Out & About #192 | Munching in Markham (Pt. 12): Moji Japanese Eatery

"MUJI OFFERS FOOD NOW TOO?!"
Such an exclamation had been heard ringing throughout the house upon the discovery of this newly-opened eatery in Markham. A second glance at the name alerted me that my body was in dire need of a few more z's, for it was named Moji - a totally different vowel.

It was a Japanese-themed establishment nonetheless; according to the rife reviews on Yelp, they offered standard but supposedly yummy rice and udon dishes. In addition, visitors that make the effort to dine in before the end of January 31st would receive a coupon for free ice cream. Well, that makes decisions easier doesn't it?

Quite frankly, Moji appeared quite bland solely based off of social media: I couldn't immediately perceive a distinct concept, nor identify a distinguishing factor between the numerous other sources for food in the plaza. It was also noticed that users consistently griped about the lack of heat and extensively long wait times for service and food, but also commended their takoyaki and curry udon bowls at the same time.
It was strange. Moji seemed strange.

I set out with a purpose on Saturday: to experience this new restaurant (and their ice cream) and validate the concerns and praises of other diners.

We pulled open Moji's flimsy white door and set foot into the eatery just two minutes after they had opened. As predicted, it was still relatively barren.
An older member of the serving staff greeted us immediately, and gestured towards a table near the entrance. We opted for a window seat instead, and thank goodness we did.

The restaurant was utterly peaceful for a total of five minutes. As I took to my snapping before leisurely browsing the menu, the eatery rapidly filled up. I looked up at around quarter to 12, stunned to find that half of the wooden tables and mismatched chairs were now occupied with eager lunch patrons. Needless to say, we took to flagging down of the waitresses and placing our orders readily.
The older waitress appeared to be a tad absent-minded (read: lost in her own world). Rarely did she ever turn in the direction of customers - she was either facing the kitchen or delivering food items, blocking out her peripheral view of other tables. Thankfully, there was a younger girl maintaining the drink bar and soft serve machine; she noticed my raised hand and imminently made her way over to provide assistance.

A girl sporting a sloppy bun and black leggings was observed making her way into the back to change for her shift around noon. Prior to this, there were only two girls working the floor, one girl in the bar, and two members of kitchen staff: a stout middle-aged lady and a taller male likely in his late twenties or early thirties. At some point in time, a thin girl donning a half-up/half-down hairstyle and shy, cheerful expression also began to work the floor. From what I could perceive, three quarters of the waitstaff appeared to be Japanese (which is quite a rarity in Markham); the only exceptions would be Ms. Sloppy Bun and the middle-aged lady.

Taking a step back from discussing Moji's operations, let's refer back to the menu for a short bit.
No frills whatsover, their menu was straightforwardly presented in a grid-like fashion in both English and Traditional Chinese (oddly enough, not a speck of Japanese was spotted anywhere). Along with typical izakaya appetizers (takowasa, karaage, ebi mayo, etc.), they also offered mains in the form of udon bowls or dons (aka rice bowls with toppings). With every udon or donburi order, drinks could be added to form a  combo for an extra two dollars. It's important to note that cold and hot drink additions were priced equally, unlike your average cha chan teng.

We had been served water in small white teacups upon first being seated, though still opted to add Hot Matcha Milk Teas to our meals. They were served in somewhat tacky ceramic mugs (mine had an awkward lump of paint under the handle), topped with mini marshmallows, and accompanied by metals spoons.

While I hadn't had high hopes for something likely whipped up from an instant powder mix, I must admit that Moji had done a decent job. The taste of creamer and unauthentic matcha powder was evident, though it wasn't overly sweet nor bitter either. The marshmallows gradually melted into the beverage as customers devoured other food items; the spoons were placed to allow for uniform mixing of the drink as the matcha powder mix would sink to the bottom of the cup from time to time.

It had been a wise decision to place the orders before the lunch rush arrived; both mains were presented shortly with a complimentary bowl of enoki miso soup after the beverages had made their arrival.

Likely the most popular and safest bets on the menu (as deduced from Yelp), we selected the Buta Mayo Don and Avocado Crabmeat Don. Takoyaki also proved to be a fan favourite, and for a good reason: it was fried after cooking to ensure a crisp exterior and piping hot, fluffy interior.

Both bowls assumed the same format: a sauce-laden, protein-filled topping carefully portion atop a bed of warm rice, Japanese soft-boiled egg (aka ramen egg), edamame, two slices of pink pickled ginger, and two slices of cantaloupe of varying thicknesses.
The Avocado Crabmeat Don was, essentially, a deconstructed California roll: imitation crab meat, fish roe, and a not-so-properly-sectioned ripe avocado half were coated with a watery mayonnaise dressing and topped with thin strips of nori seaweed. While by no means outstanding, the donburi was flavourful and satisfying - characteristically comfort food for lovers of the Westernized Asian cuisine scene.

The Buta Mayo Don was warm and covered generously with small pieces of pork slathered in the same watery dressing. Besides the savoury and ever-so-subtly sweet sauce that had been ladled onto the underlying rice, both bowls were identical in nature, all from the edamame to the squishy ramen egg to the ginger slices.
Previous Yelpers had had apple slices included in their bowls, though I suppose the type of fruit varies by seasonal offerings (or whatever is on sale at T&T). I personally enjoy the consumption of fruit after a meal, as the acids act as a palate cleanser. My only complaint would be that the slices were not of uniform thickness - the Buta Mayo Don boasted 1 cm thick pieces as opposed to the Avocado Crabmeat Don's 3 mm ones!

Four waitresses were working the floor during the peak lunch rush. With the entire eatery consisting of eleven 4-people tables and two group tables (6 people plus), it came as a slight surprise to see that they were having noticeable difficulties even with just tending to waving customers and transporting food items from the kitchen to the floor in a reasonable amount of time. Requests for the bill and takeout boxes were forgotten, and efficiency was at an all-time low. It was no wonder many diners had expressed exasperation at the inexplicably lengthy wait times.

We were gifted ice cream coupons towards the end of our meal. It was at this point that I discovered the expiry dates had been extended an additional month...to a non-existent date.

Sufficiently full from the mains, we decided to save one coupon for a later date and share the Matcha Ice Cream. Some had described it as being "icy", while others had stated it was "milky" and tasted strongly of matcha. My personal findings were that its consistency resembled that of McDonald's Vanilla Soft Serve, melted much too rapidly, and tasted more of milk than of the coveted Japanese green tea. Simply put, it greatly fell below expectations. (Wooffles shall forever be my favourite!)

To conclude, Moji is an interesting take on a standard Japanese eatery. Emitting a more cheerful and casual vibe than an izakaya allows the restaurant to operate during daylight hours and secure its position as a kid-friendly establishment.
That being said, there are still numerous kinks in its operational procedures. Attentive customer service would be a valuable factor in improving their rating; in order to attain this achievement, I would suggest either increasing the number of staff during peak hours, or opting for more efficient methods to perform operational procedures. I also found their prices a tad steep for mains, but appreciated the amount of detail in their presentation. Placing the bowls on trays also meant that they could easily be slid across the table if customers decide to switch seats, and even make table clean-up a swifter process.

CoCo is another new addition to New Kennedy plaza. Seeing as it was nearing the end of their grand opening promotional period, we headed in to obtain a few drinks for consumption later in the day.

Much roomier and cozier than the Mississauga location, I must admit that they had done a great job with the interior design.

Unfortunately, it seemed as if the environment was the only factor that proved to be better than their Hurontario/Eglinton counterpart. The girls at the cashier/bar area wore blank expressions during our entire stay; their sheer lack of enthusiasm was contagious. But as if nonexistent smiles weren't enough to turn customers away, the girl who took our order was downright rude and severely devoid of basic comprehension skills of the English language. (I can comprehend that majority of your customers may not require you to communicate in any other language/dialect besides Mandarin, though this doesn't particularly imply you don't require English to survive in Canada.)

No, it's not me. It's you.

The drinks also proved to be subpar in terms of quality and consistency. The unnecessarily high creamer to ratio was underwhelming, to say in the least, as was the barista's failure to differentiate between 100% and 30% levels of sugar syrup.

Regrettably, ​CoCo New Kennedy's one redeeming factor was the presence of their mouthless blue mascot in plushie form.

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