When you have three adult children, picking a restaurant that everyone can agree upon can be tricky. In our case, Moku, located in the plaza at the corner of Sunset and Palisades Drive, is always the winner.
The Jalapeno bomb (stuffed jalapeno with cream cheese, spicy tuna lightly deep fried, and masago and sesame seed, served with a spicy eel sauce) is always our go-to starter ($14). We’ve tried to replicate the crispy Brussels sprouts with almonds ($9) at home without much luck, but they are an exceptional way to get your vegetables and gobble them like they’re dessert.
The miso soup ($3) is always an order for at least half of the family. With its salty, flavorful warmth, it sets the tone for the meal.
The Moku house special rolls are beyond delicious. At one visit, much to the amusement of the waiter, one son ordered three servings of the crunchy spicy tuna rolls ($15). The serving size is large, so one order should nicely fill even the hungriest diner (not named Pascoe).
My favorite is either Touchdown ($16) — spicy seafood and shrimp tempura, with tempura flakes outside, served with a spicy creamy eel sauce — or the Sexy Roll ($18) with spicy imitation crab salad, cooked shrimp and avocado, topped with tuna and served with spicy and sweet goma sauce.
One son ordered the Crispy Tuna ($12), featuring spicy tuna and avocado on top of deep-fried sushi rice, served with spicy eel sauce, although he usually orders the Pinkalicious ($22), which is shrimp tempura, blue crab, avocado, asparagus, wrapped in pink soy paper topped with tuna, yellowtail, black tobiko, served with a spicy cream sauce.
In addition to the sushi, they also serve sashimi, and rolls without rice, including the A & T ($20) — seared albacore and tuna, with fried crispy onion and spicy karashi ponzu sauce. A Moku Set ($19) includes four pieces of variety sushi (tuna, yellowtail, salmon, albacore) with California roll or spicy tuna roll.
When my mom is in town, she loves to try the Thai food, and in February, she pronounced the cashew nut chicken ($14) “delicious.” My daughter loves the Pad Thai ($13) and I’ve tried the green, yellow and Panag curries on different occasions, which always have exactly the right amount of spice.
Moku carries alcoholic drinks, including Sapporo, Asahi and Singha beer, wine and saki.
Once restaurants reopen, Moku has the best Happy Hour (dine-in only) deal in Pacific Palisades. Many of the rolls and some of the appetizers are 50 percent off—and if you have teens who are consuming everything in sight, this might become your new favorite restaurant. In the meantime, try the take-out at this Japanese-Thai restaurant.
Moku does not deliver, but orders can be placed with Door Dash, according to the website. Call (424) 744-8729 or visit: mokusushi.com.
I could not agree more. really great food and a wonderful staff that always remembers my name and what I ordered. In order to support them during these tough times, I pick up at least once a week, and the food is alway fresh and well made. I know they are hurting and give them an extra tip. They would love to have more locals phone in for take out orders.
And yes I can not wait for them to reopen when its is safe and to continue with the best happy hour in the area.