How do I convince myself to drop multiple Benjamins at Mori? I had find myself an excuse. At last, I found the perfect one since tonight marked the first time I took my sister-in-law to dinner. What better way is there to introduce her to good sushi than hitting up Mori? 
Upon arrival, I felt quite special since Maru-san actually recognized me even though it had been a while since I last visited. On this night, Mori was surprisingly busy and the restaurant almost filled up entirely at one point.
Now moving on to the food. The star of the show, the shari, was excellent as usual with great chew and flavor. Temperature was consistent throughout the night and plenty of air was packed into each nigiri without them ever falling apart. Also, not one grain of rice was dropped tonight despite utilizing our less than perfect chopstick skills to pick up each nigiri.
On the other hand, I’m equally impressed by the breadth of neta selection which demonstrated a variety of textures and preparation methods. I’m quite biased when it comes to Mori since this is my reference point which explains why I struggled to find fault or highlight any one particular nigiri tonight. They were all fantastic. However, if you hold a gun to my head, I’ll concede that the Alaskan Sockeye Salmon, Baby Kohada, and Nodoguro were the superstars of the show.
Did it exceed the height of Shin Sushi from 3 nights ago? A resounding YES with the exception of the desserts which were mediocre, but it came with a 2X the cost though admittedly, I had more exotic fish and the seasonal platter at Mori.
Highly recommended!
Maybe it’s time to redo the sign?
Brought this in tonight: Ginga Shizuku Divine Droplets | Junmai Daiginjo
Creamy Tofu with dashi, wasabi, ikura
I prefer the regular tofu that they usually serve. The texture of this tofu’s a little too thick so it wasn’t creamy like it’s intended to.
Of course we requested to sit in front of Maru-san, the man, the myth, the legend-ish
Seasonal Platter from left to right-ish:
1) Santa Barbara spot prawn with uni sauce - YUMM
2) Japanese silver shrimp tempura
3) Umaki/omelet stuffed with unagi
4) Grilled okra
5) Yuzu marinated potato
6) Fig with sesame - YUM
7) Octopus seaweed salad
8) Smoked mirugai/bluefin tuna/takuan - YUMMM
9) Tomato atop tomato marshmallow
1) Tai Kobujime / Marinated Snapper
2) Hotate / Hokkaido Scallop
3) Nama Tako / Raw Octopus
4) Isaki / Grunt Fish
5) Aji / Horse Mackerel
6) Alaskan King Salmon
7) Alaskan Sockeye Salmon
8) Bincho Maguro / Grilled Albacore
9) IshiKarei / Stone Flounder
10) Shimaaji / Jack Mackerel
11) Iwashi / Sardine
12) Zuke / Marinated Bluefin Tuna
13) Bluefin Chutoro
14) Saba / Japanese Mackerel
15) Bluefin O-Toro
16) Kohada / Gizzard Shad
17) Shinko / Baby Kohada
It’s essentially a cleaner tasting Gizzard Shad since baby kohada isn’t fatty. I love it.
18) Kamasu / Baby Baracuda
19) Iwashi / Marinated Sardine
20) Nodoguro / Blackthroat Seaperch
Rich, fatty, smokey, and meaty. Fantastic.
21) Uni #1 / Santa Barbara Sea Urchin
22) Uni #2 / Hokkaido Sea Urchin
As usual, the SB uni is creamier but Hokkaido uni is sweeter.
Roasted green tea
Strawberry marshmallow
Some kind of green bean dessert with mochi
Mori Sushi
11500 W Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90064
