On the outskirts of Seattle, in the city if Kirkland, WA is the most wonderful little hole-in-the-wall sushi place in the entire area. If nobody points this place out to you, you would never know it’s there. It’s hidden in a small strip mall next to a Pet Smart and a head shop. The tiny sign reading “Momoya Sushi and Sake House” is all that can tip you off. If this tiny sign should happen to catch your eye, then for the love of all that is holy STOP your car and go get some sushi!
I got a Tuna Roll and a Cucumber Roll. I know that this is painfully tame to some of you, but I love these rolls and that they are so gorgeous in their simplicity. I was a happy girl.
Of course this came with green tea (flavored with dark sesame oil for a smokey taste) and a salad and miso soup. I love miso soup!
My husband got a gorgeous Bento box. Of course I nibbled a little bit of everything from this meal and it was all delectable and perfect. Seriously, this sushi man knows what the hell he’s doing.
Since we are leaving the Pacific Northwest in August, we thought it would be a good idea to try a local seafood called Geoduck (pronounced “gooey duck”). It’s basically a clam that looks….uhhh….like a certain part of a man. It’s a freak out, but they are supposedly sweet and great for sushi. Unfortunately, Momoya did not have this native mollusk so we decided to try another fresh seafood. We tried raw Sea Urchin. Let me be straight with you. This Sea Urchin was FRESH FRESH FRESH. The taste was sublime. It’s everything good about the ocean and seafood wrapped into one. HOWEVER, it is the consistency of peanut butter. Some people call it the Foie Gras of the sea, and I can see that. Despite the taste being as heavenly as it was, the consistency just freaked me out a little bit and I couldn’t help but gag. I did that the first time I tried raw oysters on the half shell too…but now I’ll suck down raw oysters with the best of them and slurp the liqueur like it’s mother’s milk. (Sorry I didn’t get a picture of it. I was too excited and my phone was in the hands of a phone-happy toddler.)
The best part about this last trip to Momoya’s was that our soup and salad were given to us on the house. I don’t know why. Maybe because we were the first dinner guests? I would have happily paid! And when we ordered the Sea Urchin, we were given a hand roll, also on the house. I would have paid for that too! This place is fantastic. It’s tiny, family owned, friendly, and completely non-pretentious. I wish I could take it back East with me. I will miss it.
