Pre-Opening Party for Mooi: new raw restaurant in Echo Park

I've been hearing rave reviews about Mooi for months now, mainly from QuarryGirl, so I was thrilled to get an invitation to their private pre-opening party last night. However, I can't say the experience was all that I expected it to be and I was quite disappointed. The restaurant was incredibly crowded and extremely noisy - I could barely participate in conversations - so much so that one of my friends showed up and left 5 minutes later. To make matters worse, I practically had to fight through the mob to get a few small bites of the food I was there to try. An hour and a half later I left after sampling a few items, none of which were the desserts I was most looking forward to (though I got to salivate over them in the display case). The portions were very tiny and I wish I hadn't skipped dinner. It just seemed like the event was poorly planned - perhaps they didn't expect so many people to show up.

Though the party failed to satisfy me, the food was pretty good and I would like to return and check the restaurant out when it's in full swing. I'm sure that during business hours it's quite nice. The decor is very unique and had a vintage shabby chic style: multi-colored chandeliers, antique artwork and mirrors, distressed furniture, and cozy floral couches in the basement.

There were no names or descriptions of the food I tried, but here's what I thought:

• some sort of raw "bread" with a dip ~ this was great and reminded me of the chimichurri at Au Lac
• kelp noodles with capers and tomatoes ~ very good
• jalapeno pepper with cheese-like filling ~ delicious and spicy
• vegetable coleslaw-like dish ~ not too exciting, tasted like coleslaw
• raw sushi with spicy/sweet dressing ~ pretty bland except for the dressing
• chickpeas and veggies with vinegar dressing ~ good but not original
• asian-style faux meat with sprouts and lettuce ~ very good, sweet with a chewy texture
• red wine (not sure what brand) ~ tasty

I was glad that I had some good company at the party, most of whom commented that without each-other they wouldn't have stayed very long. I mingled with Tracy Hepler of Your Daily Thread, Kim & Ryan of C'est La V, Alix of Cute and Delicious (@VeganBakeSale), writer Sarah McClure, Chef Ito of Au Lac, and Jon Nash (raw foodist who directs the Venice Basketball League for kids).

It's unfortunate that the party left me with an unenthusiastic opinion of Mooi, because I really wanted to like it - it just didn't live up to the gourmet standard I was expecting. However, I'm willing to giving it another shot and I hope that when I return I will have a positive experience. I love supporting organic, healthy restaurants who get most of their ingredients from local farmers. I encourage you to check it out and please let me know what you think. The restaurant opens this Thursday, May 20th.


Check out QuarryGirl's post on the event.