East Moon Japanese Restaurant offers visual feast
The volcano roll at East Moon in Lehi on Tuesday.
A chicken teriyaki hot stone at East Moon in Lehi.
Tempura ice cream at East Moon.
There’s a new East Moon in the Lehi skyline and it shines even on a Saturday afternoon.
That’s when we decided to pay a visit to East Moon Japanese Restaurant, which opened earlier this year on East Main Street in the building that used to house Emmett’s and Ethel’s family-style diner.
We were promptly seated, and had the pick of the restaurant as we were initially the only patrons there just after noon. But several other parties began showing up during the course of our meal so we didn’t feel so alone.
The dining room, naturally, featured Asian-style accoutrements, such as paper lantern globes, scrolls, banners, etc. Our 5-year-old was entranced by some lighted flowers and a glowing rock on a table outside the bathrooms. He literally led me back there just to show them off.
The rest of the ambiance was a tad incongruent. There were two flat-screen TVs showing the same soccer game, and another one up front playing the old Mel Brooks movie “Blazing Saddles.” In addition, top 40 radio played over the loudspeakers.
We had plenty of questions with the menu, which our waitress patiently answered — although, even she had to confer with the owner a time or two for clarification. Also, a few items on the menu did not feature everything described, which she did point out in advance. Also, several items listed on the menu were not available.
When our appetizers and meals started arriving, though, we were extremely impressed. The presentation of everything was thoroughly inviting and a visual feast unto itself. The Chicken Teriyaki came atop a hot stone with a bed of twigs underneath and a mound of rice on the side. The taste was every bit as succulent as the view.
Another favorite, as per our waitress’ suggestion, was the Hot Pot Cheese appetizer. It featured cooked broccoli and celery, and bread cubes that you dip in an exquisitely delicious hot, thick cheese sauce. Again, the presentation was superb, augmented by another array of twigs.
We also ordered the Teriyaki Salmon Bento, which came on a huge tray along with rice, four pieces of a California Sushi Roll, salad and two strawberries. I can’t tell you how the strawberries were, as my 5-year-old snagged them off my tray and gobbled them before I could (pretend to) object. The Teriyaki Salmon most moist and rich, and came topped with onion slices and sesame seeds. The salad was very simple, with one tomato slice and a cucumber slice — but came with a choice of Peanut Sauce that made everything worthwhile.
The Miso Soup was good, and the broth was enhanced with seaweed, tofu, onions and peas.
The presentation was even a factor in the kid’s meal, which featured a corn dog, real chicken nuggets and some very tasty french fries.
We sampled two styles of dessert. The Tempura Ice Cream — basically fried ice cream — was not only delicious but fanciful as well. There was a lighted, flashing cube (non-edible) on top of the mound of cream — and a maraschino cherry was baked inside the delicious outer crust.
We ordered our Moochi Ice Cream with mango, which came form fitted right on top of the ice cream, with lots of marshmallows and twizzle sticks all drizzled in chocolate. Oh, and the hot chocolate was fantastic. We highly recommend it.
There’s a whole sushi menu — and during our visit there was a special where everything was 50-percent off. We’re not really sushi aficionados, though, so you’re on your own there.
We enjoyed our visit to East Moon, and appreciated the obvious extra effort that went into every meal’s presentation.
EAST MOON JAPANESE RESTAURANT
Where: 90 E. Main St., Lehi
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Friday to Saturday, 1-8 p.m. Sunday
Prices: $2.50-$17.95, with various multi-person combos at higher rates
Info: (801) 753-0705