Adelaide's most sought-after sweet treats have landed in St Peters

For Adelaideans with a sweet tooth, the merest mention of Shibui is cause for excitement.

The legendary Grote Street dessert bar has developed a reputation for whimsical sweet treats that are as photogenic as they are delicious.

In addition to the city centre venue, Shibui food carts have become a fixture of the festival scene and have even spawned a spin-off specialising in mochi doughnuts.

Made with gluten-free rice flour, Shmochi's viral creations combine the chewy, fluffy texture of traditional mochi with a delightfully crunchy outer shell.

That textural contrast is key to the success of the recipe, which took years to perfect and is a closely guarded secret known to only three people in the entire world.

“Getting that chewy-but-airy texture right takes a lot of testing and fine-tuning,” says Lisa Chao, who is one of the three co-owners of Shmochi by Shibui and Shibui Dessert Bar.

“Part of the fun (and magic) of Shmochi is that the recipe is our own creation, developed through lots of late nights and trial batches.”

“We wanted to take the traditional mochi experience and turn it into something uniquely ours.”

The spin-off proved so successful that local dessert lovers began asking where they could find the mochi doughnuts when the food cart packed up.

“The pop-ups were an amazing way to test the concept and create everything we love,” says Lisa.

“But we reached a point where demand outgrew what we could do from a festival.”

So the team began looking for a venue “that felt close to the city but was still part of a community... and St Peters has that perfect mix of energy and neighbourhood charm.”

And mochi doughnuts are just the beginning at Shmochi's new home at 199 Payneham Road.

The larger production space also allows the team to showcase their takes on a whole range of viral dessert trends.

The bright pink fitout matches the signature Red Ripperz soft serve, and sets the scene for a Willy Wonka-esque parade of flavours.

Lisa and her co-owners took inspiration from their own childhoods for playful creations like durian birthday cake, Thai milk tea and Vietnamese coffee ice cream.

“We love combining our childhood flavour profiles with contemporary execution,” says Lisa, who says flavours like ube cookies and cream and vegan coconut kaya are among the most popular choices.

The winning combination of creativity and nostalgia means there's always something new in the selection of ten ice cream flavours, which rotate regularly to showcase limited-edition releases and collaborations.

The latest hit is the selection of ice cream sandwiches with flavours like that are “the perfect mix of fun and indulgent,” says Lisa.

“What we love about Shmochi is we can experiment, so you never know what you might find.”

Visit today

199 Payneham Road, St Peters
I: /shmochi_byshibui