the shop will offer free doughnuts to the first 15 customers, a raffle and lion dancing at 10:45 a.m. just before the doors open at 11 a.m.

Mochi Doh will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Mochi Doh Japanese doughnuts to open on Harding Street Saturday