Tel Aviv – Moon D-Light – My Nostalgic Sushi Business Lunch
My romance with Moon D-Light started about six years ago.
Like most young people in Israel, who move to the big city after the army, Daniel moved to Tel Aviv and looked for a job as a waiter. I remember it as if it was yesterday when we walked on Pinsker Street near the little branch of the legendary Tel Avivian Moon sushi restaurant, a few steps away from Daniel's new apartment, and I suggested to Daniel that he should leave his number. I wasn’t familiar with the Moon restaurant before, but there was something about the little restaurant that seemed particularly magical to me. Besides, what could be bad about working at a successful sushi restaurant just a few steps away from home? {Apart from memorizing their complex menu, that is… :)}.
Shortly after, Daniel began working there, which meant that eating sushi became one of our regular couple activities. Since then, Daniel left that job and moved to Eilat for a different job {and I followed him here…}, but we didn’t part ways with the Moon D-light restaurant. We don’t eat there as often as we did in the past, but in our opinion “Moon” remained a synonym for sushi, and when we feel like eating good quality sushi in Israel at a reasonable price, we always go for the business meal at that small, nostalgic branch.
As someone who worked at the place, Daniel knows another way to make Moon's lunch business meal even more worthwhile than it seems on the paper 😉 So if you're a big sushi fan but that love starts hurting your wallet – you're going to really love this post!
Before I start talking about the rewarding {and perfect!} business menu, here’s some preliminary background about the restaurant in case you haven’t of it yet…
The “Moon” on Bugrashov is one of the oldest food establishments in Tel Aviv. The restaurant, which opened in 2000, was the first sushi bar to open in Israel offering a conveyor belt, and thanks to the fresh fish and high quality sushi, it became one of the most talked about sushi restaurants in the city. When the demand for deliveries began to pile up in the restaurant, they decided to open the Moon D-light. The second branch, which first opened as the delivery branch of the successful restaurant on Bugrashov, quickly became a lively branch offering a much more relaxed and familial atmosphere. Unlike the first branch that offers the gloomy atmosphere of a Tel Avivian bar, the Pinsker branch is bright, small and cleanly decorated, and also offers a seating area on the restaurant's terrace.
“Moon”’s menu is identical in both branches, and you can find Japanese salads and soups, Yakitori {Japanese skewers}, tempura dishes and even delicious desserts, but the highlight is undoubtedly the restaurant’s large and interesting selection of sushi. From excellent classic sushi dishes to sushi fusion dishes that combine seared fish, chicken and cheese {I personally prefer the classics but it’s entirely a matter of taste}. Vegetarians and vegans can also enjoy excellent dishes, and even pregnant women can enjoy particularly good sushi since “Moon” has separate trays and knives for the vegetarian sushi.
Apart from the fact that the sushi at Moon is very good in the culinary aspect {at least for sushi served outside of Japan}, it’s also aesthetically pleasing and beautiful. It was exactly this sushi they meant when they invented the saying “eat with your eyes”.
And now – let's talk about the business menu!
Let's start from the fact that the sushi at Moon isn’t cheap at all, but you can’t argue with the fact that it’s one of the best in Israel. If you’re already eating sushi, especially when it comes to sushi with raw fish, it’s better to invest and eat good sushi. The sushi at Moon is known for the successful ratio between rice and fish, the delicious seaweed, the fresh vegetables and of course the fresh fish.
This is where their successful business menu comes into the picture.
The business menu at Moon is served from 12:00 PM to 6:00 PM, so it can be both lunch or an early dinner. That's already a good reason to love it 🙂
As part of the business meal you get one of the sushi combinations {there are combinations for individuals, for pairs and vegetarian/vegan} with appetizers and drinks for the combination price {if you take a combination for pairs you get 2 of everything}. The business menu is also very worthwhile considering the relatively expensive prices of the restaurant, but pay attention to this tip that will upgrade the business menu even more – you can substitute the drink with another appetizer {one of the salads on the menu or miso soup} that really adds to the meal! If you go for a couple's business menu, you can swap your drink with the dish “Spicy Tofu”, which is one of my favorites on the menu.
As someone who prefers her sushi with Choya {Japanese plum liqueur}, I think this upgrade of an additional first course at the beginning of the meal instead of soft drinks is more than welcome.
Our favorite combination is the Seven Seas combination {it’s also the richest and most expensive} which includes : sweet potato maki, crunchy salmon skin maki, blue elephant maki, spicy tuna maki, rainbow maki and oshi subban. We love to take advantage of the fact that you can make changes to the combination and sometimes play with the rolls 🙂 Daniel is an expert regarding Moon's sushi dishes and likes to surprise me with new tastes every time, but even if the menu sounds like Japanese –pun intended– {even though it’s very detailed and even has pictures, and not the bad kind!}, you can always consult with the nice waiters there 😉
My favorite rolls are the famous “oshi subban” {red tuna, salmon and yellowtail with a perfect combination of avocado, scallions, sweet potato and crispy tempura on top}, rainbow salmon {classic and tasty inside-out roll} and the dreamy “black tuna mumba” {rice balls surrounded by tuna, with salmon cubes, tuna and bass with spicy seasoning}. Some of the rolls can be replaced for free and some at an additional charge, depending on the complexity of the roll.
For the appetizers, we took two Japanese Yakitori salads, but I also highly recommend the salad with the wonderful yuzu dressing, which consists of sunflower sprouts, roasted pistachios, cellophane noodles, baby leaves and tomatoes. We exchanged the drinks for the dreamy “Spicy Tofu” – a dish of fried tofu cubes with a spicy sauce that’s just right.
By the way, this dish is the only dish in which I can define tofu as tasty. Even exaggeratedly tasty… Not that it’s surprising since it's fried, but worth trying even if you're not a tofu fan.
For dessert, we usually order the For dessert, we usually order the Mille Feuille cake, which isn’t made there but is extremely delicious and even though it’s not Japanese at all, it is just perfect for the sweetness needed at the end of the meal. This time we skipped dessert, because we were beyond full and because we had way too many desserts that week {we just got back from a photoshoot for one of the new boutique hotels in Israel and the desserts were super tasty there}., which isn’t made there but is extremely delicious and even though it’s not Japanese at all, it is just perfect for the sweetness needed at the end of the meal. This time we skipped dessert, because we were beyond full and because we had way too many desserts that week {we just got back from a photoshoot for one of the new boutique hotels in Israel and the desserts were super tasty there}.
The bottom line is that if you like sushi and you don’t want to compromise on quality, but on the other hand, one roll of sushi doesn’t satisfy you {who is that enough for, really?} and you don’t feel like leaving with a hole in your pocket – then Moon’s business meal was invented just for you! 🙂
What do you think about Moon’s business menu?
If you liked this post, share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest ♡
