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mooi: raw vegan pasta, stir fry, and curry!
13April 2nd, 2010LA restaurants, mooi, naturewell
when we announced we were going raw for the week, we turned to stephen hauptfuhr and his food business mooi, to help us get by. we were already huge mooi fans—the organic/vegan/raw catering company won us over long ago with their delicious ice cream and homemade cheeses, and we have been anxiously awaiting the opening of their restaurant. however, we’d never tried their entrees until just a few days ago, and only now do i realize how much we were missing out! everything was incredible, and the best news is that it’s all available to buy pre-packaged at naturewell in silverlake!
check out our massive haul…
ginger garlic stir fry with sweet 'n sour pineapple skewers: carrot, cabbage, broccoli, celery, and bok choy.
our first mooi dish was a raw vegan stir fry, which consisted of carrot, cabbage, broccoli, celery and bok choi in an extremely tasty garlic ginger sauce. it came topped with a generous amount of pineapple skewers, which added the perfect sweetness to the vegetables. i don’t know how mooi does it, but this honestly evoked all the flavors and nuances of an actual stir fry…without being cooked.
thai peanut noodles: kelp noodles with peanut sauce, broccoli and snow peas.
the next entree was by far my favorite of the four. a raw take on thai food, it consisted of kelp noodles in a rich peanut-style sauce with loads of fresh vegetables. it was so ridiculously good, i can’t possibly do it justice. the thick, creamy, and nutty beyond belief…and the soft noodles were fantastic. the normal dish comes with bell peppers, which i hate, so stephen was kind enough to leave them off for us. if you are into raw food, or just good food, you should seriously head to naturewell and pick some of these noodles up.
more after the jump…
chunky tomato caper pasta: kelp noodles, roma tomatoes, and capers.
next up was the chunky tomato caper pasta. it was made with kelp noodles just like the previous dish, except it was covered in fresh roma tomatoes, olive oil and capers. this dish was also fab, and we enjoyed it with a bottle of raw organic wine. just because you are doing the raw/vegan thing doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a delicious italian diner, and mooi is proof of just that!
bengal curry: apples, soaked chickpeas, cucumber and onion in a rich curry sauce.
lastly, we had mooi’s special raw bengal curry. this thing was full of chunked apples, soaked chickpeas, cucumber, and onion in tangy sauce. (please note this also normally comes with bell peppers.) this dish was the perfect combo of sweet and savory, fruit and vegetable. seriously fantastic, and great for a light lunch time meal.
overall, the meals from mooi were spectacular. i can’t believe i waited so long to try them, and i know i will be back at naturewell to stock up soon. even if you aren’t into raw food, i seriously encourage you to try this stuff. it’s not delicious for being raw or being vegan…it’s just delicious, period.
you can find mooi products at naturewell for now, but look out for their restaurant opening very soon. and be sure to follow mooi on twitter!
Tags: mooifood, raw, silverlake
13 responses to “mooi: raw vegan pasta, stir fry, and curry!” 
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I’ve long been a fan of Stephen’s amazing raw dishes and am counting the days until his restaurant opens. He’s such an innovative chef, and he just knows how to make the impossible, possible. Just look at that “pasta” dish!!
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I love raw food and I’m so excited for Mooi to open so I can try their ice creams and cheeses! It’s great to know I can get some of their products at Naturewell.
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any idea when mooi is going to open??? I live in the neighborhood and have been staring at that “opening soon” sign for months. I can’t wait!!
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The Peanut Thai sounds great! however, The BEST RAW FOOD IN LA PERIOD IS ” Better Life Cuisine” in Santa Monica the Lasagna is heaven sent. If you do not try this place tooooo bad for you.
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Kelli April 3rd, 2010 at 10:36
So decided to go to Natureswell yesterday and try some mooi food. Let’s just say I will not be going back. There is much better raw food being served in the city.
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Better Life Cuisine- is this a RAW RESTAURANT I don’t know about? Is it vegan w/some raw offerings? Never heard of yet a 3rd raw restaurant in SM. THX! 🙂 Candy
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Candy, Better Life Cuisine is Vegan Live Raw Food. Located at 717 Broadway across from Ralph’s. I live 3 blocks away. Check out their reviews on YELP.
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Mooi is incredible! Glad to see this review, because I have been buying Mooi wraps at Naturewell for ages.
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Padilla C. Faretmuh April 5th, 2010 at 08:39
Hi Kelli, just curious what you actually tried on Friday ? I went there too to get something and they were completely out ? said they wouldn’t have more until the next day, Sat ? I have been to all the raw places west side and east including Better life and I would say Mooi’s packaged food is as good or better then the others in-restaurant prepared food so I cannot wait for their restaurant to open..
rawgoddess April 2nd, 2010 at 05:47