A la Cuisine!, Morimoto, NYC

Gael and Emiliano, just about to step into Morimoto, NYC

It’s Emi’s Birthday and this time we decided to go to Morimoto for some great food to celebrate! It’s our very first time being at Morimoto and we are bit excite and but also nervous because we really would not like an Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s restaurant being disappointing. So many of these foodie places we find over rated. Not that great at the end…

Oh Chef, Please, you better be Awesome!!!

Chef’s cook books greet you the second you walk into the restaurant.

We get seated in one of the smaller section of the restaurant. Not so open, but then also quite intimate. We are quite happy so far. And the drink and main menu.

This is the very first dish of 7course tasting menu both Emi and I had chosen. All the On trays sound excellent in good range of fish and meat. There’s also a list of Sushi and Sashimi, but we pretty much knew we would go for the Chef’s choice 7 course tasting menu: Morimoto Omakase, a multi course tasting menu to allow you to experience the essence of Morimoto’s Cuisine. This first dish is ” Toro Tartar” on a bamboo plate over a sheet of banana leaf underneath with 6 small portion of garnish that were unbelievably flavorful. This plate is a size of any guy’s palm, so the portion is small but then perfect as a starter and it was absolutely satisfying with gorgeous flavors. THANK YOU CHEF!

You will scrape off bit of tartar with this stainless steel flat spoon sort of, then also steal bit of any garnish then dip the whole thing in the light Dashi in a small bowl that came together. It’s amazing.

While Emi and I are tasting Omakase, Gael’s having a hot stone bowl Yellow Tail Buri. A sort of Korean Dolsot Bibimbap but with Morimoto’s twist. No chili paste here. Fresh Shiso leafes and delicate and light sweet soy based sauce adds quite powerful flavor to this super fresh Yellow Tail Sashimi over the rice. There are some Japanese mountain veggies and toasted nori and raw egg to be all mixed together. The serving staff who was helping was friendly and casual.

Our turn again for the second course. The Yellow tail Crudo with Pea shoots, Mushroom and sesame infused warm olive oil and drop of soy and yuzu. It’s a perfection. It’s just so delicious. The first and the second courses were our two favorite. I can probably have this everyday.

The third dish. OK. Just OK. This one we didn’t care for much. We actually didn’t need this at all. It’s sort of ” Veggie” dish with dipping sauce idea. The anchovy reduction was just all right and veggie were not substantial enough. I would’ve rather not had this at all or maybe would’ve liked something very simple and refreshing salad like. Chef, Please don’t let us down for the rest..!

The fourth one. A fresh oyster accompanied by Foie Gras and warm drizzle of delicate Teriyaki sauce. This one was quite lovely. Emi liked this much more than I did perhaps. Still the first and the second course is lingering on the tip of my tongue….!

Too busy eating and chatting, forgot to take a snap of Course 5, a plate of assorted 6 piece Sushi. They were bit small at bite size with impeccable freshness. They were excellent!

Now the On tray, course 6. Surf and Turf. A lobster tail over a slightly fried sweet potato sticks and lightly seared Korean style marinated Yagyu beef accompanied by whipped up lemon mousse. DELICIOUS!!! It was quite satisfying as portion wise and the lobster tail was perfectly cooked tenderly with amazing seasoning and the beef just melts in your mouth… This On tray made our quite pricy Omakase experience all worth it!

The Lobster tail on the front and the Yagyu beef on the back.

The last course, Dessert. A cup of Sweet potato flan/custard sort of. With a soy stick, poached pear slices, black berry and dollop of cream fresh and an edible flower on the side.. The Soy stick I didn’t go for. I don’t know why. I love the potato flan! Ahh, It also had passion fruit syrup over the flan!