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Maui man makes WAILUKU -- Call it unconventional. Call it quality control. Call it entering the world of mochi.
magnificent mochi
Alice Shishido says their secret
is that each of the delicate rice
cakes is made by hand, with loveBy Gary Kubota
Star-BulletinGarnett Shishido is aware that some people find his customer service methods a bit eccentric, perhaps samurai, when he takes Japanese pastry orders.
But his friends say Shishido wishes only to deliver the best product possible for their enjoyment -- one that has symbolic and special cultural meaning to the Japanese and enjoys a widening appeal among Hawaii residents.
Above, Shishido, second from left, with family and staff.
Before he sells you the delicate rice pastries -- especially if you're going off-island -- Shishido has a few questions, such as the day and time of your flight.He tells customers to pay now and pick up the mochi about an hour before departure. That way, it stays fresh. Don't refrigerate. It remains best at a cool room temperature.
"He means well for the mochi. If you leave the mochi in a hot car, it's not going to stay fresh," said Stanley Matsumoto, a general contractor and longtime customer.
"Some people's first impression is he's grumpy, but he has a heart of gold and is very generous."
Customers say the mochi at Shishido Manju Shop Inc. in Wailuku is also the best they've ever tasted.
Shishido, 64, laughs when asked about rumors that he never smiles and has the demeanor of a sumo wrestler.
In high school in the 1950s, he said, he was an amateur sumo wrestler in a club that had professional sumo wrestler Jesse Kuhaulua as a member.
Survived by creating niche
At age 14, he was strong enough to unload 100-pound sacks of sugar. "That's all part of helping the family," he said.In an era of fast-food franchises, this mom-and-pop business has survived by creating a niche out of a traditional Japanese pastry and expanding it into the Hawaii market.
The store, located on the bottom of a two-story hollow tile building, is like many family-operated shops that once flourished on Maui in the mid-1900s.
Garnett and his wife, Alice, live above the shop along Lower Main Street, where trains once carried molasses from a sugar mill in Wailuku to Kahului Harbor.
There is no hard sell, flashing neon sign or easy-listening music.
A small glass case displays the box sizes and number of mochi and manju, along with their prices, ranging from 8 pieces for $6.65 to 27 pieces for $22.46.
There's usually a sample platter on top of the case.
The shop's mochi is consistently soft, light, mildly sweet, chewable, and sublime -- somewhat like peanut butter, but without the sticky aftertaste.It is what residents, especially many Japanese on Maui, bring as a gift when they visit friends and relatives on other islands or the mainland.
"I don't think there's any mochi that can beat their mochi," said Adele Hamai, a regular customer and Maui resident.
"Whenever we go to Oahu, we have to bring at least a couple of boxes. When my daughter came from the mainland, the first thing she did was go and eat some mochi."
Made from a variety of durable rice, mochi is a Japanese cultural touchstone.
The mochi rice, harvested in the fall and capable of being stored longer than many other varieties, helped the people survive long, hard winters in Japan.
It has become a symbol of longevity and strength.
In Japan's Shinto religion, mochi is prepared in a special way as an offering to ancestors at New Year's.
People also drink a traditional mochi soup called "zoni" on New Year's Day to strengthen themselves and their resolve through the year.
As a pastry, mochi comes in different shapes, colors and sizes, varying sometimes from one Japan province to the next and also changing its appearance with holidays and the seasons.
In traditional Japanese tea ceremonies, mochi is used as a pastry and adornment on platters.
Ingredients remain a secret
In Hawaii, island residents buy Shishido products for their freshness and light texture.The mochi comes in one color -- a translucent white -- with a filling, usually sweetened azuki beans.
Customers say it's best when eaten within three days.
At 4:30 a.m. five days a week, members of the Shishido family awaken to begin making a fresh batch of mochi.
A vat of mochi rice is steamed each day, then stirred in a large mechanical mixer.
It is formed into hundreds of disk-shaped mochi pastries, about 3 inches in diameter, with various fillings.
The ingredients remain a family secret obtained by Garnett's late father, Takichi, from an aunt.
Garnett's wife says the secret is in how each are individually made by hand and with love.
"We tried the machine (to form the individual sweets), but the mochi didn't come out with the right shape and people said it didn't taste as good, she said.
Family members also make manju, in a similar disk shape as the mochi but with a biscuit exterior and fillings inside.
Garnett's son, Elton, and his wife, Kelly, have been expanding the line of products to include peanut butter mochi, manju, lemon-filled manju and Azookie Cookies, made from sweet azuki beans.
Elton hopes the new products will help to offset shifts in the economy, such as higher air fares that have reduced neighbor island visitor business.
Matsumoto, who buys mochi from the shop about every three weeks, said he respects the Shishido family for making a quality product and weathering hard economic times.
"They work hard for what they got, and they're generous people," he said.
Matsumoto, who lives on Oahu but has an office on Maui, said he was on a flight to Honolulu recently and noticed Garnett Shishido boarding the jet.
"Garnett gave the stewardess a box of mochi just to be nice to them," Matsumoto said.