PUMPKIN SOUP!

Momofuku Ko is a two-star Michelin restaurant in New York. David Chang is the owner of the Momofuku Ko restaurant group. The name of the restaurant makes you wonder what it means, so let me enlighten you from the very beginning. Momofuku Ko means “son of a lucky peach”. In fact, after knowing this the peach on the logo also makes more sense.

The style of this restaurant was different from the other Michelin star restaurants I have visited. Particularly for this reason, I recommend you to experience the place.

Ambiance

Momofuku Ko had a chefs table in the middle of the restaurant. I happily made my reservation for the chef’s table. I definitely love to watch the chefs while working and witness the journey of my food.

The ambiance was cozy and sincere. There was no dress code at the restaurant. You feel like you are in some kind of an underground place. When you sit at the u-shaped counter, you see the meat hanging in the freezer staring at you.

I wasn’t comfortable with the chairs though. The back of the chair could be a bit higher.

Taste

There was only a single tasting menu. It started out with an amuse bouche of onion potato chips with sour cream. It was a good start, I loved the intense taste of onion. Second amuse bouche was also very tasty; a little crispy lobster sandwich.

First main course was chicken oyster with pomme soufflée (which is a variety of French fried potato) and lobster paloise sauce. Paloise sauce is a modern variation of the classic bearnaise sauce but mint is used instead of tarragon. The next dish was a fluke with mustard greens and tomato bonji. As stated in Momofuku Ko’s website, bonji is a fermented, cold-pressed liquid seasoning made in the style of tamari and soy sauce. Bonji doesn’t contain soybeans but is made from fermented hearty grains. Fluke is from the Atlantic ocean; east coast of the United States. It was served raw and was very delicious.

Following dish was sea urchin with chickpea hozon and olive oil. As told by David Chang, hozon is a miso-like product that’s made from pistachios. I loved the sea urchin from Hokkaido and the amount of chili. The next dish was a smoked egg with pickled onion, potato chips and white sturgeon caviar served with sourdough bread and aged butter. The encounter of roe and egg was really nice. I was not so impressed by the five-week dry-aged beef with pepper sauce; I have eaten much better beef.

Razor clam soup with pineapple and basil was one of the signature dishes. They made an amazing couple together. Yet I didn’t enjoy halibut with soybeans and chili garlic fish skin on top.

Another signature dish was the duck with cabbage and blood orange. The duck was grilled many times in front of me. It was crispy yet very soft and barely cooked inside. I felt the smokiness of the grill. It was extremely fabulous. The next course; foie gras with lychee, pine nut and Riesling was one of my least favorites; it was too salty.

Wild rice kombu ice cream with candied seaweed was the most interesting and original taste in the tasting menu. It was both salty and sweet. There was great harmony between the two opposite flavors. The closure was with mandarin Tarte Tatin with cheese. I would prefer wild rice kombu to be the last dish since it was very impressive. I found the mandarin Tarte Tatin very heavy. For this dessert, you can choose between the two different cheese selection.

This was a long journey over 2.5 hours and 13 different courses. I was satisfied with the overall taste of the food and quality of the ingredients.

Service

The quality of the service was good. Some of the dishes were explained by the chefs from the counter. It seemed to me that they have a rush cooking and didn’t make enough explanations regarding the dishes because of that.

It was easy to make the reservation from the website. Reservations are offered online 30 days in advance, including the current day.

You leave the restaurant with a printed out menu and a cake.

Creativity

There was nothing really special regarding the presentation of the dishes. However, some dishes were really creative in terms of the combination of the ingredients. Wild rice kombu ice cream and razor clam with pineapple and basil were the most creative ones.

Value

The price was ok for the variety of the food that they offer.

I was happy with the wine advice made to accompany the menu; a Maxime-François Laurent Pourpre 2011.