This place is for non-Asians, enough said. I came with a Japanese friend of mine when this restaurant just opened up. Both of us thought the food was tasteless. Rice is shaped like a heart with cherry on top, wtf? We don't eat our rice this way. Again, it is obviously for non-Asians and people who have never traveled anywhere outside west texas. If you have never tasted decent Asian food, then congratulations you got a winner. This place could survive only b/c it is in LBK, so sad...
Review Source:LOVE this place - and i am something of a sushi snob. It is the best sushi in Lubbock, (so please don't compare to big names on either coast - their prices aren't in that range, either) by which i mean fresh fish, interesting roll combo's, everything is not splattered with spicy mayo unlike the competition, and they have tataki and sahsimi that are very good. Also have a great happy hour deal, with $2 off appetizers and drinks every weekday evening. the service used to be terrible but has improved a lot lately, which is why im giving them 5 stars.
Review Source:One of Lubbock's best Asian restaurants. Â First impressions when walking through the doors are pretty impressive. Â They have completely remodeled the old Santa Fe restaurant on the inside to a nice relaxing environment. Â The menu offers a very wide variety of different Asian foods along with a big Sushi menu. Â The lunch menu is nicely priced around $5 to $7 for each entree and for the dinner menu expect to add a couple dollars more. Â The food is outstanding and I would go as far to say that it is better than Pei Wei. Â What I also love is that they take the extra time to present the food like a fine art piece, which is rare these days because most just toss things together on a plate. Â Every entree comes with a salad (consist of just lettuce) with their own peanut butter dressing that I like. Â The service I had was great and my only complaint about it was there was a small language barrier between us and the waitress. Â I like to think that you can tell how clean the kitchen is based on how they take care of the bathrooms and the several times I have been there they have been very clean, also I love the hand sinks they have. Â I give East Moon a five star rating because I think the food was cooked fresh, service was good, the restaurant was clean, and the environment feel was comfortable. Â I will be eating here again.
Review Source:Well I suppose it's ok for West Texas. Â I love sushi, and no, to me rolls are not sushi. Â I'm talking sashimi is "real" sushi, I guess I'm a sushi snob. The tuna was good, but the others, not so much. Â Will have to get my fix back at home. Â Oh, and only in west Texas is country music playing in a sushi bar:Restaraunt.
Review Source:First off, beautiful plating is done here. Yeah, I read the other reviews and tend to agree with most. It is a good place to eat. Very well done interior and nice bar. One must remember that this is an Asian fusion place so don't be surprised to see many different countries represented. The sashimi and sushi were delish and fresh. We had courteous service and have been there a total of 3 times now. Hopefully they will make it in this building where so many restaurants have failed.
Review Source:Quite disappointing. In the mood for chicken curry at 3 on a Sunday. We found east moon, they were one of the only resturabts open around this odd time of day. There were 8 of us so we got quite a bit of food.
We ordered
California rolls
Egg drop soup
Green salads
Beef teriyaki
Yasan beef
Panang chicken
Peanut curry
Chicken satay
Fried pork dumplings
The salad was very good, it was more of a peanut buttery taste than the typical ginger dressing. Even though my kids live pb they hated the salad. The egg drop soup wasn't very good, it was way too thick. More like a sweet and sour sauce consistency. It didn't have much flavor to it either. I did not partake in the sushi but I heard no complaints and all of it quickly disappeared. The beef teriyaki was good. The beef was tender and not fatty like most places. The yasan beef was tender just like the teriyaki beef. The chicken satay was just as all the other satays I've had. Nothing wrong but nothing special. I didn't try the pork dumplings but everyone else said they were good. The panang chicken and peanut chicken curry tasted and looked identical. They were extremely bland and the chicken was mushy and just unappetizing to me. I don't think id go back here, much rather try a different place for some good curry.
Went back for our anniversary, again had the cute presentation. Waiters were a little dozy (I ordered an appetizer that never showed, luckily it was not on the bill! And another waiter responded to our drink order with "Cool beans"??), but the food was once again excellent. The sashimi was very very fresh and a great price. I had 8 pieces of sashimi, the spicy crunchy tuna roll, we both had a little salad, my husband had beef & broccoli, and we shared a small Fuji Apple sake and their "Sweet Crystal" dessert (mango and banana fried in a crunchy wrapper a la mode).
And the price was great! Even with a generous tip, it was $48 total.
I love East Moon! Heard about it from a friend as an Asian restaurant with a mixture of Chinese, Japanese, and Thai food...it didn't sound promising or appetizing to me, especially in Lubbock. Â I was worried, but tried it and was so wrong. Â They have a great selection of really fresh sushi, though I usually only get cooked or vegetable rolls. Â I really love the Sexy Roll, Sweet Potato Roll, and Avocado and Peanut Roll. Â My favorite dish is their Sesame Tofu, a little spicy and delicious. Â They do an excellent job of the tempura frying, perfectly crispy on the outside. Â I'd definitely recommend it. Â I've never tried the "Sweet Crystal" dessert but have always wondered what it is...apparently it's sort of like dessert sushi, with fruit and such. Lunch is a great deal here, too. Â Same portions, cheaper price.
Review Source:Really love the food here. Everything is fresh and very yummy. On separate occasions, I've had the Lemongrass Chicken (divine) and the Sambal Beef (oh so spicy good). The atmosphere is really comfortable. The remodel from being a Mexican food place was nicely done.
Portions are very generous and the pricing is extremely reasonable (particularly for the portions).
However...the service is plain awful. When we asked for refills on our beverages, we were given a "hold on a minute" gesture along with a sigh of impatience. Several of us were given refills on water, but those with soft drinks or iced tea were not given refills. When we AGAIN asked for our check (15 minutes had passed from us completing our meal and asking the first time), we were told that the table needed to first be cleared and THEN we'd get our check. After clearing our table, our server then went to clear another table prior to getting our check.
Given that this is not the first time we've gone here and had rotten service, I can no longer chalk it up to the establishment "being new". We do always go at lunch, but it's never been even close to being full, so it cannot be that there's a lunch rush. And, to top it off, the server today was the very same server we had in the fall right after they opened...so she's not new either.
When we asked to see the manager today, we were told "that's her" (meaning our server). We didn't take that as a very good sign. Normally, we are 18-20% tippers...I've worked in food service and KNOW it's a tough job. Today was definitely NOT an 18-20% kind of day. I won't say that I won't give them another chance...just not at lunch. And if we get the same server, I may have to fake appendicitis and leave!
First off, I wanna say that I went to this restaurant a mere two weeks after it opened, so they could've been working out the early kinks of a young restaurant. The service was pretty decent, seeing as it was pretty busy, but the food left something to be desired. I had the pad thai, and they might as well have called it a noodle soup. It was drenched with oil to the point where I had to shake off the excess oil off before I ate it. And that's pretty hard for me to think there's too much oil, seeing as I've grown used to Thai Pepper's pad thai. Hopefully this was just made in a rush because of the "new restaurant" rush, but I don't know if it's worth my money to go there again to confirm my first opinion.
Review Source:Have you ever wished you could have your Chinese takeout on fancier plates? East Moon has heard your call and answered, with an inexplicable cherry on top.
The comparisons to PF Changs (which I'm not a big fan of) end once you give the menu back. They present a lot of variety, but fail to back it up in the execution. This would have been perfectly good take-out in a neighborhood strip mall, something easy you grab and eat from a carton. Instead you get it garnished with table service and ambition. Â
Yellow fin jalapeño proved remarkably descriptive: six pieces of thin sashimi with a slice of jalapeño on each, topped with a clear, sweetish sauce that made the jalapeño almost seem pickled. No heat at all.
Chicken green curry and spring rolls were followed about five minutes later with the Chef's Special, the Triple Delight. There may have been some strategy to the early delivery of the curry. It was scalding hot -- not with spice, that was absent again, but in temperature, even after sitting unmolested for several minutes. The spring rolls were quite heavy on rice-paper and thin on anything else. Vegetables were crisp and the meat was cooked well in the Triple Delight. The gravy, as it can best be described, was not spicy, though also not salty, which is where I'd usually expect mediocre Asian food to veer. Cherry-topped rice was... novel without adding anything.
This place is quite new, so they'll probably work out the front house kinks -- attentive table service but addled hostess. Still, feels like they've fused take-out with a more upscale presentation. And the far superior Thai Thai is sitting right next door.
One of the best places in Lubbock for Asian food. The coating on the fried foods is very light and crispy, not greasey. Even the tempura fried items are light and airy. Nice portions, very wide selections too. Lettuce chicken wraps are always good, everything is very tasty and fresh. Not a sushi fan, so dont know about that!
Review Source:What a wonderful place! I went here for the first time tonight with a friend and was pleasantly surprised. The menu is great because there are all types of Asian foods to pick from - thai, vietnamese, american chinese, and sushi.
We had the chicken sa-tay to start with and it was quite tasty. The peanut sauce was not too sweet, which was nice. I tried the salmon roll just to sample the sushi and it was the most fresh sushi I've tasted in Lubbock, and I frequent Hayashi often. For my entree, I had the standard General Tso's Chicken. It had great flavors and was a generous portion for the price. The rice that comes with it is served in the shape of a heart which is a nice touch. My friend had the chicken and broccoli, which was fantastic and perfect for those who aren't into the whole fried food thing.
Our service was wonderful and attentive and the atmosphere is classy and modern. I will most certainly be back and hope that this place gets more recognition.
Finally, there's a decent alternative to Pei Wei for those looking for decent Asian fare in Lubbock. East Moon is your typical Asian fusion restaurant, featuring a classy interior with booth-style seating and a menu full of a variety of items from pad thai and cold Vietnamese rice noodle plates to sushi and your standard American Chinese offerings like general Tso's chicken.
I tried the pan-fried pork dumplings expecting something like Chinese guotie, but it tasted more like xiaolongbao. My boyfriend sampled the wonton soup, not bad, but a little too much ginger.
Drinks, even Coke and Dr. Pepper, are served in wine glasses. The portions are generous and come on large square plates. I tried the Vietnamese rice noodle plate with beef, and it was like eating steak with cold noodles. It obviously wasn't authentic Vietnamese food, but it was different and interesting. My boyfriend had yaki udon and was pleased with it.
Overall, a great restaurant for a casual date :)