Restaurant Week Profile: MOMOYA

In honor of the township’s first-ever Restaurant Week, Bloomfield Patch will be publishing profiles of participating restaurants.  From March 4-10, twenty-four participating restaurants are offering special prix-fixe menus. 

Cindy Chen and Louis Lin, owners of Momoya, spoke with Patch about the restaurant’s plans for Restaurant Week.

Momoya:  390 Broad Street

About the Owner:  “My husband was working as a sushi chef at a high-class Japanese restaurant in New York,” explains Chen.  “I was working as a waitress at Haru, another Japanese restaurant in Times Square.”  The couple moved to Bloomfield with their two young children and opened the “high quality New York style” restaurant they had always dreamed of.

What you may not know about Momoya:  While most Japanese restaurants are closed on Mondays and also from about 3:00-5:00 pm every day, Momoya is always open.  “Some places close at 3:00 but if I’m a customer, I want to come in when I want and stay as long as I want,” smiles Chen.

Something else to know:  Full delivery menu.  BYOB.

People come back for:  Salmon, tuna, chicken and tempura.  "Special rolls” are also bestsellers, especially the “Spicy Twin Salmon” roll and the “Momoya Spicy Tuna” roll.

Why go to Momoya for Restaurant Week?  The buzz on the street is that Momoya is fast becoming one of Bloomfield’s hottest restaurants.   

“It’s word of mouth," says Chen.  "We are hiring more people because we can’t handle all the business.  Some people have come in and said they ”

What will be on the menu for Restaurant Week:

Prix Fixe Lunch: $15

Appetizers:  Edamame, Gyoza or Shumai

Entrée (comes with soup and salad)

Lunch box:  Tofu, beef, salmon or shrimp teriyaki.  Comes with Shumai, California roll and side of rice.

Sushi Lunch:  6 pieces of assorted sushi and & California roll
Sashimi Lunch:  10 pieces of assorted sashimi with side of white or brown rice

Sushi and Sashimi Roll Combination Lunch:  4 pieces of assorted sashimi and chef's special roll.

Maki Roll lunch:  (choose from about 20 varieties)

Dessert:  banana tempura or mochi ice cream (strawberry, red bean, vanilla or green tea)


3-Course Dinner Menu

Prix Fixe Dinner: $30 

Appetizers:  Edamame, Gyoza or Shumai, Rock Shrimp, Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura

Entrée (comes with soup and salad)

Tofu, beef, salmon or shrimp teriyaki, comes with Shumai, California roll and side of rice.

Sushi dinner: 10 pieces of assorted sushi and & California roll

Sashimi dinner:  20 pieces of assorted sashimi with side of white or brown rice

Sushi and Sashimi Combination: 5 pieces of assorted sushi, 12 pieces of assorted sashimi & California roll

Teriyaki:  Choose from chicken, beef, salmon, shrimp or tofu with choice of California roll or other rolls: spicy tuna, spicy salmon, shrimp avocado, or salmon avocado.

Any TWO Chef's Special Rolls:
Momoya Spicy Tuna Roll, Dancing Eel Dragon roll, Thunder roll, Passion Roll, Rainbow Roll, Mexican roll, Christmas Tree roll, Volcano roll, Dynamite roll and Godzilla roll

Dessert:  Tempura ice cream or Mochi ice cream

Best thing about Momoya’s:  The elegant presentation. The food is beautiful to look at, colorful and artistically arranged, sometimes in tiers, on the plate.

The beauty of the presentation makes it a popular spot for special occasions and birthdays.  “On Valentine’s Day, the line was out into the street!” marvels Chen.

Another Great Thing about Momoya:  The commitment to quality and freshness.  Because super-fresh ingredients are the first order of business for a sushi restaurant, Chen and Lin must buy high quality food daily from a variety of merchants in New York and New Jersey.

“We get fish depending on the season -- sweet shrimp or special clams, for instance,” says Chen. “Sometimes a company will call us and say, ‘we have something special today’ and we’ll order it.”

Momoya: 

390 Broad Street (in the North Center business district) 

973-748-0889

Open seven days a week

Mon-Thurs:  11am-10:30pm
Fri-Sat:  11am-11pm
Sun:  12pm-10pm     sushimomoya.com

Check out the Bloomfield Restaurant Week Website!