Moses (donair)

Moses is a famous doner kebab (donair kebab) vendor in Tokyo, Japan. The name comes from the owner, Moses, a Ghanaian immigrant to Japan. Moses has been in operation in Tokyo for over 10 years, and has a loyal fan base with lines often extending into the streets..__TOC__

Fare

Moses donairs are made with beef or chicken, cabbage (optional), tomatoes (optional), and a sauce. [http://raj.jp/index.php/2004/11/09/finally-some-personal-time/]

Sauce

The sauce is what give moses its famous taste; Moses's sauce is made using a tightly guarded recipe - only Moses himself knows it and he personally makes all of the sauce. It is a creamy style of sauce. Current speculation says the sauce is most likely tahini based. There are 4 types of sauces that you can get.

Most people new to Moses will choose the original sauce. The 4 types of sauces are:

Original - Very bland but tasty
Mixed - A mix of original and Chili x1
Chili x1 - Spicy, but not too spicy
Chili x2 - Very spicy with varying hotness depending on the mixture

All sauces vary from day to day as they are hand made by Moses himself - he does not share the recipe with any of his workers.

Meats

The meat used in moses donair is either chicken or beef. Both are cooked using upright rotisserie grills. Portions are sliced off by attendants as needed. The meats have a very natural flavor - that is, they aren't heavily spiced like some competing donair vendors' meats.

Bread

The Moses donair is made from a half piece of pita bread, split open and stuffed. Because of its style of construction, it is vulnerable to "bursting" at the seams, especially if the worker is extra generous in his portions.

Tomatoes

Tomatoes are optional, although they come on the donair by default if you don't specify otherwise. The tomato is sliced in half and then sliced across to create half circle sections. Moses shops typically prepare tomatoes prior to opening the shop, but occasionally you see a worker preparing tomatoes during the middle of the day, especially on busy days.

Cabbage

Cabbage fills out the Moses donair, taking up just a little less volume than the meat. The cabbage is typical fresh green chopped cabbage.

Locations

Moses has two locations in the Taito-Ku ward of Tokyo. [http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=UENO&sll=35.69174,139.824758&sspn=0.015894,0.040169&ie=UTF8&ll=35.709231,139.775598&spn=0.000993,0.002511&t=k&z=19&om=1]

Moses Fest 2008

Planned to take place in October 2008, in Austin, Texas, Moses Fest is a multi-day gathering of Moses fans. The main event is a competition to attempt to recreate a Moses donair sauce, meat, and all. Allegedly, Mantwon will be in attendance. Moses Fest claims to be about freedom, and features such events as the Tahini Bikini contest, in which females in bikinis get coated in Moses sauce and dance for the pleasure of men eating donairs. Actual event information will be released closer to the time of MF2008.

If you would like to attend please email mf2008 [ @ ] serious-internet.biz and we will put you on the MF2008 mailing list.

External links

* http://raj.jp/index.php/2004/11/ - A journalist's take on Moses
* http://www.geocities.jp/argshi/e2k-s.html - A list of Donair shops in Tokyo
* http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6ygbMIYrL8 - A man eating a Moses donair (Mantwon [http://www.soshal.com] )
* http://spontaneous-combustion.com/2007/01/ - A journalist's take on Moses
* http://threeofdiamond.livejournal.com/tag/ueno - A blogger's take on Moses