Article By YingChen Li
Address (3 shops):
Bell Tower shop: 1 Floor, Wei Na Si Internet Cafe, opposite to the east entrance of Min Sheng Mall, Dong Liu Street.
民生东门斜对面维纳斯网咖一层
181-3395-3692
9:00am – 10:00pm
Xiao Zhai shop: close to Yu Cai Middle School, Xing Shan Si East Street.
兴善寺东街育才中学向东100米
(029) 8526 4300
9:00am – 10:00pm
South Avenue shop: close to DQ Dairy, on the west side of the South Avenue–Xi Mu Tou Shi Street intersection.
西木头市109号南大街与西木头市交叉口
187-1057-7827
9:00am – 10:00pm
Average Price per Person /人均消费: 50-70RMB
PROS: Delicious, reasonable price
CONS: No English menu
I’m a bit sushi obsessed and recently I had the pleasure to dine with friends at a local sushi shop, Mu Mu Sushi. It’s a popular local chain with locations in bustling areas like Xiao Zhai, Bell Tower and South Avenue. If you enjoy authentic Japanese cuisine at small restaurants with cozy ambiance, Mu Mu will hit the right spots. Their menu ranges from sushi, maki, sashimi and broiled fish to ramen, udon and unaju.
To maximize the flavor, ideally, you should try eating the fish in a certain order, start by eating fish with a lighter flavor and then move onto fish with a heavier flavor. Usually the fattest fish comes last. For those who really go for raw fish, my recommendation would absolutely be salmon or tuna sashimi.
Have no idea how to enjoy sashimi with wasabi? A good way is to put wasabi on top of fish and dip the fish in soy sauce. How to properly dip sushi into soy sauce? I would suggest not to drench your sushi in it. You only need a little bit, otherwise you’ll overpower the taste of the actual fish. For most sushi, dip the fish side into the soy sauce, rather than the rice side, to prevent the sushi from disintegrating. Then, turn the fish upside down so that it could touch the tongue first. And remember the sushi should always be eaten in one bite as soon as the chef serves it. This way, you can taste the flavor and aroma of wasabi with fish. As you chew, you will create a wonderful harmony of wasabi, fish and soy sauce in your mouth. However, when you put wasabi in soy sauce, it takes away the nice aroma of wasabi because the chemical responsible for its aroma is dissolved into soy sauce. And remember to eat a slice of ginger to cleanse your palate, especially after eating strong fish.
Okay, now let’s talk about their signature sushi dishes. Personally, my favorite, “go-to” roll to get is called the Hanna Roll (han na juan). It has shrimp tempura on the inside with spicy mayo and salmon roe across the top. If you can’t bear fish eggs, try their other specialty, the Fei Cui Roll (fei cui juan) which also has shrimp tempura on the inside but on the top there’s a slice of avocado and mayo instead. These two best-selling rolls have a crunchy texture and the wonderful taste of tempura flakes, which is really appealing to me.
The signature broiled crab meat and octopus (jing xie rou ba zhua yu shao) is also good and has become my “must-order” every time I visit. What intrigues me most is a little bit of bonito flakes on top, which look like wood shavings flying with the wind. Bonito, which is used frequently in Japanese cooking, is a type of tuna, smoked and shaved into very thin pieces. You will fall in love with its unique flavor once you try, trust me!
Another dish that totally blew me away is the unaju or unadon (man yu fan): rice with grilled eel in sweet sauce. You may have seen it on some Japanese TV programs or movies. Mostly, if you order unaju, a bowl of miso (wei zeng tang) will come with it. It’s perfectly acceptable and a bit easier to drink it directly from the bowl. Remember that miso is not intended to be an appetizer; it’s supposed to be had after your main course!
They also offer delectable side dishes to perfect your Japanese dining experience, such as Japanese potato salad (tu dou ni sha la), omelets (hou dan shao), seaweed (hai cao), my personal favorite, tofu (hu ma dou fu) and more.
Overall, their dishes are incredibly tasty and the quality is fantastic. Fancy a bit of sushi? Go and treat yourself with the dishes I mentioned above. Mu Mu won’t disappoint you. Just give it a go!
YingChen has a sweet tooth. She can be reached at 150325782@qq.com