New Japanese comfort food destination, Mocu-Mocu, is set to open June 9th in Hell’s Kitchen. Owners and sisters, Aya and Tomomi Tatsushiro, along with award-winning cookbook author and expert on Japanese cuisine, Hiroko Simbo, have developed the restaurant-cafe to reflect the European and American-influenced Japanese cuisine that arose from the reopening of the country’s borders in the late 1800’s.
The modern, casual eatery will focus on Okonomiyaki and Obanyaki, two traditional Japenese pancake-type treats. The savory Okonomiyaki is cooked in a skillet, like an omelette, and topped with varying fillings like braised chicken, sliced pork belly, coconut shrimp, or veggies, along with one of two special sauces created by the chef especially for Mocu-Mocu. Obanyaki, on the other hand, is a sweet dessert made from a thick batter poured into special circular pans and filled with sweet filling on the insides (I love crepes?).
Along with these signature dishes, Mocu-Mocu’s menu also consists of many different soups, sides, and Otsumami (Japanese for snacks), such as Sweet Potato Fries with special sauces, Japanese Shishito Peppers, Crisp Pork Belly with house-made pickled jicama, and locally-sources herb-baked Chicken Wings. For soups, try the Creamy Edamame with Shiso Leaves or the White Bean and Pork Sausage.
There is also a shop selling Mocu-Mocu merchandise along with hand-made, limited edition kimonos from Japan’s Ise-Momen region, a place famous for its high-quality, woven fabric for the past, oh I don’t know, four hundred years. Mocu-Mocu also plans to expand the shop to include local artists and designers.
Stop by for a great meal, tasty snack, or quality tea and coffee. For those of you in a hurry, the cafe also features a walk-up window for takeout orders of coffee, tea, and pastries.
746 10th Ave
Lauren is a New York based actor/singer/writer. She is a graduate of the American Repertory Theater/Moscow Art Theater School Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University as well as the College of the Holy Cross. She’s a fan of beer, pasta, and academic establishments with unnecessarily long titles. Find her on stage, or online– she’s there often.
