I do enjoy the food here for its taste. However, when a someone call themselves a “Japanese Restaurant” I critique them using Japanese Restaurant standard. With this set of criteria, Sushi Mura is not good restaurant. They did not carry any of the Japanese culture, finesse, or belief. Sushi Mura feels like an operation of some Korean guys jumping on the “Japanese Food” band wagon to make some quick cash.
I apologize for having to be so blunt and straight forward. The hashbrown is simply dreadful. The exterior is not crunchy. It feels like they have been fried and left aside for a while before it’s served. The interiors are all dried out. I could almost choke on them. Of course, the expensive and non-refillable coffee did not help. Ikea makes better hashbrowns than Egg & Co. I love hashbrowns, and it is very rare that I cannot finish the hashbrown.
Margherita pizza is my favorite Neapolitan pizza. If we see the process of making pizza as the merging of art and science, then Margherita is at Neapolitan pizza’s purest form. I like how every ingredient is fresh. Their distinct taste becomes very prominent. The acidity of tomato sauce laid the base of a good pizza. It’s not overly sour to dominate other ingredients, but it’s a taste that’s always there to give the other tastes a lift. You can pay attention to the fresh basil, and then indulge in the salami’s saltiness with the more laid back mozzarella taste. You can also take a bite and let all these flavour merge and complement each other. A well made Margherita Pizza is simple but never boring. The crust was airy and sturdy. The slight burn marks all around is a good indicator that this pizza is carefully monitored during the cooking process. Turns out, this pizza is perfectly cooked. The dough at the bottom was less than 2mm in thickness. Also, it has an even thickness. There were no unpleasant surprises with too much dough. I have had instances with Neopolitan pizza where my jaw got tired halfway through a pizza. Via Tevere’s dough was sturdy, but easy on the jaw.
Kikyouya Shingen Mochi Popsicle is a little on the expensive side for its size. I think it is completely worth it because I literally have not enjoyed a popsicle from opening to finish like this one. I indulged this popsicle on all my senses. From the aroma right out of the packaging to 4 types of textures in my mouth. With a small size like this, I can see the interior scenery change with every bite I take. There are also quite an interesting taste variation depends on which part of the popsicle you are eating. This little popsicle provided me with surprises in every bite.
The Basil Shrimp Fried Rice was very well done. Each grain of rice is separate. It has a lot of wok taste that even some of the full-on restaurants are not able to create. The eggs were from a squirt bottle but it did not affect the texture. There are also lots of shrimp. The saltiness is at a good level. If you don’t think it is spicy enough, there is a bottle of sriracha hot sauce that pairs perfectly with the fried rice.
We ordered some skewers. They were $10 per 10, so $1 per skewer. When I bite into it, the meat doesn’t break off easily. I think they were using the leftover part of the cow. The textures are not consistent. There are bits of pockets of meat among the webs of something really difficult to chew. I was not impressed.
It is Din Tai Fung culture to serve pot stickers upside down to showcase the crispy bottom crust. The extravagant thin crisp crust hide the pot stickers underneath. When you eat them, you estimate where pot stickers are and break the crust accordingly. It provides excitement to eating an ordinary dish. Unfortunately for the Din Tai Fung in Seattle, I broke the bottom crust and knew this is not the right stuff. The crust should have been light, fluffy and crispy. This crust was soggy. I could not break it off easily because the top layer of the bottom crust was still wet. This is not cooked properly. The Shrimp and Kurotuba Pork Pot Stickers pot stickers should be soft and juicy to the bite. The real Din Tai Fung’s potstickers should have a bounce and give me a satisfying feeling when biting into them. However, the texture of the pot stickers can only be best described as “wimpy”. I don’t care if it’s Kurotuba Pork or whatever the pork they use. I cannot taste the difference. If you want to use prestige ingredients, customers should be able to differentiate it in the taste. Also something of note, shrimp does not have much texture.
This store location features lower storefront windows for kids to peek through from outside. I don’t think they had to do that because every time I walk by, the smell of freshly made waffle cones naturally drew me in. It is really admirable that Molly Moon’s is tip free. They are assuming the responsibility for their customers. Even it’s just a couple of dollars, the gesture my day that much better. Not having to punch in tip percentage also made my transaction a lot more smooth while holding multiple ice creams.
Look at this picture and tell me how thick you think the soup is. Bing and Noodle World’s signature hulu noodle looks like vomit in a bowl. There is a lot of starch added to the soup. All the toppings are chopped to the point that I cannot recognize what they are. The noodles are overcooked, kind of matching the texture of the soup. I honestly cannot tell if I am eating the soup or the noodle. The thick soup does a good job at retaining heat. This bowl of noodle burned my mouth multiple times. Perhaps it’s a good bowl of noodle during Winter, but I did not enjoy it during my visit.
Bing and Noodle World specialize in stuffed pancake, which is the first word of their name “Bing”. You would think they should be very confident in their stuffed pancake to call themselves as such.
To be complete honest, the stuffed pancake is not bad. They have thin and sturdy crust. The filling thickness are easily 3-5 times thicker than the crust. Perhaps it’s the filling I ordered, there is a strong moldy smell to my stuffed pancake. I don’t know what to make of it, but I won’t be ordering this dish again. You are welcome to go and try the moldy pancake.
