The last tasty spot my gourmet sister took us to was a fun dinner spot called Tsukishima Monja Moheji. People nowadays might know one of the traditional Japanese comfort food, Okonomiyaki. We can get them in NYC too, from a spot like DokoDemo. Monja is similar, but it is not solid as okonomiyaki. You will not what I mean a bit later.
There is this street in Tokyo known as Monja Street. There are so many monja restaurants on this street. But, one of the most popular ones is Tsukishima Monja Moheji. They first established in 1871! Now, they have three locations, within a few steps from each other, all on Monja Street. All three locations had lines of people. They had a sign in sheet right outside the door, where you can put down your name and such. You can see how many people are waiting in front of you. Then, we noticed same names listed at all three locations! Seems like it is a little hack, so we followed what everyone was doing, and put our names at all three spots as well. After a bit of waiting, we finally got our names called from one of the locations, which happened to be their main restaurant. Yay. Japanese omotenashi also shows here, with lots of warm blankets by the chairs for people waiting outside, as it was cold out.
This spot was quite large, completely packed and very lively. We were taken to upstairs, where it was not as packed, but still lively. They had a little area that was secluded from the rest of the area, for a private party.
The table was large and had a big grill, and spatulas. It had all sorts of condiments, although we didn’t need any of them as the monja was so tasty as is, very flavorful without any added flavors.
For drink, while my hubby and my brother-in-law opted for nice cold beers, my sister and I went for something nostalgic. It is called Ramune (ラムネ), which is a Japanese soda that has been around since 1884! It is a popular summer drink, especially during the summer festivals. Today, you can get Ramune all-year round for many places. It has a very distinguished shaped, and marble in the neck of the bottle. It remined me of my childhood summer days!
We started with a bit of appetizer. We got the seasonal special, Grilled Oyster with Butter (牡蛎バター焼き) (1,380 yen). Our server brought them over, and grilled them right in front of us. It came with four large oysters, some long onions (Naganegi), and of course, butter. He first arranged them in a circle, which was interesting.
Then it all made sense when he put the butter in the middle when it was time. They obtain their seafood from fish market such as the famous Tsukiji Market. The oysters were very fresh, not fish-y, but plump and very tasty. And the butter always makes anything better… It made the flavor rich and comforting.
Then, we moved onto monja! We ordered their most popular and well-known dish, Mentaiko Mochi Monja (明太子もちもんじゃ) (1,580 yen). It is made with Spicy Cod Roe, Mochi, Cabbage, and Dashi Batter. Most of the Monja places offer the service of making the Monja for you. Here at Tsukishima Monja Moheji, they do all the grilling for you. It is helpful, especially if you don’t know how to do it correctly.
So, here is how the Monja is made. Step one, he placed the mochi on the grill, with mentaiko on top. Then, put all the cabbage on the grill, chopping them up with spatulas right on the grill. He was very skilled at this! Then, just like the oysters, he shaped the cabbages into a ring.
Then, the Dashi Batter was poured into the middle of the ring. He put the mochi and mentaiko in there, chopping the mentaiko into smaller pieces. This is where the major difference between the Monja and Okonomiyaki comes in. The batter for the Monja is more like water, while the batter used for Okonomiyaki is much thicker. Also, all or most of the ingredients for Okonomiyaki is already mixed in with the batter, then grilled.
Once the batter got slightly thicker, the staff mixed everything together skillfully.
Once the staff is finished chopping and mixing, we just wait a few minutes, until the whole thing become a bit thicker, with the edges becoming a bit crisp. The texture is similar to melted cheese. You have your own mini spatula, which is used to pick up the Monja off the grill, and eat it with, if you have high tolerance to high heat. I had to put it on my plate first, blow on it, before I can actually put that in my mouth without burning my tongue. It was so tasty though! Very comforting and packed with flavor! The mochi added extra doughy texture, and the spiciness of the mentaiko was throughout. The batter is made with their homemade dashi, mixture of chicken, seafood, and vegetable. Delicious!
We moved onto our second Monja, this time, a customized monja! We got the Basic Monja (素もんじゃ) (780 yen), with Pork Slices (豚バラ) (400 yen), Special Curry Powder (特製カレー粉) (200 yen), and Cheese (チーズ) (300 yen). Totaling 1,680 yen. As the ones before, the staff skillfully chopped up the cabbage and put them into a circle. He then put the bacon strips in the middle and chopped them up.
He added the special curry powder into the batter, and pour the batter in the middle. Once everything is mixed up and the batter became slightly thicker, the last ingredient went on top.
The melty mozzarella cheeses! The combination of curry and cheese is so good… This one was amazing as the mentaiko monja. This one is very different in flavor profile, both packed with comforting flavor profile that I so love!
The last monja of our choice was Seafood Monja (海鮮もんじゃ) (1,880 yen). It was a seafood lover’s dream, it had so much seafood of all sorts in there! Octopus, shellfish, scallops, shrimp, etc., etc…
This one had more texture than the others, since the main ingredients, seafood, were in more recognizable pieces. They were fresh, plump, and very tasty! This monja is another one of their popular dishes, and I can understand why.
The last savory dish was Mix-tama Okonomiyaki (ミックス玉お好み焼き) (1,880 yen). When we placed the order, the staff told us that this item requires extra time to prepare, so it is recommended to place the order much earlier. It is because this dish is usually prepared in the kitchen in the back. He apologized for not informing us of this when we first came in, so he instead prepared this dish right in front of us. Which was fun to watch. It is okonomiyaki mixed with noodles on the bottom. They are cooked separately first, then, the okonomiyaki part is placed on top of the noodles, or yakisoba.
The whole thing was flipped upside down, so that the yakisoba is now no top. Once they are cooked to golden brown, the shiny, tangy, delectable sauce is poured onto it. Artistic drizzles of Japanese mayonnaise made it look extra fancy. Then came the beautiful egg. Look at the color of the yolk! Japan has such amazing, fresh, beautiful eggs!
After getting some powdered seaweed flakes on the top, the egg was placed like a beautiful crown. We cut them into four pieces so we could share among the four of us. This dish is sooooo good! It certainly felt like we saved the best for last. I mean, all the monja dishes were amazing, but this one was awesome!
And of course, we had dessert! Even their dessert is made in a super cool way. We had Anko Maki (あんこ巻き) (680 yen), a sweet bean paste wrapped in a batter similar to crepe. The staff made a circle, just like a crepe.
The sweet bean was placed on the batter, then wrapped like a flat burrito. It was beautifully golden, and we were excited to try this dessert!
The staff drizzled some caramel sauce on top, and it made this sizzling sound that makes your appetite all excited. He then cut them into eight pieces. Each piece was rather small, so we were able to have them without any issue, although we were all very full. The dessert was nice and hot, sweet but not overly sweet, a perfect ending to this fun diner.
The bathroom is located in the back and it is a nice, clean, modern bathroom. The standard in Japan, the TOTO toilet, the :washlet.” The bathroom itself was small, but when it is clean and organized, it is just right.
We had such a fun dinner, it was like a dinner and a show! And this was the first time my husband tried monja, so it was extra special for him. My gourmet sister really knows where to take us for a good time! Cant wait for more adventures with my sister next winter!
Tukishima Monja Moheji – 3 Chome-5-5 Tsukishima, Chuo City, Tokyo, Japan 104-0052
月島もんじゃ もへじ 総本店 – 東京都中央区月島3-5-5