This year has been a lucky year for me. First i was invited to El Bulli and then i got a reservation at Momofuku Ko that could be considered the most sought after restaurant reservation in America. Booking Momofuku Ko is totally automated. First you need to create a profile on their website www.momofuku.com, then log in at 10 am New York time and be faster than hundreds if not thousands New Yorkers who would click on the green check marks simultaneously. When you get a reservation, you need to secure it by providing your credit card details. No show up means that you are $150 poorer.
Having your food prepared in front of you it's not a new concept. It has been in practice at such restaurants as Joel Robuchon since few years and Spanish tapas bars or Japanese sushi bars since hundreds of years. What was new for me was being constantly exposed to the smoke and the heat from the grilling or when one of the chefs put a chunk of meat just in front of me and started cleaning it. It was not very appetizing to be honest. And then there is this infamous "no picture" policy. The Momofuku restaurants chef David Chang has banned taking pictures at Momofuku Ko.
Speaking of the food, the menu consisted of 16 dishes. There were some brilliant ones that were undoubtedly worth the 2 Michelin stars. My favorite - fresh kushi oyster served with s small glass of oyster stout, puffed egg with dashi and chives, cauliflower soup with braised oxtail , cilantro and potato souffle with chanterelles or salad of sauted mushrooms with cilantro. The most famous Momofuku Ko dish- shaved frozen foie gras with lychee and pine nut brittle was one of the best dishes i have tasted this year and it was on another level than the rest of the Momofuku Ko dishes.
Then there were "ok" dishes. Sashimi with different ingredients (such as scallop with apple), trout with bacon puree(the trout was too burnt, thus the source of the smoke i mentioned before), radishes and beans or sweet corn and cheese ravioli with chorizo(very fat and quite classical).
Some mixtures of the ingredients didn't really make sense.There was this dish with three different creations. I don't know why sea urchin with yuba (tofu skin) and tomato, beef tartar with caviar and Wagyu beef were served as one dish.They would have been so perfect served separately.While the lamb chop( with rice cake, kimchi and chilled dashi) meat was very strong.
The cheese part of the menu was a box made of rye bread, filled with melted Camembert cheese, cherrries and water chestnuts. At the end there were two desserts served- peaches, nutmeg ice cream with bay leaf powder and chocolate ice cream served with almond milk.
After the lunch we were all given "gifts" - small jars of pickled vegetables and onigiri which i didn't eat so i don't know if they were good or not.( I am not that accustomed eating kimchi from a jar in my hotel room!)
You don't need to go to Momofuku Ko to find out that David Chang is a very talented chef. Momofuku Ssam Bar or Noodle Bar , or, now, Ma Pêche have dramatically changed the New York ( or maybe even American) culinary landscape. And Momofuku Ssam Bar is probably one of my favorite restaurants in the world.
I totally agree with the idea, that a gastronomic restaurant doesn't have to have expensive napkins, china or 5 waiters serving you. There were no tablecloths at El Bulli or Noma neither. Having said that, when you pay $175 per person for a menu (there is no à la carte at Momofuku Ko), the restaurant personnel should at least smile, no? That leads to the main issue. Some people say that Momofuku Ko is all about the genius food that compensates the bad service. Personally, I found too many inconsistencies at Momofuku Ko. Some dishes were genius, some ok, some- i would like to forget. Yes, the shaved frozen foie gras is genius, but i wouldn't bother again trying to get the reservation and paying the high price for the rest.
