Vivien Wong and her brother Howard are pinning their future on a Japanese favorite that is beginning to gain popularity elsewhere.
Mochi is made by steaming and pounding rice flour until it has a chewy, glutinous texture like a gummy bear or even — at a stretch — soft toffee, only with a more complex flavor that doesn't depend on sweetness. It is an essential part of the Japanese New Year's holiday menu, but also eaten year-round in sweet and savory soups, or on its own with a red-bean filling. And since the early 1980s, local company Lotte has produced an ice cream-filled version known as Yukimi Daifuku.
Vivien is a chartered accountant who spent four years working in financial analysis at Barclays Capital, after three years at Baker Tilly. Howard was an analyst at JPMorgan Cazenove.