Moga - Rosalie

In my effort to eat ALL the Japanese food in Brisbane, it was inevitable that sooner or later I would be going to Moga at Rosalie, situated opposite Blue Room and Gelataria Cremona. 

We made reservation before hand and were given a semi alfresco table, outside of the restaurant building but still under cover.

The extensive menu was provided, and we started ordering. Food came very quickly after that.

First to arrive was the wagyu tataki, served with ginger, garlic, grated daikon and a sweet citron soy. Whilst the wagyu was very thinly cut, I could still taste that the meat texture quite chewy. Needless to say it would have made a very tough steak if it was served thick. For the price, the serving was also very small.

Our small sashimi came out next, consisting of two slices of kingfish, three slices of salmon and two slices of tuna. It was adorned with flower petals, which we decided not to eat with the fish. Whilst the fish was reasonably fresh, the kingfish was super thinly sliced, and the salmon and tuna pieces were also rather small.

This is the Salmon Negima, which was marinated salmon, wrapped around shallots, sansho pepper, and red onion, glazed with sweet unagi sauce, mayonnaise and topped with salmon roe. Whilst it wasn't mentioned in the menu, the salmon was slightly roasted to a point where it was slightly burned on top. It was a very interesting and delicate combination, with strong flavours coming from the shallots and red onion, giving it a bit of crunch to the dish.

Our sushi rolls came soon after. We ordered a Kamo River Roll, which was marinated duck breast and cucumber, which was wrapped in lettuce and topped with teriyaki sauce. We also had a crab roll. The kamo river roll was really quite disappointing. The lettuce was soft, soggy and as a result of this we had lots of sinewy bits stuck in our teeth for the rest of the evening. The duck was alright, but it was quite a small portion given the size of the sushi. The crab roll was one of the better executed dishes, being crunchy and hot on the inside and topped with crunchy tobiko. It was similar to my usual at Oishii.

Wanting to try a variety of dishes, we also tried the Chicken Tsukune, which was marinated meatballs. The price was similar to Birds Nest Yakitori, but the standard definitely wasn't comparable. The chicken quite bland, and the portion was again, very small.

Initially, we had decided to finish off the meal with the meatballs, but my companion and I both decided that we were only half full, so we ordered the Salmon Sasa Zushi, which has a piece of marinated salmon wrapped around a rice ball and topped with salmon roe. With the mention of rice balls, we thought that it would fill us up, but the salmon was quite unfresh (as compared to the sashimi), and the rice balls were rather small, being not much bigger than a piece of sushi. 

For the price that we paid for our meal, we could have gone to Sono and had change to spare. Needless to say we had to go for a late night maccas run not long after our departure

Price Range: $50 - $70 per person

Taste: 4/10

Value: 3/10

Service: 7/10

Environment: 7/10