MoriMori — Restaurant in Christchurch

9th June 2017: I was introduced to this Japanese 🏯 🎌restaurant by my work colleague who suggested me to give it a try. So, I made a booking and went there on Friday evening with my family. We were greeted by the hostess using the Japanese greeting and she guided us to our table [of four]. We sat down and looked at the menu; man, there’s a lot of choices to choose from (of course which is a good thing). We decided on: grilled fish, Takoyaki (6 pieces of octopus balls), 3 prawn twisters 🍤, a plate of teriyaki chicken 🐔, a large assorted sashimi (20 pieces) and a bowl of spicy squid. I also ordered two large bottles of Japanese hot sake🍶(a must have when eating Japanese dishes) called Kimoto Junmai, which is very nice (smooth) compared to Ozeki🍶. The grilled fish 🐟 tasted ordinary, just like a pan-grilled fish that you can do at home. However, the rest of the dishes were stock standard Japanese taste; delicious, full of flavours and appetizing. Most of the dishes were generally easy to digest but the spicy squid was more of an acquired taste 😰. It is kinda of slimy and smooth, similar to bluff oysters but slimier. My kids do not like it, while my partner was more accepting. I love all kinds of seafoods 😋; whether it is raw or cooked, I’ll definitely try it. Anyway, the place is rather small and narrow space with wooden tables and chairs, along with seats up at the bar and an outdoor seating area. It is kinda warm and cosy, and welcoming too especially with a group of friends eating and chatting. They accept cash, Eftpos and credit card payments. I recommend to book ahead as they do get busy on Thursday to Saturday evening/ night.

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5. Marvellous. I enjoyed every moment, so do my family. Ambience: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5. Very typical Japanese izakaya kind of way. They tried to re-create the authentic “feel” by using lots of timber decorations. Price: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of 5. Reasonably priced with the food comes with a good portion size.

Would I go...

Had my first time encounter here last night while also having a first date 😎.

We were the only guests in the restaurant at 630 until another group arrived around 745 which I think is unusual for Mori Mori as its always quite full when I pass by regularly, but this was nice for the first date scenario. Atmosphere is warm, inviting, clean and nicely styled although we both agreed that the music was out of place and slightly loud at points .Great murals on the wall and lots of space indoors and out. The service was lovely, non invasive and friendly. Meal wise I had to start the pork dumplings 6 on the plate and dipping sauce and they were yum! The date had delicious melt in the mouth octopus balls (not genitals 😅) there were 6 on the plate also. Mains I had the soft shell crab good generous portion was given and with the tangy sweet garlic and chilli sauce they were served in were very scrummy , but there was a little to much sauce which took away the tempura crunch but not complaining really. Date indulged in seafood soba noodles and was satisfied. I washed mibe down with green tea and the date with on tap jap beer. All up it cost $32.00 each which I was impressed by. So all up it was really good and will defiantly be back. The end of date kiss was a...

Been there for many times but this time is the worst time, usually two aunties work there, the food were great and they both friendly, there are two new faces working today, one was a young girl was unprofessional and another one was a young man looks rude and unfriendly, we sat down about ten minutes didn’t bring water until we asked, the beef Tataki was overcooked we never ever seen the beef Tataki looks like stir fried beef, It's a joke for Japanese food, even they Changed after we spoken to the staff, but the second one still not fresh at all, because some pieces still frozen inside and some warm, taste like just took from freezer and reheat it , We ordered $52 mixed platter The salmon sushi is not as good as that $10 buy from the take away sushi shop, the salmon has turned black , it’s unbelievable you couldn’t see that? If you keep using such inferior ingredients to save money, you will lose...