Crystal Kinako- Kimukatsu's mizu shingen mochi or the Water Cake Picture taken with the iPhone 5

I have been seeing pictures of the water cake circulating on my Tumblr for a couple of years and I am intrigued about this dessert, mizu shingen mochi or what the interwebs dubbed, the water cake. It looks like a giant water bubble just delicately sitting an amber pool of sugar syrup. I might as well say it, but my sister thout it looked like a freestanding silicone breast transplant. ha!

During the time I found it on the internet, I read that there were only a couple of places in Japan that served the water cake, which made me even more intrigued.

How excited was I when I came across it in the menu of Kimukatsu on Sawtelle Street in West Los Angeles.

The water cake, you would think, would be gelatin. The texture is not like gelatin but much lighter and it melts super fast in your mouth. It is a Japanese transparent mochi cake, sitting on organic brown sugar syrup, topped with gold leaf and accompanied with kinako which is roasted soybeans grounded and mixed with salt.

Afriend of mine explained eating this dessert perfectly- you have to construct each bite carefully to get balance. Her husband thought the dessert was too sweet but it was because he must have scooped more of the syrup than needed. You should dip just enough syrup and top just enough kinako to have that refreshing sweet and salty with a crunch experience. I think this would be perfect to have after Kimukatsu's katsu dishes, balancing out the heavy dish with something light and slightly sweet.

Crazy part of this is that you have to eat this within 30 mins or the water cake disappears!

Kimukatsu is located:
2121 Sawtelle Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90025