Moshi Moshi in the heart of Katipunan Avenue

Katipunan Avenue, the main street that bustles with cars and students on their way to Ateneo and UP, now houses another restaurant. Located on the 2nd floor of the new Regis Center (house to Fully Booked and other popular restaurants) you will find a Japanese restaurant called Moshi Moshi.

Moshi Moshi is owned and managed by a young lady entrepreneur, Jessica Cocabo, who happens to be one of my daughter's batch mates in high school. I mean....I knew this lady when she was still THAT small! And here she was running Moshi Moshi!

Jessica invited the Food Club (kids included) to try her food offerings. I came with 3 of my kids and a niece. Some of the other Food Club folks also brought their little ones along.

The first thing you will notice as you push the door open is that it is brightly lit, tasteful and modern, and clean. Decor follows the clean, minimalist Japanese look but you can see that a lot of effort went into making it cozy as well.

Logo at entrance

View from the outside

Ordering counter

Kit Kat Wasabi done up into a cute arrangement

Dining area

A quiet nook

Jessica herself thought of the green lampshades

Now on to what we were able to sample.

Green Tea Shake (PhP 105)

First thing we had was a suggestion from Jessica - the Green Tea Shake - made of 100% pure Japanese matcha, fresh milk and chewy jelly bits. I personally like green tea so having it in a milk tea shake form was refreshingly cool.

Takoyaki (Php 40/4 pcs; PhP 55/6 pcs; PhP 90/10 pcs)

As an appetizer, we were served Takoyaki, creamy and chewy balls with bits of real octopus in them and vegetable bits. These are drizzled with takoyako sauce as well as Japanese mayo. They were really tasty and each ball was fairly huge so at around PhP 10 per piece, I'd say it's worth it. It's actually cheaper per piece when you order the 10-pc variant.

Healthy Mixed Salad (PhP 255)

A refreshing Healthy Mixed Salad came next. A colorful and healthy combination of wakame, potato salad, corn, carrots, mango, kani, cucumber and lettuce in a huge platter was brought to our table together with 4 different kinds of dressing.

Shrimp Roll (PhP 145/8 pcs)

Sesame Roll (PhP 135/8 pcs)

We were given first dibs on two new maki roll offerings starting this June 2012: the Shrimp Roll and the Sesame Roll which both used real Japanese sticky rice. The Shrimp Roll was a different kind of maki roll because it came with a shrimp tempura inside with crunchy tempura flakes on top. The Sesame Roll had tuna inside the maki roll with sprinklings of sesame seeds on top of the rice. Based on looks alone, the Shrimp Roll looked a lot more colorful than the Sesame Roll but taste-wise, both are good!

Terimayodon (PhP 130 regular; PhP 190 level up)

Terimayodon was a delightful marriage of two bestsellers of Moshi Moshi - the Chicken Mayodon and Chicken Teriyakidon. The chicken cutlets were served up with a drizzle of teriyaki sauce and Japanese mayo and sat on a bed of shredded lettuce and carrots. Chopped spring onions served as a garnish.

Kiddie Meals (PhP 155)

It was nice to see that Moshi Moshi thought of families with small kids. For kids and those with smaller appetites, the Kiddie Meal fare consists of eggy ketchup omurice, choice of viand (Beef Hamburg, Chicken Karaage or Chicken Teriyaki), a serving of corn, a cup of orange juice and dessert of Japanese pudding or soft serve ice cream. For me this is really a bargain as kids get a complete meal for what other restaurants would charge for just one dish.

I was already filling up after all these dishes were served. But we were in for a bigger surprise because Moshi Moshi brought out their 5 premium bento boxes for us to try. Whew!

Kin bento box (PhP 320)

Kin is the Japanese term for "Gold". This bento box has 3 pcs of Takoyaki, 3 pcs Shrimp Tempura, 1 pc Veggie Tempura, Kani Salad, Egg and Gyu.

Gin bento box (PhP 320)

Gin is "Silver" in Japanese. This bento box has Chicken Teriyaki, Pork Katsu, 3 pcs California Roll, Curry and Kimchi.

Matsu bento box (PhP 280)

Matsu means "Pine" in Japanese. This one has 3 pcs Takoyaki, Chicken Karaage, Gyu and Moshi Moshi's own version of Potato Salad.

Ume bento box (PhP 280)

Ume is "Pine" in Japanese. This bento box comes with Chicken Mayo, 60-spice Curry, 3 pcs California Roll, Kani Salad and Kimchi.

Take bento box (PhP 280)

Take means "Bamboo" in Japanese. This bento box comes with Stir-fried Vegetables, Gyu, 3 pcs of Gyoza, 2 pcs Ebi Tempura, 1 pc Veggie Tempura and Corn.

Moshi Moshi Special Crepe (PhP 145)

To top off everything we had that night was Moshi Moshi's Special Crepe - mangoes, whipped cream and cheesecake sandwiched in freshly made crepe. This was topped with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with chocolate syrup. It was the perfect way to end a gastronomic evening.

What is great about this brightly lit, modern, upscale-looking restaurant is that its prices are surprisingly reasonable compared to many Japanese restaurants. To accommodate university students on a budget, Moshi Moshi has ongoing promos that include freebies with certain orders, free gift certificates for orders above a certain amount, and discounts on select items. These promos change from month to month so there is always something new to look forward to.

Moshi Moshi
2/F Regis Center
327 Katipuna Ave., Brgy. Loyola Heights, QC
Contact Jessica at 0917-5816828 or (02) 622-4660
Facebook page: facebook.com/MoshiMoshiPhilippines
Twitter: @yummymoshimoshi