Moshi Moshi
4 Main St., Northampton, (413) 586-5865
Mon.-Fri.: 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; 5 -10 p.m.;
Sat.: 11 am-11 p.m.; closed Sunday
By my count, Moshi Moshi is one of five places in Northampton serving sushi. The restaurant is unusual not because its menu is unique, because it offers a wider-than-usual variety of fish, or because it's wedged into the nose of a building on the corner of a busy street. It is unusual because Moshi Moshi is an Asian version of Cheers. "Moshi Moshi!" (Japanese for Hello!) is shouted to all who enter by the improbably named Sam, owner and head sushi chef.
The Moshi Moshi experience varies depending on where you sit. Downstairs is the sushi bar, where Sam sings out to all who enter. "Bob, where have you been, Bob? We miss you, Bob! Get your sticks, go sit down, Bob," Sam will say. Moshi Moshi has been open for a little more than three years. Not only are regulars greeted by name, but some are granted a set of personalized, numbered chopsticks, which are stored decoratively above the sushi bar. To date, there are 327 sets of chopsticks named and numbered.
Sam and his sideman at the sushi bar fill the orders, working with an amazing selection of seafood. The night we were there, yellowtail tuna, white tuna, salmon, fluke, octopus, squid, striped bass, surf clam and shrimp (with heads) lay glistening on ice. The menu offers traditional sushi (served on rice), sashimi (raw fish, no rice) and special rolls. House rolls include the Rocki Roll (spicy yellowtail with avocado inside and mango outside) and the Spider Roll (deep fried soft-shell crab with veggies). Sam steers his patrons to the custom rolls: "Feeling tired? How about salmon for protein with spicy sauce, cucumber, tofu, carrot and baby radish? Name it after yourself!"
House specialty appetizers—Moshi Moshi mussels, blackened tuna, Moshi Moshi Dynamite (a variety of white fish with spicy sauce) and Hamachi Karma (broiled collar of yellow tail served with grated daikon and ginger)—provide a nice variety of non-sushi items. Appetizers include itako (marinated baby octopus served with ponzu sauce), among others. The restaurant offers three salads: tofu, chicken teriyaki and house garden.
It's fun eating downstairs, where there's no shortage of information offered about the fish and myriad other topics. I recommend starting with a miso soup and saki. We wanted to try something new, so we chose white tuna. White tuna is less sweet and a bit more briny than red tuna, with a flavor that stands up to the nothing-but-fish sashimi treatment.
Upstairs is quiet. From the dining room, patrons have a nice view of Pearl Street, which is always interesting on a weekend.
A member of the wait staff suggested we try the fresh scallops, just in from Boston. They came to the table, in an over-sized clamshell, as large, glistening disks coated with bright orange eggs. Raw scallops are good once you get the hang of their flaccid texture, but you really have to love scallops. We also ordered shumai (shrimp dumpling), which was cooked perfectly—sweet fish inside a delicately steamed pocket. For dessert, we chose banana fritter with green tea as a foil for the deep fried fruit.
If you eat downstairs, I recommend you try the silver saki, the nutta salad (seafood salad with miso dressing) and the chirashi (slices of sashimi, the chef's choice, layered on sushi rice), which includes miso soup and salad. The salmon skin roll is also superb.
If you eat upstairs, start with green tea and move on to the nabeyaki udon (soup with poached egg, shrimp tempura, fish cake, scallions, toasted seaweed and thick wheat noodles) and the bul-go-gi (thinly sliced beef and vegetables with Korean barbecue sauce). Topped off with the banana fritter, it's a delightful meal.
