Top Nosh at Moshi Moshi (Moshi Moshi)

Member Name: flickpugh

Product:	Moshi Moshi
Date:	22/06/05 (679 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good food, fantastic service, No smoking

Disadvantages: No smoking?, view of railway platforms, Not the most romantic atmosphere

5 Reasons to dine at Moshi Moshi

IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY...

This isn’t a negative but it is how I ended up at Moshi Moshi in Liverpool st station, which isn’t my usual London hangout place! You may have read my review on theprizefinder.com. I’d been to this restaurant a few years ago and forgotten about it until I won a meal for two at this restaurant (including alcohol, woo hoo!), as part of a competition I won with the Evening Standard. You don’t have to win a competition though, if you work in Liverpool st, you may well end there on a nice paid for company lunch or paying on expenses as it seems to be a popular place for client lunches and dinners. If you aren’t on a tight budget it’s still worth splashing your own cash on though, as Japanese restaurants go it’s quite reasonably priced.

NICE PEOPLE, GREAT SERVICE

I was meeting my boyfriend here and got there on time, but he was running late but unable to call me due to the fact I don’t currently have a mobile phone (not trying to do another cheap plug but regular readers of my reviews will know about my battles with the Evil Orange Empire). After I had been there over 45 minutes on my own, I think they were a bit concerned that I had been stood up! I knew better, knowing my boyfriend, an accountant, is not one to turn down a free meal, but I could see that it looked a bit odd. The nice waitress had already brought me over some wine and free nibbles (tasty bits of chicken teriyaki in a bowl). I explained my predicament with the phone and they let me use their restaurant landline to call him, bless! He was in fact lost and desperately trying to find me at this point, frantic because he couldn’t remember the name of the restaurant (how did we manage before we all had mobile phones??), so all was resolved and the staff visibly relaxed, undoubtedly relieved that the potential for a distraught, abandoned female had now subsided. I should add that we were sat at a table behind the conveyer belt section so had full waiter service instead of helping ourselves but I had declined the kind offer of a table overlooking the trains! Service through the three course meal was polite and attentive, without being intrusive. None of this wiping away plates before you’ve finished eating that drives me mad in certain restaurants I’ve been to lately.

MOSHI MOSHI HAS A CONSCIENCE …

Moshi Moshi pride themselves on being environmentally aware. As well as free range meats, their menus feature an article on their Squid Protection campaign. Apparently squid are a popular delicacy amongst other sea creatures as well as humans. They don’t live very long at all, so numbers can drop substantially without warning so squid are prone to overfishing. Moshi Moshi now only buy in big squids, since little ones are a clear indicator of irresponsible fishing.

Moshi Moshi also have responsible practices in their purchasing of salmon and tuna. They have stopped purchasing the precariously rare bluefish tuna variety now and only serve the more common yellow fin. Their website www.moshimoshi.co.uk has a large section on their environmental policy if you’re interested in finding out more.

YOU’RE PLANNING AN EVENT OR PARTY

I used to do a lot of event management, it’s a stressful pastime and I don’t miss it. However Moshi Moshi can sort one out for you and take the pressure off a bit. They even provide entertainment to create a more colourful ambiance with traditional kimono-clad waiting staff, knife throwers, taiko drummers, karaoke and podium dancers all in the offering if you choose.

Events can be arranged in the restaurant or brought to your own premises. They deliver in and around the London and Brighton areas and can provide the waiting staff, as well as a full bar service. Not bad if your budget can cope with it!

They also do a full hot and cold take away service with party platters and bento boxes if you fancy a semi-extravagant lunch one day.

MOSHI MOSHI IS GOOD FOR YOU

Well I admit I’ve got this info straight from their website, but some of it I noticed on their menus during the meal as well. Great choice it would seem if you’re on a health kick but don’t want to go on social strike as well.

They state that their ingredients are all free of additives and Monosodium Glutamate, unless otherwise stated. Sticking to traditional Japanese ways, they do add sugar and vinegar to their sushi rice but reduce this to the lowest level possible without compromising flavour. You can choose brown or white rice with your bento boxes and …

… best of all Japanese food is LOW IN CALORIES. Apparently a standard sushi light meal will contain on average between 200 and 500 calories.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST … THE FOOD!!!

I did enjoy my meal very much thank you. Helped that it was free and that I was absolutely ravenous when my boyfriend turned up, but even excluding those circumstances it was a very good meal indeed. I’ve done the conveyor belt experience many times before, including at this particular restaurant and am a bit bored by that trend (uncomfortable stools, hard to keep track of what you’re eating, bit off putting that you don’t know how long the food is exposed for and limits you to sushi). Moshi Moshi has several tables, though the view (of trains arriving and departing) from the window seats as I have pointed out earlier is not the most exquisite.

My boyfriend chose the Bento box. As I had won the competition to get us there and had review writing in mind, I had the perfect excuse to nick the odd bit, ha ha!

There are four types of Bento box:
Seasonal grilled teriyaki by catchfish & sashimi
Tempura & ponzu sashimi
Pork katsu & gyoza
Free-range chicken teriyaki & ponzu sashimi
Each one is accompanied generously with 2 salads, rice, suimono and pickles. T had the pork katsu (which I was pleased about as I had already sampled their tasty Teriyaki whilst waiting for him to arrive!). The box wasn’t as large as the ones you get in other Japanese restaurants I’ve been too but the quality was definitely high, enough to meet the requirements of the probably far more discerning diners around me in any case, investment bankers and the like were all polishing their plates off and rubbing their ample too-many-client-lunch bellies with evident satisfaction. The Bento boxes are an averagely priced (for London) £13 each.

I went for the £14 Teishoku set menu. This is a starter and main course. There are 2 choices of ‘appetiser’ – the Sakura set which is spicy tofu and egg maki/ lotus root and chicken salad and tilapia karaage. This sounded a bit too healthy for my liking so I went for the other option – the Sumo set with chilli salad, deep friend aubergine (wasn’t too keen on that one) and chicken karaage. The portion was quite small but the chilli salad was deliciously complimentaed by the chicken karaage with just the right pinch of spices for my tastebuds to take note without screaming!

Choosing my main course from this set menu, passed most of my waiting time! There are 8 options:

** Yakimono grilled mackerel pike with daikon oroshi (must admit I’m completely ignorant as to what that actually is)
** Chilli pork Free-range (environmentally conscious in meat products as well!) pork belly Korean style in a chilli sauce
** Tempura selection (vegetarian option available)
** Grilled Loch duart salmon fillet with teriyaki source and oroshi daikon (this is how it appears on the menu, I assume this is the same as the earlier daikon oroshi)
**Tappan enrunji and shiitake mushrooms (hope they don’t forget the second ‘I’!) and vegetables
** Beef shogayaki loin in soy and ginger sauce
** Spicy tofu and omelette braised tofu and pak choi on a spicy omelette
** Loch Duart salmon teriyaki set

I went for the Loch salmon teriyaki set (seeing as I wasn’t sure what oroshi daikon was and too embarrassed to ask!) and it was delicious. The salmon was fresh and there was a huge chunk of it so that I could barely finish it. As with the Bento box the set menus come with rice, suimono, pickles and salad.

All in all it was a very pleasant meal indeed and I think I’ll go back even if I have to pay. We actually went over the amount the competition allowed by over £5 but they wouldn’t let us pay it and also wouldn’t take a tip. I wasn't sure if tipping is customary in Japan and worried that it might even be considered offensive for some reason(they were all native Japanese waiting staff apart from one Scandinavian bloke) so I didn’t push the issue, but felt very stingy not leaving them anything after such excellent service, generosity and great food.

There is a massive selection of dishes on the Moshi Moshi menu but I see very little point in listing them all here, since I can only talk about my personal experiences and all a full menu can be found on their website:
http://www.moshimoshi.co.uk/liverpool-menu.html


OTHER MOSHI MOSHI FACTS

~~ There are five restaurants in the Moshi Moshi chain; the one I went to at Liverpool street, one at Canary Wharf which I went to a while back, but is really a sectioned off area of the Waitrose supermarket. You'll find the others at Broadgate Circle, Ludgate Circus and Brighton (the honorary non-London member of the group)!

~~ The restaurants are fully licensed and there is a very good choice of wine

~~ Moshi Moshi recently launched a new membership scheme called, rather unimaginatively, “Member Moshi”. This offers numerous discounts, offers and incentives, more information on which can be found on their website or you can call 020 7377 5005.

~~ Moshi Moshi have been popular with the press, here is a selection of quotes that I found on their website, quite impressive:

"Moshi Moshi is wonderful...the fish is fresher and tastier than anywhere else this side of Tokyo" Daily Express

"Simple and Inspired" The Independent

"Moshi Moshi has attracted a fanatical following" The Times

"Moshi Moshi is very good news indeed" Daily Telegraph

So there you go, now it's over to you to try it for yourselves!

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