Ayumi K.
Yelp
We saw this place next to Joong Boo and knew we had to try it. We were extra delighted to see that there's also a La Michoacana inside because we've been frequenting our local Michoacana for years. That said, I can't account for the Michoacana here because we didn't try it. Looks to be on par with all the others out there, though.
Now as far as Moti goes, the food was great! We ordered the tikka momos, kimchi fries, samosa chaat, firecracker masala pizza, and a personal sized Korean bbq pizza. While we waited for our food, we were also given a personal elote pizza at no charge. I'm assuming there was some issue with someone else's order, so it was just gonna go to waste, and since we were the only ones there at the time, we were given the free pizza. My favorite item was probably the momos. The sauce was mildly spicy, and the flavor was reminiscent of the momos I used to eat when I lived in Nepal. Everything else was good too, and I actually like the free elote pizza we got the best out of all the pizzas, but I think in the future, we'll just get one or two items. Each dish has a ton of flavor, and one flavor doesn't always go with the next, so it's hard to go from eating one thing to another without first feeling like you need to cleanse the palate or worrying if your stomach is gonna tolerate all these flavors at once. We ended up taking a lot of the food home for that reason.
I'm taking one star off here is for two reasons. First, when we walked in, there was no one behind the counters for some time. We were the only ones there, so it just felt sort of abandoned when we came in, and we weren't sure if they were open, even though we were inside. Of course, I can understand not having someone up front when there's no one in the business and due to staffing issues, but I felt like someone should have come out to acknowledge us when we walked in, even if only to tell us they'll be right with us. One guy did eventually come up from the back to do something up front, but then he just went back to the kitchen area without saying anything to us. Eventually, a different guy came out to take our order, and he was real nice. No issues there. The other reason I'm taking off a star is because, as some others have posted, the spice level is a bit misleading. My fiance is a spice guy and can handle a higher level of heat than the average person, but when he asked what kind of heat was on the firecracker pizza, I feel like the answer was underplayed. He couldn't have any more than 2 slices, and he's a big guy who probably could've eaten 75% of that pizza (or more) if it weren't for the spice. He couldn't really enjoy much of anything else either because of the heat from the peppers on the pizza. I didn't even attempt trying. Of note, prices were a little inflated, but during these inflation times, it also felt kind of normal.
Overall, I really liked Moti and am glad we tried it. The only thing is, I'm usually only out that way to shop at Joong Boo, and one is set to open closer to where I live, so I'm not sure I'd make the drive just to hit up Moti. That said, if you DO live out by Moti, definitely go try it. It's unique and delicious. Also a bonus that you get to support a locally-owned business.