Celebratory Dim Sum & Mochinut

I recently received a promotion at work and chose to celebrate by eating food with friends (imagine that). Jade Garden in the International District was our first stop. It was previously a cart style dim sum spot, but during the pandemic they implemented a new system that allows everyone at the table to order via a QR code menu on their phone. We like this system since we don’t have to wait for a particular cart to come by to get a particular dish - instead, we order a bunch of dishes all at once and they bring them out as they’re ready. The assortment was great and the food was just as tasty as always. Jeff also caught a picture of a muscly maneki-neko by the cash register and it made us smile.

Next up was Mochinut in South Lake Union. We’d seen a lot about this spot, but never visited (though we have been awaiting the Bellevue location’s opening for a few months). We ordered a half dozen donuts to split with our friends (one of each flavor they had that day - Oreo matcha, strawberry, tiramisu, churro caramel, ube coconut, and dark chocolate smore) as well as Thai and regular milk teas with boba. Jeff and I enjoyed most of the flavors of the donuts, but the texture was a bit too much on the donut side and not enough on the mochi side. My milk tea with boba was good, but we didn’t care for the Thai milk tea with boba - the flavor just wasn’t quite what we were looking for. We’re glad we tried this spot, but I think we prefer mochi donuts from Dochi and milk tea from Share Tea - now we know!