Today, the pups had the pleasure to meet "da Mochi Lady" of Happy Hearts Mochi in person!

For those who aren't familiar with "mochi", it's basically pounded rice that turns into a sticky paste. Of course, there are much easier ways to make mochi nowadays with the advent of rice flours, mixes, and microwaves. For some types, you can even buy them pre-made in hard blocks and just heat them up on your stove or in your oven.

This particular type of mochi is more of a local invention - sweetened mochi encasing a hidden morsel of something yummy - be it a sweetened bean paste or even ice cream - or mixed with something interesting, like butter, instant coffee, or taro - to name a few.

Anpan and Nemu's bento box comes with all the Happy Hearts Mochi specialties - especially the Peanut Butter Mochi! (As you can see, Nemu went straight for the one with peanuts on top!) Inside is a mix of anko, a sweet red bean paste (Traditionally found inside -- anpan) and peanut butter!

The coconut-dusted ones have a block of haupia, or stiff coconut "pudding", inside! Yum!

It's not pictured, but one of da Mochi Lady's seasonal specialties is a super awesome "Strawberry Mochi", often called "ichigo daifuku" that contains a whole strawberry, wrapped in anko paste and encased in mochi. For those put off by the bean-paste filling, it's actually very delicious. When mixed together, it has an almost chocolaty taste and texture.

Check out the recent updates to our flickr gallery for more photos of the pups n' mochi!

And thanks again Mochi Lady! :D