Momofuku Ko
Posted on June 3, 2009, under Food.
Momofuku Ko is not a restaurant of many words. No menu, no “would you like to hear about this evening’s specials?”, no elaborate descriptions of dishes. Just fourteen seats, three chefs, two hostess-slash-sommeliers, one long bar, and some really incredible food. This is fine dining stripped down to its barest essence. So in keeping with the spirit of Ko, I’m going to let the photos do most of the talking in this post.
(Note that David Chang has instituted a strict no photography rule at Ko, so all of these photos are from flickr users who dined pre-ban, with the exception of the fantastic cookbook library in the bathroom, which I took myself.)
flickr photo by bionicgrrrl
flickr photo by EssG
Our 10 course dinner tasting menu:
- Smoked potato risotto with ham crumbs and chives
- Chicharrones with togarashi salt
flickr photo by EssG
- Buttermilk biscuit with black pepper butter, honey, and mirin
- Raw Long Island fluke, whipped Sriracha buttermilk, white soy, toasted poppy seeds
flickr photo by roboppy
- Chilled dashi soup, Santa Barbara uni (sea urchin), charred pea tendrils, sugar snap peas, cucumber, wasabi oil
- Lightly smoked coddled hen egg, caviar, fingerling potato chips, onion soubise in sweet potato vinegar, chervil
flickr photo by roboppy
- Green Washington state asparagus, white French asparagus, seared diver sea scallop, morels, yuba (soy skin), puffed black rice
- Roasted soft shell crabs, fresh hearts of palm, celery ribbons, Old Bay, lemon juice
- Shaved torchon of Hudson Valley foie gras, riesling gelee, lychee, pine nut brittle
flickr photo by roboppy
- Deep-fried boneless short rib (cooked @ 59 deg. celsius for 48 hours, then deep-fried for 4 mins.) with spring allium (grilled ramps, pickled pearl onions, warm leek puree, chive flowers) and veal reduction
flickr photo by roboppy
- Guava sorbet with a cream cheese “skin”
- Funnel cake, black sesame ice cream, lemon curd, coconut
We skipped the drink pairing, but I started with a white ale from Oregon, followed by Masumi Arabashiri sake. Ranae started with a sparkling rose wine, then a chardonnay.
… and a soundtrack for the meal, from music played from the chefs’ iPod:
- Radiohead – Paranoid Android
- Nirvana – In Bloom
- Jane’s Addiction – Stop
- Smashing Pumpkins – Tonight, Tonight
- Dinosaur Jr. – Just Like Heaven (Cure cover)
- Modest Mouse
- Wilco
- Flaming Lips
Tags: david chang, momofuku ko