That’s A’Mori!
We know it’s been a while and yes, we, too, are also very sad about it. But hey, we’re back baby. And we’re better (and hungrier) than ever coming at you with not one, but TWO brand new reviews of two restaurant highlights of 2017. Though our experience at Mori Sushi took place in September of last year, we took diligent and detailed notes about each course and we’re so happy to finally give our chicken scratch some love and reflect on it.
We know it’s been a while and yes, we, too, are also very sad about it. But hey, we’re back baby. And we’re better (and hungrier) than ever coming at you with not one, but TWO brand new reviews of two restaurant highlights of 2017. Though our experience at Mori Sushi took place in September of last year, we took diligent and detailed notes about each course and we’re so happy to finally give our chicken scratch some love and reflect on it.
We started with house-made tofu served with a side of house-made soy sauce and freshly grated wasabi. I don’t think either of us have ever had tofu so soft. The tofu itself was mildly sweet and oh so silky. The flavors were mild but refined, which allowed us to focus in on the tofu’s texture and really appreciate the skill and mastery that went into the preparation of the tofu.
The second course was a plate full of small bites. Though each one was very different from one another, each bite complimented each other so well. Starting from the left hand side was a string seaweed salad served with some freshly grated ginger. Smoky, earthy and viscous in texture. Though the texture of mozuku is not for everyone, the flavors certainly are. To the top right of the mozuku was a couple pieces of charred salmon. This salty and oily bite was a perfect follow-up to the mozuku. To the right of that was unagi wrapped in tamago. How can you go wrong with egg and eel? Super sweet and flavorful. To the bottom right is fig that was served with a nutty sesame sauce. The green nubs below that are baby peaches which tasted just like candy. Super sweet and exploded with flavor upon the first bite. The yellow slices are pickled radish which paired with the dried, pickled fish behind them, were a great combo.
Lastly, the red and orange pieces are bell pepper and daikon, respectively, which were pickled in a sweet vinegar. 8/8 on this plate, folks.
The last appetizer before the sushi extravaganza began was akadashi - traditional aged red miso. In the miso soup was nameko mushrooms and red snapper garnished with mitsuba. This soup was so rich and deep in flavor, and you bet we slurped down every last drop.
On to the first fish of our sushi fest. Red snapper. Super clean and pure with a salty aftertaste.
Following that was scallop. Also really clean, gummy and offered just the slightest hint of that ocean flavor we all love in small doses. The texture kind of reminded us of a Japanese gummy.
The octopus that followed was surprisingly soft and silky. Though it did have a slight crunch to it, it was much less crunchier than most octopus you get at sushi restaurants.
After that was hirami served only with salt and no soy sauce. This is one of our favorite fishes and Mori’s hirami definitely made it up there to our top 3. The fish was citrusy, bright and slightly salty.
Next up was the Spanish mackerel. This was served with just lemon with a wasabi and green onion paste on top. The fish was sooo flavorful and not fishy at all which tends to be the case with mackerel.
The wild yellowtail was super clean. Not fishy at all and just pure, unadulterated freshness.
The Japanese mackerel was sightly fishier than the Spanish mackerel and had a slight crunch to it. It was served with a little bit of wasabi.
The next fish was a first for the both of us - skipperjack. This was served with that wasabi and green onion paste that the Spanish mackerel was also served with. Though raw, it tasted and felt as if it had been cooked. Really interesting and yummy.
Check out the texture on this fish! Also a first for the both of us. This orange snapper was marinated in yuzu and was quite sweet with a bit of crunch from the skin’s texture. The end of the bite almost tasted like candy. Woah!
The akima maguro was marinated in Mori’s special soy sauce and delivered the perfect combination of tuna and soy flavor.
The toro was one of those “wait for it…..” dishes where we stuck the pieces in our mouths and stared at each other just waiting for that toro-liciousness to hit us. It was oily, buttery and melted in our mouths just as toro should. What a treat.
Another first for both of us was Japanese sardine. This fish was really soft and quite salty. Super yummy.
There were so many new types of fish we got to try this evening, which was really exciting. Another fish we could cross off of our list now is baby baracuda. This fish was really smoky and tasted as if it had been grilled on charcoal.
The Japanese snow crab was served slightly warm. It was just the most perfect bite of rice and crab; sweet with a hint of ocean complimented by the slightly acidic sushi rice.
And onto our favorite… uni. This is always the part we look forward to at any sushi restaurant and Mori did not disappoint. Their uni was super sweet and had that buttery melt-in-your mouth effect. Oooweee!
Topping the night off was golden eye snapper. Also slightly smokey but very clean and simple.
As if the night couldn’t get any better, we were given a complimentary birthday dessert. We were served a plate with house-made black tea and sesame ice cream, an experimental chestnut puree they were working on as well as red bean and black sesame mochi. It was all so, so, so good and we felt so special and taken care of.
If you’ve made it this far, it’s no secret that we had an incredible experience at Mori sushi. Not only was the food spectacular, but the service was amazing. Big shouts to Kuma-san, our sushi chef, who took such good care of us, described everything in such great detail, and answered all our questions.
One thing that made our experience so special was the chance to try so many new fishes. It was a delightful surprise that we weren’t expecting, and we’re grateful to have gotten the chance to try so many new types of fish, some of which we had never even heard of or seen.
Thanks for an amazing night, Mori. We hope to be back soon.
Mori Sushi
1500 W Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90064
