Moonga Sashimi- Review
No-makase
Fresh from a great omakase in Vancouver, I was eager to try Moonga Sashimi’s omakase experience. This review is focused on their omakase which was surprisingly not great.
I was also surprised that Moonga was located in the Heritage area. It wasn't until recently reminded that it was by my ex who exclaimed I've been, "told about Moonga 20x since 2020 and I didn't listen to [her] once." I'm sorry Camcam. I'm listening now.
Arriving at the restaurant puzzled me as the entrance of Moonga shares an entrance with an ATB ATM lobby, very strange but it smelled like some great pieces of sushi were coming. However, I was deceived by this 19-course offering. It started ok with a light soup that had egg hiding underneath a narutomaki and some ikura. It was a refreshing start to the meal that led to the sashimi portion. Monkfish liver was memorable but felt a little…dry? Kind of old perhaps because it didn’t have the texture of a pate. After the monkfish liver, it felt like the meal had kind of spiraled into a rather forgetful and confusing mess. Pieces of sashimi on a plate turned into many pieces of sashimi on a plate that all tasted as expected. Same thing went for many of the nigiri. I was confused of a piece of uni atop a piece of nigiri. Didn’t feel or taste right. Most confusing was an udon dish. The presentation of it was nice with a candle keeping the dish warm but other than that it felt like a filler for the meal. My favorite dish of the omakase was this green net handroll thing. Lol, forgive me but it was difficult to hear the chef say what the items were when they had elevator music playing on the speakers. Song selection was also very strange here. Anyways back to this net thing. It was delicious and so unique. I believe it had a smear of minced tuna and red tuna? Idk whatever it is please tell me. I want it again in my life. 18 plates in and we’re rewarded with a refreshing dessert. It’s nice and light and has a perfect end to this strange omakase.
The first big criticism here is the service. For an omakase, it fell well below my standards. I’m accustomed to the chef being very talkative and explaining what is being put in front of me. This leads me to wonder why this can’t happen in this space. It’s one long bar for 10 people so talking at one end won’t reach the ears of customers at the other end. Also with the strange jazz music playing nothing will be heard. Most omakase places will have L-shaped or U-shaped seating so the chef can be heard by all. However, when in San Francisco we had an omakase at a long table but what was different is that our group of 4 had one chef explaining our omakase. Moonga has 3 chefs so I think this could be possible? They also have 2 other waitresses serving drinks but for an omakase, they weren’t too much of a help. We had ordered a large bottle of sake and no one had helped us pour it. Whereas other omakase where the staff will keep the bottle and come to you when your glass is almost empty. What was also strange was that people were picking up takeout orders while we were eating so every 30 minutes, someone would open the door behind me and it just took everything out of the dining experience. I’d suggest locking the door or using a different door if possible for takeout orders. Also with such a long and extensive dining experience, it would’ve been nice to have received a piece of paper of everything that was served, just a nice way to remember some of the dishes.
Overall I am not impressed by Moonga Sashimi. I believe there is a lot of room to improve as it is one of the only places to have omakase in Edmonton. Don’t get me wrong, the presentation is great but you will get full, but flavors fall flat and uninspired. They are simply selling quality fish that is not well prepared while offering an omakase that falls well below a standard omakase.
Sal says: Just Skip It (1.9/5)
