Moim Japanese Kitchen, Kirrawee

Moim Kitchen in Kirrawee offers predominantly Japanese foods such as sushi, sashimi and udon, but also other Asian dishes such as Korean bulgogi and bibimbap, and Chinese-inspired sweet and sour chicken. We had a 7:30 pm booking for our catch-up dinner, with two vegetarians at our table of eight!

We were unfortunate enough tonight to be seated in the back function room next to a table of a dozen happy, loud and tipsy ladies, and later a table in the other direction of a group celebrating a birthday. The noise level was quite awful for the large part of the night, but we’re here for the food as much as the catching up. No? Just me? tongue

Our table got the Moim Banquet A ($35 per person), customised to feed the vegetarians, and Richard and I decided to be uncooperative and opted out of it. Did I mention that half our table also arrived late? That, set menu deviations, and a quarter of the table not even interested in it. Sounds like the perfect setup for unhappy staff.

Dishes from the banquet gradually appeared in the order of the menu (which I didn’t take many pictures of because I didn’t want to be too disruptive), and I waited and waited for my sushi platter to show up. Richard got his chicken katsu rolls and karaage udon first.

Moim Japanese Kitchen: Chicken Katsu Rolls
Moim Japanese Kitchen: Chicken Katsu Rolls ($8.80)

Hmm, not the most visually appealing sushi rolls, also a little small in size. The udon with the 3 pieces of chicken karaage smelt so good, though.

Moim Japanese Kitchen: Karaage Chicken Udon
Moim Japanese Kitchen: Karaage Chicken Udon ($13.80)

I was getting quite impatient, but my platter finally arrived about an hour after order. The Sushi & Sashimi Combo 2 ($41.80) has the following items:

  • 4 oysters
  • a dozen slices of various sashimi (6 slices of salmon, 3 tuna, 3 kingfish)
  • 3 fresh nigiri (1 salmon, 1 tuna, 1 kingfish)
  • 6 aburi salmon nigiri
  • 8 unnamed maki (“sushiroll”)
Moim Japanese Kitchen: Sushi & Sashimi Combo 2
Moim Japanese Kitchen: Sushi & Sashimi Combo 2 ($41.80)

The Combo 2 platter, along with the junior Combo 1 ($23.80), are the only menu items that offer traditional nigiri. While the raw seafood tasted fresh and the aburi salmon super delicious, I didn’t really like the mysterious sushi rolls with the salad filling (which I later identified to be the “Kirrawee” rolls on the menu — probably). There’s nothing inherently wrong with the rolls apart from its messier appearance; it’s just not the type of sushi I would normally order. I wish Moim offered independent fresh nigiri items on the menu.

There was plenty of food to go around (or the shameless gimme some of those food vibes that I broadcast worked), so I got to try a few main dishes from the Moim Banquet A.

Moim Japanese Kitchen: Mixed BBQ
Moim Japanese Kitchen: Mixed BBQ (part of Banquet A)

Barbecued chicken, beef (bulgogi) and pork belly! The Mixed BBQ plate could probably have been substituted for the vegetable grill, but I was glad they kept the meat version. My favourite was the well-marinated chicken. To quote one of the fellow meateaters: “I like the taste of death.” tongue

Moim Japanese Kitchen: Chicken Shabu Shabu
Moim Japanese Kitchen: Chicken Shabu Shabu (part of Banquet A)

This arrived as the last big dish before dessert! I thought shabu shabu was always thinly sliced beef, but we had the chicken variation tonight. The pot has a cellophane noodle base with a lot of vegetables and cooked chicken sitting on top. Got to love a hearty pot of fresh vegetables on the stove! (I might have finished most of it.)

Moim Japanese Kitchen: Spring Rolls
Moim Japanese Kitchen: Spring Rolls (complimentary; $4 otherwise)

If starting late and customising the banquet menu weren’t enough to upset the staff, we didn’t realise we were massively overstaying until one of them told us that they in fact closed at 10 pm, 40 minutes ago! On our way out, the staff were actually still smiling and thanked us for dining there.

How well a non-vegetarian restaurant cater for vegans and vegetarians had never been something I paid much attention to, and I was quite impressed with how Moim juggled everything. Despite the largely positive experience, I don’t quite see myself returning for the sushi. Maybe to try the bibimbap?

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