Although I did not get to meet you in person, Mr Iron Chef, I experienced the most sublime of culinary sensations at your Chelsea restaurant last night and it was quite the orgasmic nosh. An affair I shall never forget. Suffice to say, resistance was beyond futile, and we, my appetite and I, succumbed rather happily to partaking of as many scintillating offerings as the waistline of my Cheetah print skinny jeans would allow. Note to self: wear stretch pants the next time.
I started with a Clam Miso Soup which was completely forgettable. Granted the molluscs were very fresh and the broth, light, but I was expecting something wow from the Iron Chef who brings his own Ice Cube-esque Smoker and creates furniture out of bread.
Next, I had the Kakuni – now we’re talking. AMAZING. Just AMAZING. Morimoto’s take on the traditional Cantonese brekker of congee with braised pork belly was delicious, particularly with those light tendrils of crispy fried Sweet Spud. It wasn’t a WOW moment, it was an OH MY GOD moment. Apparently, the meat is slow braised over very low heat for, get this, 10 whole days.
For my entree, I chose Duck, Duck, Duck, thinking I was in for a treat of an edible ménage à trois, and was terribly, terribly disappointed. It was crispy duck, it was tasty duck, it was moist duck but I could’ve gotten all that from any decent Asian eatery. And the foie gras mousse? Practically nonexistent.
And then dessert arrived, and the sun shone in my world once more. Apple Bread Pudding. Three innocent words for the most incredible sugar trip, ever. The pudding itself was a masterpiece of apple with pineapple, light and fluffy on the inside, crispy on the outside. The Green Tea crumble provided just that right amount of bitterness to counter the saccharine levels of the pudding while the creme fraiche was sufficiently laced with brandy to put a smile on this face ~ see 🙂 the finishing touches of Mango Sorbet as well as a platter of fresh fruits completed the Morimoto gastronomical adventure.
I’ll be going back tomorrow (well, I hope to), to try a fish or lobster dish, I’ll let you know how that works out.
Love, (a very stuffed) Sheela
p/s everything is a tad on the salty side here. Be forewarned.
Sheela Goh 
Asian ppl are so picky 😉
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Not picky, discerning 😉
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same sh** different pile. lol
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Duh 😀
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I think I’d be the same though… I’m quite discerning when it comes to food. lol. 😉
I can’t wait to see what other yummy stuff you had at Morimoto’s place.
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Alas, I didn’t make it there a second time. Some friends and I had drinks at The Standard (we shared an elevator with Pamela Anderson Lee, I kid you not) followed by dinner at this place called The Diner along 44th on 9th Ave. It was decent fare but certainly not Morimoto 🙂
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Did you say hi to her or did you act like you were too cool for her? ;p
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Actually, I didn’t even recognise her (she was right in front of me). I didn’t even pay attention to their party (3 blondes, 2 band-looking dudes) until the lady to her left commented on my fur jacket thingy and said I look nice and warm and toasty. She turned and looked at me (she’s really tall) and I thought, hmmm. I then checked her left bicep because I remember PAL has a barbed wire tattoo there and well, yeah, there it was. When I looked to my friend who was standing next to the elevator panel and facing her, she nodded in confirmation so there you go GRIN
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Well, darling, from your description I would have expected more from the restaurant of a chef who is likely one of the best in the US. Maybe there is not much you can really do with miso or duck (sorry but I know that is not true) but I am not impressed. He himself has cooked better dishes under pressure in front of the cameras. If I want a Peking Duck I can get it in many places; from Marimoto I expect to be surprised at every look and at every byte. Otherwise, what’s the point?
Still, I wish I were with you (just to be able to add my ounce of criticism, of course – nothing else!)
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I completely agree with you, amore mio 🙂
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