One of the latest additions to Garden City's food scene is Motto Motto, (もっともっと Japanese for 'more more'). Initially, it wasnt too high up on my 'to go' list, but since I heard that it was run by the owners of Sono I knew that this was something I could not miss out on.
Despite arriving at 6pm, they were not yet open, by the looks of it they might have been shooting a commercial. Anyway, that gave us plenty of time to peruse the rather limited short whilst we were waiting. Whilst the menu is short, it covers a covers quite a wide variety, ranging from rice and noodles to bread rolls and a number of sides.
The decor, like the menu was simplistic but vibrant.
Cutlery is also simplistic.
We were also lucky enough to get a free drink as part of the opening special - Glass Bottle Coke, not too bad at all.
Even our sharing bowls were in that cute little bowls that fit next to each other. Simplistic but elegant.
Even the glasses of water were really good looking, especially for what is essentially a casual restaurant.
The first main we shared was the Seafood Chirashi.I mentioned previously, chirashi (散壽司) means scattered sushi, more literally, it is sushi which hasnt really been put together, i.e. raw fish on rice. I was really impressed that they used Japanese short grain rice, which was cooked to just the right texture and consistency. The toppings included salmon, tuna, prawns, scallop, seafood stick, tobiko roe, ikura roe as well as avocado. I found the seafood to be super fresh, and loved the addition of the extra avocado.
Whilst I am a big big fan of chirashi, the one problem I have with some of the ones I have tried is that whilst I love sashimi, there is so much rice that I have had to douse the whole thing in soy sauce. With the Chirashi from Motto Motto, I was particularly impressed as I it was already flavoured with a nice sauce and I didn't need to add soy sauce at all.
The next to arrive was our Potato Salad. Unlike regular salad, the Potato is not diced, but rather mashed and mixed with different veges. We also had a choice between soy and sesame dressing, to which we chose sesame dressing. From afar, it looks like a scoop of ice cream, but despite its appearance, it was very refreshing and yummy. I particularly liked how the onion flavours had infused into the mashed potato. I only wished there was one more scoop.
Next to arrive was the Aburi Salmon and Avocado rice. Normally speaking, I am not really keen on Aburi Salmon as I like my salmon raw, however in this instance, I loved this dish. The salmon was only barely cooked, leaving the majority of it raw, the avocado was ripe and soft, and although the sauce was stronger than the chirashi rice, it didnt overpower the flavours of the toppings.
This was the 'Black' Tonkotsu Ramen. The reason why it is black is because it is infused with black garlic oil. It was also served with a small side dish of pickled radish and veges.
I found the soup to be super yummy, it was strong but not overbearing, and thick. I could really taste the long time that it had been cooking for. I could particularly taste the garlic in the soup. The noodles were nice, but the egg wasn't cooked as well as I would have liked it. As my associate said, in terms of noodles and soup, it was good, but not as good as Hakataya or Taros.
On the other hand, I was super impressed with the pork belly in the ramen. Whilst it was still cooked to a super soft texture, it was definitely not as fatty as the meat in any of the other ramen places I've had. I really liked it.
The last main to arrive was the Tan Tan Men, which had a different, sweeter, but spicy soup base compared to the tonkotsu ramen. It was served with veges and minced meats. Again the egg could have been done better, and after the tonkotsu ramen, I found I liked that better than Tan Tan Men.
Then came our sides. The crab cream croquette had apparent pieces of crab in it, compared to other places who usually dont. It was served piping hot, and crispy.
Lastly, came my most anticipated side. It is my firm opinion that every thing can be better with a side of fries, and everything is better topped with seaweed. As you can see, this is the ideal way to end the meal. I loved the shoestring fries, which were lightly salted and topped with seaweed.
For the last couple of months, every meal I've had in Garden City was in 8 Street, not anymore. I absolutely loved my meal at Motto Motto, and no doubt I will be back.
Price Range: $10 - $15 per person
Taste: 8.5/10
Value: 8/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 8/40
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