A Modern New-American Approach to Asian Inspired Cuisine

February 24, 2020, Greenwich, CT: Moon, a stylish new restaurant that celebrates Japanese, Chinese, and Thai ingredients and flavors, is in the midst of top-to-bottom renovations, preparing for its highly anticipated early spring opening. Spearheaded by New York-based Ambias Hospitality Group, Moon sets its sights on presenting an elevated dining experience wrapped in stylish décor and hospitality.   
 
Located at 130 East Putnam Avenue, the former space of Asiana Café, the restaurant’s newest incarnation is designed by New York/Shanghai design team New Practice Studio. Conceptualized around Moon's cross-cultural menu, the 3,100 square foot space features a 13-seat open Omakase bar, a 55-seat dining room with curvilinear banquette seating and a communal center table, an intimate cocktail bar, and open-air dining during the warmer months. Autumn larch wood panels wrap the space, creating a sophisticated and modern environment, while contrasted by the light-colored terrazzo floor and Venetian wall plaster. Chic Bolle pendant and Luna lighting fixtures accentuate the mod Fnji furnishings. A circular window in the back reveals Moon’s curated wine collection.
 

 

Ambias Hospitality Group is led by founder and CEO Kevin Yin, a successful real estate and high-fashion clothing boutique entrepreneur whose business prowess most recently resulted in the reconfiguration and successful rebranding of the now prosperous Szechwan Absolute in Queens, NY. Kevin has assembled a dynamic team to lead his newest venture at Moon, including Ambias Hospitality Group Advisor Matthew Madera, a New York City fine dining chef who trained under two Michelin star Chef Jean-Christophe Ansanay-Alex at Relais Chateaux’s Auberge De L’lle Barbe, in Lyon, France. Matthew’s work experience throughout New York City’s culinary landscape includes time at A Voce Columbus, Gunter Seeger, Jean-Georges and most recently earning 2 Michelin stars at the world renowned L’ Atelier de Jöel Robuchon NYC. Matthew has also made a name for himself in the private dining world as a private chef for some of New York’s most prestigious residences.
 
General Manager Moses Laboy is a New York City hospitality veteran with a specialty in the modern cocktail movement. Moses is a member of The Court of Master Sommeliers and is B.A.R. certified. Simon Difford and Peter Heering LTD. named Moses one of top 10 mixologists in the world in 2018 at London Cocktail Week and Timeout NY placed Moses among the top five NYC mixologists in 2015, having created beverage programs for such iconic eateries as Alfred Portale’s Gotham Bar & Grill, Chef Marcus Samuelsson’s Red Rooster and David Burke Kitchen by Chef David Burke.
 
The culinary team for Moon is comprised of Greenwich hometown chef Nick Grosz and sushi chef Isamu Yamada. Chef Grosz got started in the restaurant industry in his teens with a local internship at the Hilton Hotel in Stamford and working summers at Fjord Fisheries. His culinary path took him to Boulder, Colorado working sous chef positions at The Med and Brasserie Ten Ten before his first encounter with Asian food while cooking at the famous Hapa Sake Bar and Sushi Grill. It was then back to the East Coast to attended the French Culinary Institute, where he graduated second in his class. Chef Grosz’s kitchen cred includes stints at various NYC kitchens, most notably under David Chang at Momofuku Noodle Bar and as the R&D Chef/Operating Partner for Gotham Grove, Asian Specialty Foods. Navigating the Moon menu with Chef Grosz is Chef Yamada, who, upon studying culinary arts in Nagoya, Japan, immigrated to Honolulu, Hawaii, in 2000 to work at the famous Imanas Tei sushi restaurant. His talent then took him to New York’s prestigious Sushi of Gari Group in 2011, where he honed his sushi skills working alongside renowned Chef Masatoshi "Gari" Sugio. Chef Yamada’s culinary journey brought him back to Honolulu in 2017 to lead the Omakase program at Sushi Izakaya Gaku, with a turnaround to New York in 2019 as the Sushi Chef for the contemporary Sushi Ryusei Japanese restaurant.
 

 

 
The Moon menu is a virtual culinary tour around the globe, finding its greatest inspiration from the ingredients and techniques found in Japanese, Chinese, and Thai cuisines. From the ultimate Omakase adventure where your meal is left to the creative freedom of our Sushi Chef, to composed entrées such as Colorado Lamb served with miso eggplant and brown butter carrots, Black Cod with coconut-lemongrass espuma, cauliflower, and baby bok choy, the Moon dining experience is bold, flavorful, and unexpected.  More innovative flavor combinations and contrasting textures are illustrated in such dishes as; rock shrimp tempura with massaman curry aioli; “beets & citrus” with blood orange, pine nuts, and house-made cheese; grilled octopus with gochujang romesco, piquillo pepper, and Japanese yam; kimchi fried rice with a farmhouse egg and scallions; and house-made “dumplings" with Maine crab, cauliflower, and preserved lemon. Vegetarian options are plentiful and include; spicy cucumber salad with peanuts and Thai basil; crispy vegetable tempura; Japanese eggplant with bean curd, red miso, and pine nuts; and a special “General Yin’s Cauliflower & Broccoli” dish with black and white sesame. Sharing and large format entrées feature whole roasted free-range chicken with black garlic jus and Snake River Farms 32oz Wagyu NY Strip, all served with seasonal accompaniments.  And there’s always room for goat cheese and yuzu cheesecake and ginger pear crisp with plum wine sabayon and candied ginger ice cream for dessert.

                                                   

The beverage program embraces the restaurant’s culinary ethos with an exciting combination of fresh ingredients, balance, and creativity, while infusing premium and artisan spirits. Cocktail enthusiasts will enjoy the effervescence of the “Strawberry Fields” layered with Hakutsuru Nigori Sake, strawberry and sage, fresh lemon, Aquafaba, and Prosecco. The Moscow Mule gets a makeover in the form of the Matcha Mule, shaken with Titos vodka, Matcha green tea, fresh lime, and ginger beer, topped with candied ginger. A global wine list, craft and Asian beer selections, a collection of sake, and a refreshing variety of house-made “ABV 0%” mocktails, teas, and tonics round out the beverage offerings.   
 
 
An early spring opening is planned.

MOON
130 East Putnam Ave, Greenwich, CT 06830
www.moongreenwich.com
@moongreenwich​