Mo C Mo C Sushi

Actually pretty decent sushi, your best option in Princeton after Ajihei (which I hear is shutting down). I’ve tried the sushi deluxe as well as sushi platter for 2, serving sizes are good, and fish is relatively fresh (some less so than others). The rolls are aite, as well. The seafood udon, is pretty standard, I like it because comes with a good amount of seafood & veggies and the soup is miso based, but the noodles are basically straight from a package from an Asian grocery store. The tempura appetizer is good! And Hawaiian chicken fried rice is good too, very large portion and comes in half a pineapple.

Grabbed lunch here on a day trip to Princeton, cute place nestled a bit away from Nassau Street. I liked the vibe and the décor — I find that charm can really add something to the dining experience. The sushi was decently priced and I was able to sample a bit of everything — ordered the shrimp shumai, seaweed salad, tuna and salmon rolls, and a spicy volcano roll to split with my sister. I think that I’ve been eating a bit too much takeout seaweed salad since they’re all beginning to taste a bit plastic-​y to me, but everything else was pretty good. If I were a student here, I’d probably come here to meet friends and have a quick bite.

I came here with my girlfriend just wanting to check out a new sushi place. We pass here pretty often, but it’s a bit tucked away in the alley next to Sperry’s. The restaurant itself is directly next to PREX. The inside of the restaurant was nice and quaint, though it gave me a little bit of a weird vibe. The servers are pretty nice and friendly, but when it’s quiet, it felt a little awkward.
We ordered a bunch of rolls to share: eel, salmon, tunavo, and some others I probably forget, but I just was not really impressed. The wakame salad was good, and the miso soup was okay, but nothing worth having again. I thought the prices were a bit on the expensive side, so after the rather forgettable sushi, I can’t see myself coming here again. If you’re looking for sushi, I’d say Sakura Express or even Ajihei still wins here.
However, what might bring me back here again is the «Taste of Mo C» special dish they have here, which features 4 of their popular appetizers for the tasting. If I come back to try it, I’ll give this review an update.

Cute and small sushi restaurant in downtown Princeton. It’s very kid friendly and they also do take outs in case you and your babes missed nap time. I can recommend the transformer roll and seaweed salad. It’s BYOB which I love. The interior is very stylish and the service very kind. Best sushi restaurant in Princeton.

In central Princeton, there are about 4 places you can go for sushi as far as I’ve seen.
Two of these places (Sakura and Tomo) are «fast casual» lower price places and the quality reflects it (2 and 2.5÷3 stars respectively). However, if you want genuine Japanese style, made by a Japanese chef trained in the tradiational style, you can go to Ajihei or you need to go to New York or Philadelphia, and then you pay premium prices. I would say Ajihei is good, but because of the prices, I don’t see people ordering a lot of food there, and Ajihei is a small place where you are not going for the ambiance.
So Mo C Mo C has been my back up. Prices are much better. The quality is pretty good and it is consistent.
I’ve read about complaints here on Unilocal such as how certain dishes are done and presented, etc. but then I’ve also heard people raving about this particular way they do it. It’s really up to what you prefer.
For me, I’d say that the combination of afforability, ambiance of the dining room, good service, and quality of the food, gets it four stars. It’s also BYOB, which allows you to bring a good sake which they can heat or chill for you, depending on the sake.
If you want take out, this is a convenient location with fast service.

I’ll start out by saying this place is a comfortable restaurant tucked away from the main streets downtown. However, we waited a loooong time to order, and the food wasn’t as good as other similar Japanese restaurants I’ve tried. It’s not the worst Japanese place by far, but it’s not the best, even in Princeton. I ordered the Tempura, but it was done so over the top to the point that I couldn’t actually taste the vegetables as I would have normally expected.

Off the beaten path is this great sushi place! The prices are reasonable and the sushi is fresh and delicious. I give it 5 five stars! Definitely returning to enjoy all the flavors.

Don’t like this place. It’s one of the many Japanese restaurants run by Chinese owners, not authentic food! Last time I ordered a chirashi (cuts of sashimi on rice), and they gave me a bunch of grilled fish cutlets along with the sashimi…
Their tempura set is big so it’s probably more worth it? Overall not a fan of this place.

Okay downgraded to just 3 stars.
I came again for lunch, and this time, instead of the chirashi, got the lunch special sashimi. They’re the same price, and supposedly the sashimi just has the rice on the side instead of under the fish. Perhaps because the fish was lain out on a wider plate, but it seemed like the chirashi came with thicker/​bigger cuts of fish.
Once again, the seared squid and fish were definitely the best parts of the sashimi. The salmon was good, but the crab tasted very dry. The most disappointing part, however, was the octopus, which tasted soggy, like it had been frozen and not properly thawed. Perhaps it was just an off-​day since I don’t remember the octopus being that egregious last time, but is reflective of inconsistent fish quality.
On a separate instance, also tried some a la carte sushi, like the fatty salmon and the fatty tuna. The rice tasted funky, like a soapy taste, and the fatty tuna wasn’t all that fresh. Fatty salmon was good, though not sure if it’s worth the price.

The food at Mo C Mo C is alright, but nothing special, especially given the prices. The yaki udon is tasty, but most of the sushi rolls we tried we just so-​so (the Philadelphia and Alaska rolls were both pretty disappointing).

oh hell no. once again i’m voting for «dislike» feature on Unilocal that I could filter off those of you who think this is the «best sushi to be had» goddamit!
++1star for the live Uni. Yeah it’s $ 25 for 4 small tongues, but worth it.
Even worth being served inside presliced avocado and on a porcelain soup spoon when I asked for Nigiri. where’s the focking rice? where’s the goddam seaweed wrapper?
If only the rest of the food had this level of quality as that sea urchin. Too bad. What a shame.
# seaweed salad is way too much SEA. ewy slime and not in a good way
# «bottomless» green tea (they bring refills of hot water, but they don’t change out the teabag in your cup)
# pan-​fried gyoza are coated in some kind of starch and it arrives hard and brown on that side. oosh. fail.
# vegetable udon soup is just bland bland bland. epic fail. where’s the umami goodness???
# yellowtail nigiri which was recommended was fishy and not fresh. BLECH. Fail.
so the hours say open until 9:30. that means you should accept a new guest at 9:30. we arrived at 9 and the sushi bar was already completely empty, wiped down, display fridges off and ready to go. the host keeps saying «last call» as we walk to our table.
«are you closed?»
«no»
“we would like to eat here. is that ok?“
should’a fled. goddamit. i was hopeful that like most of the best japanese places, the staff has severe cultural differences and it’s shown through AWESOME FOOD. unfortunately not here.
when we got up to leave, the lights were already off and the host and our server had their jackets on, ready to leave the restaurant right behind us and lock the door.
sadly, moving to Princeton means I have to start over and find sensible Unilocalers who know what they’re talking about.
the rest of y’all need to get out more.

Hmm, I actually think Mo C Mo C is the best sushi I’ve had in Princeton (that’s not saying a lot, but it’s something).
The store is little and cute, but they have enough seating. The waitress is friendly and helpful. And the sushi was of surprisingly good quality! Except for one thing. It upsets me when sushi places try to pass of escolar (oilfish) as white tuna. Spread the word, they aren’t the same thing!
Okay, but the food:
–Taste of Mo C: $ 20 sampler platter with 2 pieces each of 4 different appetizers. The yellowtail with jalapeño was delicious and flavorful, the squid was not that great, the albacore with radish strips was tasty, but the best was the «fantasy salmon»! It’s seared salmon wrapped around a piece of mango. Doesn’t sound that good, but it was really tasty
–they have sweet shrimp sashimi (amaebi), which is my favorite! However, theirs is definitely not the best quality. The shrimps are thin and little, the texture is not as creamy or flavorful as it should be, but it still gets the idea across. Okay, if you’ve never had real amaebi before
–yellowtail roll: simple, good ratio of rice to fish
–spicy tuna roll: decent, really didn’t need that drizzle of sauce on top, but it’s fine either way
–sushi and sashimi combo (for two!): this is fun. It’s got a bunch of different types of sashimi and sushi, along with a tuna roll. The sashimi was all pretty good quality, and it’s just so much fun to get a big plate stuffed with sushi and sashimi. This made me happy.
–soft shell crab tempura! I love this stuff, and it’s pretty cheap here. The sauce is tangy and yummy
–Alaskan roll: salmon, avocado, and cucumber with masago on the rice. Really fresh and good.
Overall, I would definitely come back. I rated it higher than Ajihei because it’s cheaper here, but the variety and quality of the food is just as good, if not better than Ajihei’s.

Quaint little place tucked away on the side streets of downtown Princeton, NJ. Excellent food, service, and surprisingly inexpensive particularly given the zip code.

I’ve always had great food and fast service. The lunch specials are great, as are the specialty rolls (transformer, yum). Service can be on the slow side when busy but I find that’s true of most sushi places. Makes for great work lunch!

Nice atmosphere, but overall not worth the price. Sushi was ok, not great. Same goes for our entrees (chicken teriyaki & beef udon). Extra star for BYOB, especially since the liquor store & triumph are around the corner. There are definitely better places for sushi in the area.

I came for lunch on a weekend. I attempted to order the chirashi lunch special but was informed that it’s served only on weekdays. I expressed surprise that the regular menu version is much more expensive ($ 23) but was told that it was substantially bigger than the weekday special. I ended up going with the $ 23 chirashi, hoping for the best.
When the chirashi came to the table, I did not feel cheated: I thought that the rice in the bowl was delicious and that the fish at the top of the bowl was fresh and of high quality. The quality/​price ratio was well above my complaint threshold.
When asked what I wanted to drink, I requested green tea. I was surprised to get an empty coffee cup with a tea bag in it and some hot water in a flask to pour on the tea bag. I was even more surprised to see a $ 2 charge for green tea when the bill came. Live and learn.
The personnel were friendly and attentive.
My experience was mostly positive, but Princeton friends have told me that Ajihei is several notches better than Mo C Mo C. («What did you go *there* for?»)
The next time I eat sushi in Princeton, I’ll know where to go.

IN SHORT: Serving up fatty, below average quality fish at prices far beyond what they deserve, Mo C Mo C still remains a fun option for a BYOB group or that gluten-​free friend who can’t eat anywhere else in town.
THE STORY: Mo C Mo C’s service can be predicted entirely from the size of your group. If you go in early, with one or two friends, the staff will typically be swift and friendly enough, clearly eager to turn your table over to the next group. But be warned, for dinners of 5 or more, expect to stay inside (or in the downstairs room, reserved for parties up to 14) for at least 2 hours. Food, water, and attention all become glacially slow, making the BYOB policy almost a necessity to pass the time.
The menu too, while diverse, is fairly lackluster and noticeably a little stale. The best bet is to stick with the cooked options, particularly the Transformer Roll, which is deep fried with tuna, salmon, white tuna, and avocado. That being said, it’s okay to keep coming back to Mo C Mo C, as long as you’re aware that you’re not going for the quality of ingredients. Sometimes when you’re craving sushi, even the most mediocre of options will suffice.

I came here during a visit to the NE coast and found this place right off Princeton’s campus. The interior is trendy, with dim lighting, a lot of sleek paneling and minimalistic decorations (such as a net of sea creatures hanging off the wall). If one looks up from where they’re seated they will find images of sea life engraved into the wooden panels. The owners who operate the restaurant are a married couple and were very friendly throughout the meal. They have two sushi chefs in the back where the sushi bar is located. But onto the food.
From what I’m told this place sources its seafood so that it’s as fresh as possible and this really comes across in the food. My party had the marinated hamachi w/​fish roe, jalapeño & shiso leaf, fried pancake, sushi/​sashimi plate, fatty toro nigiri, sashimi of toro, the mango lobster roll, and the green tea & red bean ice cream.
All of these dishes were delicious, but the highlights were definitely the fatty toro nigiri (this is a must try when you come here imo), the fried pancake, and the fatty salmon on the combo plate. The toro nigiri has a balanced sweet, salty, umami flavor and literally melts in your mouth, the fried pancake was delicious and i’d eat that anytime of the day, and the salmon was very fresh and tender.
The mango lobster roll was an interesting idea that I haven’t seen before. Slices of fresh mango act as the wrapper for the roll and give it a good sweetness that makes it almost like a dessert roll. The red bean ice cream is really good and so is the green tea ice cream, though it is less sweet and has a stronger tea flavor which may turn some people off from it.
The presentation here is also very creative, and playful, making the sushi both interesting (a talking point in conversation) and very pleasing to the eyes. All in all this place was excellent and I’ll definitely come when I visit the NE coast in the future.

So, here’s the thing — I’m not a big sushi person, but I still wanted to write this review in case there are folks whose friends/​loved ones like sushi, they don’t, and they end up joining them. Because there’s other food on the menu and it’s worth knowing what that’s like, too.
I had a delicious salad to start that had avocado in it; really quite good. I ended up having chicken teriyaki — always a safe bet — and it was fine. Unimpressive, but fine. We also ordered black tea to drink, which was really good (if you’re a tea person, you’ll know that not all teas are the same!). The person with whom I dined had the sushi, and she really enjoyed what she had.
The service was really terrific — I love being greeted with a warm hand towel (should start implementing that at work… hmm…), and although the place is quite small, we didn’t feel cramped. So again — if you’re a sushi person, this may be a good option for you. If you’re not, I might suggest going someplace else.

Sadly, this is so-​so sushi for the student set at Princeton. How else do you explain the trendy curved wood lining the walls and small tables dominating the floor? There ain’t no tatami mats, no rice-​paper sliding doors, no kitty with a constantly waving arm. Nope, that would be too stereotypical for the hip crowd that must come here.
Even the name isn’t very traditional. It’s a play on the standard Japanese telephone greeting, «Moshi-​moshi» by using the first initials of the brother and sister who own the place, Michael and Carrie Chang. Get it? Anyway, I came with a colleague for a quick dinner since I didn’t get a chance to visit the commercial area around the Princeton campus. They don’t serve liquor as most dining establishments don’t in this part of the state, so make sure to BYOB if you’re in a guzzling mood.
We started with a hot towelette — which I didn’t realize would be the high point of the meal until later — followed by unexceptional bowls of Miso Soup and Edamame, pretty standard fare save for the designer bowls. The $ 8 order of Gyoza gave us six pot-​stickers that were too intensely green to look entirely digestible. They were OK as well. Things got a bit better with my colleague’s $ 16 Seafood Yaki Udon, pan-​fried noodles mixed with grilled prawns, a bit of crab and sauteed vegetables.
Mine was the $ 22 Sushi Deluxe, which represented nine assorted sushi pieces and a maguro tekka-​maki roll. I would have expected a bit more variety than the standard maguro, shrimp and cuttlefish. A nice hamaichi or even some uni could have made a world of difference. Alas, it was probably my West Coast prejudice that made my response to the pretty plate wreak of pompous disdain. The service was friendly though.
FOOD — 3 stars… so so-​so
AMBIANCE — 3 stars… hip and spacious, perfect for a gaggle of Princeton students on a Friday evening after mid-​terms
SERVICE — 4 stars… friendly and attentive
TOTAL — 3 stars… Mo C Mo C…(sigh) Sayonara!