Korean corn dogs, boba tea, mochi doughnuts and more at new snack shop in Bellevue
Sono Motoyama / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
If you have teenagers at home, or are a teenager yourself, boy, have I got a restaurant for you.
Moochi & You, which opened in Bellevue in mid-August, offers a menu of pan-Asian, TikTok-famous drinks and snacks: bubble tea, milk tea, mochi doughnuts and Korean corn dogs.
In taking over the space that formerly held the vegan shop Valkyrie Doughnuts, the owners were able to make use of some of the kitchen equipment. But they completely redesigned the space with whimsical graphics and Tiffany blue touches.
Co-owner Weixang You, who was formerly one of owners of Squirrel Hill’s Sichuan Gourmet, chose Bellevue because his business partner, Realtor Jia Jia Manuel, knew the space was available. She praised the borough as vibrant and friendly.
You’s menu was inspired by a trip he took with his wife and three boys to Massachusetts, during which they stopped in a local eatery.
“My kids tried the mochi doughnuts and the corn dogs,” You remembered. “They loved them so much.”
His boys, now aged 12, 11 and 9, are the perfect demographic for this crunchy, gooey, springy, sweet and savory fare. Let’s call it premium junk food.
Because of his previous restaurant experience, Weixang is familiar with sourcing products. He sought out high-quality ingredients, such as organic Nature’s Basket milk for the milk tea, 100% beef hot dogs for the corn dogs and Ghirardelli dark and white chocolates for the doughnut toppings. The sauces for the corn dogs are made in-house.
He also imports select teas from China, and brews from leaves (not tea bags) for a milk tea that has had at least one customer proclaiming its authenticity on the Chinese social media network Xiaohongshu, known as RedNote. These drinks go for $6-7.
You’s wife, Qin Zhu, said that after that post, her husband noticed an influx of Asian college students driving to the shop to try out the tea.
Other online commentators have said that the Korean corn dogs outshine the snacks in Korea.
While You traveled to China to earn certificates in the preparation of the drinks and doughnuts, he developed the corn dog recipe — through lots of trial and error.
Korean corn dogs are a unique treat, differing from American corn dogs because the batter uses yeast and, often, a combination of rice and wheat flours. This makes for a thick coating that, after frying, is crunchy on the outside and chewy inside. They are stuffed with hot dogs and, often, cheese, producing the drippy, stringy displays beloved on TikTok videos.
The outside might be finished with panko, ramen, potato cubes or Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, then dusted with a little sugar.
Moochi & You had all of these varieties for about $6-7 — a good deal considering how large they are — with the choice of a whole hot dog, all mozzarella, or half-and-half. They are made to order.
I tried them all with my 15-year-old daughter and husband. My daughter and I adored our meat on a stick, dabbed with a variety of the homemade sauces, the extra-crusty crust offering a satisfying chew. My French husband was simply baffled at this American-inspired Korean snack. He would have much preferred a jambon beurre.
Among the drinks, the standouts for me were the milk teas, but even my daughter’s classic lemon tea ($6) was excellent — not too sweet and flavored with fresh-squeezed lemon.
The mochi doughnuts ($4 each, but with a lower per-doughnut price when purchased in multiples) may be an acquired taste for some. They’re made with rice flour and are therefore more glutinous and not airy as a typical American doughnut. (Mochi is a Japanese rice cake traditionally made from pounded rice, which may be used in desserts or savory dishes.)
The doughnuts do have fun shapes, though, and seem to have their fans among the younger set, as do the bubble teas.
Zhu said that local Bellevue-ers used to have to travel into Pittsburgh for their bubble fix.
“So they’re really excited for us to open here, so they can easily access bubble tea,” she said.
Moochi & You, 601 Lincoln Ave., Bellevue; moochiu.com