Momokawa
“-Buta no kakuni (braised pork belly): Meat was tender and juicy, good flavor
-Duck and watercress shabu shabu: Best shabu shabu EVER!”
“Sometimes I'll just get the sashimi, which is decently priced – 7 giant slices of amazing quality fish for $16-$18.”
“Mentai Onigri was a bit overpriced for $9 (2)
Soy fried chicken was good.”
Momokawa
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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They have lunch set that comes with a mesclun salad, a miso soup, a main dish and rice. The Grilled Boston Mackerel is served with grated radish, pieces of kombu and pickled radish. The skin of the mackerel was crispy. The fish is served with soy sauce but it's good without the sauce. I like this place because they use organic and natural ingredients. The entrance is located downstairs, but the restaurant is upstairs from street level. It's a small space but cozy.
Delicious place to get shabu shabu. I've never had shabu shabu before and it took a little bit of an adjustment to enjoy this food as I was expecting hot pot. It's definitely important to come with people because I could see doing this as a couple not being that enjoyable. It is quite expensive, oh man, which is the main downside for this.
The tomago was delicious. The rice balls were just okay.
The sukiyaki was a bit too salty for my taste, but the shabu shabu was delicious. That being said, the prime rib should be what you definitely order if you are getting sukiyaki. It was sliced thin, but super delicious. In the shabu we ordered duck which was … okay. i wish we ordered the beef for both dishes.
All in all, it's a nice small place that's pretty cool. I feel like there were too few servers for that small limited amount of tables. My water was empty a lot.
Delicate. If I were to choose one word to describe it.
Home made tofu with special sauce is a good starter for a full meal, prepare your appetite for it, but not to heavy.
Great idea to pair Karaage (Japanese fried chicken) with lemon, which makes it much less greasy. But a little bit of overdose in flour for the chicken.
Our eyes are bigger than stomach, we were quite full when we reach the third appetizer, grilled saury, so it tastes like everything within expectation, but it's not the kitchen's fault
Sukiyaki with washu beef was everything that we would ever want. Right amount of sodium and suger in the base broth forms perfect dance on the taste bud. A balanced portion of fat in beef gives it all the tenderness. And we searched and fought for the konjak noodles among all udon noodles. Was a lot of fun.
Staff there are really friendly and accommodating. We were late for 30 minutes and they still gave us the seating and served everything super quick (definitely not encourage everyone to be late but they dealt it really nicely)
In a word, will be back! For many times in the future
So expensive.
Went here with my boyfriend because he's never had shabu shabu before and they were close by.
The waiter was rude and didn't help us with anything, even though we said we were unfamiliar with shabu shabu and he just ended up laughing at us and FINALLY helping us out because he saw that we didn't put any broth in the little bowls with the salt and the noodles… Then they had the nerve to ask why we didn't tip much…
As for the food, it was good even though there wasn't much meat for the high price tag. The dessert tasted like apple sauce put in a fancy container.
Don't think I'll be back.
Super authentic Japanese shabu shabu restaurant that was a nice little find. The place is pretty small so I'd recommend making a reservation in advance. Dined here with a couple of friends and we were all impressed – the duck ramen was probably the highlight of our meal! We got the shabu shabu to share and being spoiled by Chinese/Mongolian hot pot herbal broth – I was a little disappointed when our "pot" consisted of just water and a couple of strands of scallion. However, the beef made up for all of that – tender and delicious – and it also came with a side of veggies and noodles. Will have to come back to try some of the other selections!
I went here for lunch. Pleasant waiter. I skipped the lunch specials and went directly a soup that I have been meaning to have in this cold weather for a good while, Ochazuke, or green tea rice.
It started with some free Miso Soup which had some nicely crunchy vegetables. Broth was otherwise average outside of a pretty strong miso flavor.
The salad next was much lighter than in other places with solely lettuce. Dressing was good. I think it needs some tomato or cucumber or something as it was a bit bland.
The ochazuke on the other hand was excellent. Well priced at 10 dollars with the umeboshi (pickled plum super tart but refreshing if you've never had) and they served it nicely with the green tea on the side so you can add it as you eat. Good amount of rice and everything tasted very fresh.
Excellent meal at 12 dollars. I'll be back for more definitely, especially a hot pot or nabe.
Momokawa is another excellent Japanese restaurant that matches in quality and authenticity to restaurants I've been to in Asia. It specializes in two types of food: Sukiyaki and Shabu Shabu. For those who are unfamiliar, both are styles of cooking very thinly sliced, delicate cuts of meat.
With sukiyaki, you simmer the meat in a shallow cast iron pot over a very flavorful soy sauce broth. Once the meat is cooked, you quickly dip it in a mashed raw egg yolk sauce before indulging in the rich flavors.
With shabu shabu, you boil the meat in a hot pot. The broth is supposed to be slightly lighter, but you will get some dipping sauces on the side to enhance the flavor.
My friend and I decided we wanted the more flavorful meat, so we chose to do the sukiyaki! We ordered the washu beef set for 2 ($72). It came with sides of Napa cabbage, mushrooms, udon noodles, and more! I was amazed by the delicious melt-in-my-mouth texture of the meat. The waiter helped us cook the first few pieces, and we did everything after. Be careful not to overcook the delicate meat!
We also also tried two sides: uni with their house-made tofu and the uni ikura sea scallop don. I thought both were average, especially in comparison to the sukiyaki. The tofu had a very interesting texture, the rice could have used a bit more vinegar, and the uni seemed a bit…watery.
Overall, this place is such a gem! Make sure you make a reservation and come with a large appetite!