New all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant opens in Penrose Square - Alo Japan

MoMoGoGo, and all-you-can-eat sushi spot at 2501 9th Road S. in Penrose Square (staff photo by Ryan Cole)

MoMoGoGo interior design (staff photo by Ryan Cole)

A new all-you-can-eat spot for sushi, sashimi and nigiri is open in Penrose Square.

MoMoGoGo opened its doors at 2501 9th Road S. this past weekend, serving rolls in an atmosphere heavily inspired by Japan — with booths designed after Japanese gazebos, faux maple leaves and screens displaying scenes from the land of the rising sun.

“The reason people are coming out to dine is not only to just feed themselves,” co-owner Heikwan Cheng told ARLnow. “People try and ind somewhere where they can relax, where they can soak themselves into an environment and where they can chat with friends. We want to give people that experience and have it be like they’re in Japan.”

The current draft of the menu offers options such as a crunch roll with spicy crab, avocado and a crunchy outside, as well as the ultimate roll with fried shrimp and crab, topped with MoMoGoGo’s signature eel sauce.

The Jimmy Smith roll has deep-fried smoked salmon with crab, cream cheese and spicy mayo. Meanwhile, the restaurant’s namesake roll, the MoMoGoGo, includes deep-fried “mixed fish,” spicy tuna and avocado topped with eel sauce.

Nigiri options include red snapper, yellowtail, smoked salmon and squid. Other offerings include eel, sweet egg, cooked shrimp and bean curd.

“Number one, we keep the fish very, very fresh,” Cheng said. “We buy the higher-priced fish from the suppliers because you have to make good food. You can make it fast for all-you-can-eat, but we want the food to be better than other places that do it. That’s why we hire sushi chefs from traditional sushi places, not all-you-can-eat.”

All-you-can-eat pricing is $36.95 for dinner and $25 for lunch, which Cheng says will have a more limited menu. The restaurant has a 90-minute time limit on these options.

MoMoGoGo will also eventually have a lunch platter with ramen, curry chicken and rice dishes. Cheng is also planning a takeout menu featuring combination platters of rolls and other menu options.

Cheng owns two other restaurants in the area: Uzu Revolving Sushi in Rockville, Md. and Churasuko Japanese Brazilian Steakhouse in Tysons.

“We want to provide high quality at all three levels: food, service and environment,” he said.