A new cafe has opened on a busy city centre street offering takeaway sweet treats and coffee. WaWoo took over the empty space on Broad Street that used to be the Mimm Clothing store opening its doors for the first time on Saturday, May 21.
The cafe offers a range of mochi doughnuts in unusual flavours such as ube, black sesame and matcha. Although for those who aren't feeling too adventurous, they also offer traditional strawberry flavours.
The mochi doughnuts are a mix between the classic doughnut and chewy mochi treats. They are considered a healthier alternative to regular doughnuts which contain a large amount of sugar and jam.
Owner Cristina Samson from Sherwood explained the curious name of the cafe, Wawoo and what a mochi doughnut is.
"We sell mochi doughnuts and we are celebrating that we are open one week today. Myself and my partner run the shop from Wednesday to Sunday but we are hoping to open more eventually. Wawoo is a word that my babies used when they were little and couldn't say I love you, so this was the sound they made. Even as adults now, we still use this sound," she explained.
"I love cooking for my children so if there is something new, then I try to create it using my own recipe or experiment. The doughnuts are a hybrid of Japanese mochi and regular doughnuts. It has a different shape so you can share it with friends or family by just tearing it into pieces."
The cafe completely sold out on its first day despite having a soft launch. Cristina says the plan is to expand the menu in time to include even more flavours. The cafe also offers coffees such as espresso, cortado and cappuccino.
Cristina said: "We were so nervous to see if people would like it or not so I didn't announce I was going to cook. Everyone was taken by surprise. I made a small batch and we sold out on the first day. We started to give out samples which led to us selling out. We had great feedback and people were interested because we were new."
She added: "Our flavours are not the traditional ones as we have ube which is a Philipino purple yam and a really popular one. We also have matcha, Japanese green tea and black sesame. We do a strawberry flavor which is a bit more neutral as everyone loves it."
Feedback has been positive for the cafe and local businesses have been interested in collaborations. Nottingham residents did need a minute to get over the purple colour of the ube mochi doughnuts though.
"People were surprised by the ube colour because it's so different. Their reaction really made me want to cry as it was so lovely to hear that they liked it. So far, it's been really encouraging and some companies would like to collaborate with us. On our third day, someone came in to request a huge batch as they thought it was really nice."
Reaction to the cafe has been one of surprise and curiosity from locals who are keen to try the new sweet treats.
Becki Crossley from Wollaton said: "This place looks so cute! I’m a massive doughnut fan so can’t wait to try their flavours."
Linda Gemini from Beeston commented: "I’m very happy to see a new doughnut shop opening in Notts. Doughnuts are my ultimate guilty pleasure so there can never be enough. I’ll be sure to stop by for a Friday lunchtime treat."
