Offering sushi, ramen and bubble tea drinks… Blue Kujira Restaurant is currently under construction in Mullica Hill, targeting an opening around the New Year.
The location is in the Mullica Commons Shopping Center on Bridgeton Pike, in a unit to the left of the popular Marino’s Restaurant (The Blue Kujira unit was previously Hello Gorgeous who relocated to Woodbury Heights)
The signage for Blue Kujira has actually been up since the summer but it’s only been recently that construction crews were able to really start building out the interior. That being said things are moving very fast at the site!
Blue Kujira is owned by the same woman who recently opened Mochi Tea in Deptford. After stopping in at her soon-to-open Mullica Hill restaurant, I stopped over to the Deptford mochidonut and bubble tea cafe to chat with Yan, and get an update on BOTH of her Gloucester County restaurants.
In my visit to Mullica Hill yesterday I could see that the construction crews have basically built out the core interior with all of the walls and half-height counters in place, and they will likely start painting very soon.
Soon after when I had a chance to chat with Yan (who is a Gloucester County resident), she believes that everything is in alignment for the restaurant to open up before the end of the year, closer to the New Year.
Of course there are a million things that could come up near the end of any construction project, so Yan is not ready to put out a firm opening date just yet.
As the front signage says, the new Blue Kujira will feature sushi, ramen and bubble tea.
It’s a smart idea because each of the three categories have many restaurants in South Jersey which are focused on just ONE of those individual aspects.
Factor in that for Mullica Hill while there are some options for those Asian product categories in the immediate area… it does seem that they are underrepresented in general and this triple-threat combination at Blue Kujira could prove to be a very successful one-stop Asian-cuisine shop for locals and beyond!
I could see from my visit yesterday that the space offered enough room for a dining area to the left, which Yan then confirmed will offer seating for about four dozen people.
The dining area will offer seven booths as well as additional seating tables.
The design will also support a sushi bar… which is a “diner-like” counter space situated directly in front of the sushi chefs, where you’ll be able to have a front row view of your delicious sushi meal being prepared.
The new restaurant design also features a front counter area at the main entrance which is perfect for takeout orders, or more likely the bubble tea drink orders which are typically a “grab-n-go” purchase.
Mochi Tea Deptford – Expanded Menu
As mentioned I caught up with Yan yesterday at her very recently opened Mochi Tea Cafe in Deptford NJ which is located in the Court at Deptford “Hobby Lobby” shopping center… with Mochi Tea located near Kirkland’s and Party City.
In early November I covered the opening of the new Mochi Tea but at the time it was the soft opening and the full menu wasn’t in place but they were offering freshly made mochi-donuts and a delicious variety of bubble teas… but Yan was also planning a menu of hot-and-fresh items such as popcorn chicken, chicken nuggets, Korean wings and more.
Well i was happily surprised yesterday to see that the full Mochi Tea menu is available… and I got to try a made-to-order chicken sandwich!
The appetizer menu alone offers about 10 different items including French fries, funnel cake fries, mozzarella sticks and more. There’s probably two dozen Onigiri Rice Balls in a variety of recipes including chicken, shrimp, tuna.
And then as mentioned they’ve added popcorn chicken, nuggets and their Korean style wings.
I always joke about my timing/luck being perfect when I research stories, I walked in just as they were first making they’re crispy chicken sandwiches available.
I ordered the Kani Avo Chicken Sandwich which is crispy chicken on a brioche bun, avocado and spicy kani. It was a large piece of chicken for a sandwich priced at $6.25
Yan tells me they have a special preparation for the batter which is both a wet dip and then a dry preparation which gives the cooked chicken an extra crispy crunch. And absolutely I experienced a pleasantly crispy bite.
I took a couple bites in the store and gave my two thumbs up to Yan and her team, and then brought the crispy and spicy chicken sandwich home to share with my wife… who said she liked it and would order it again.
Links and Location
Blue Kujira – Coming Soon
157 Bridgeton Pike #300
Mullica Hill, NJ 08062
Mochi Tea Deptford – Open
Court at Deptford
1500 Almonesson Road
Deptford NJ 08096