Momofuku Ko

The piece de resistance: Momofuku Ko. What kind of restaurant doesn’t have a phone? (or at least claims it does not have one). A good one. What kind of restaurant stays alive with only 24 patrons a night? A great one. What kind of restaurant has a chef that consistently wins awards, yet still works in your face with only two other people helping out? An amazing one. And there we have Momofuku Ko. You can barely tell where it is on the street, as there is no sign (just the peach). Then, once you get inside, show your email and ID, you are seated in front of a pretty small and very clean kitchen. Just you and the 11 other chosen ones. The seatings are spread out so, if you are lucky, the people next to you or down the way are a course ahead, so you get a little bit of a preview. You can close your eyes, or pray for the first seating, if you want. It doesn’t matter anyway, the food is better than it looks from a far, so not matter what you see, you will be more than happy when it comes your way.

For your reading and drooling pleasure, I have done my best (with a little help from a friend… ok, a lot of help) to let you know what could possibly be in store for you on your adventure into eating a 10 course meal.

Pea amuse w biscuits – pea soup. I love pea soup. Specifically I love a thick, puree of split pea soup. This was better than that. The sweetness outshined the thickness and even though it was only a small portion, it was wonderful. The pea amuse was paired with a small freshly made biscuit topped with a honey syrup drizzle. A perfect way to start to meal, a little sweet and a little savory to open up your taste buds.

Fluke sashimi buttermilk, white soy. This was our second time at Ko. The first time, we had the fluke sashimi as well. Having this before did in no way alter its brilliance. The sashimi was fresh and thickly and precisely sliced by David Chang himself. The buttermilk and soy added a creamy texture to an otherwise meaty fish dish.

Dashi soup, uni, chives, pea shoots. This salty light soup was a nice segue into the heavier courses. Typically I avoid uni because it’s a weird color and weirder texture. But, like a good little eater, I just went for it. I’m glad I did. I am not longer totally afraid of uni….only slightly now. The pea shoots were split open with the peas seemingly placed one by one in their pockets, as they were crispy and shelled.

Smoked egg, caviar, fingerling potato chips, onions. The smoked soft boiled egg was also a part of our first meal at Ko. It was also the most memorable for me and one of the most unique dishes they serve. To be honest, I do not believe I had a soft boiled egg before Ko. They’ve ruined me forever since every soft boiled egg I have from now on will never live up to this.

Hand torn pasta, pecorino, chicken skin, snail sausage. Everyone loves their sausage… not sure about that chicken skin…. This dish was an interesting mix of textures, with the crispy skins, the smooth soft pasta and the rubbery cheese and sausage.

Foie Gras, Riesling jelly, lychees, peanut brittle. Am I the only one on earth that doesn’t like this dish? It’s tough, since I don’t like fois gras or lychees… so… how can I comment?

Snapper – so I had this instead. A small but fresh and tasty piece of snapper. It wasn’t the most impressive dish, but my bad for not wanting the specialty of the house.

Soft shell crab, celery noodles, hearts of palm, old bay. I talked to David Chang. Yes, I did. I asked him when they started serving soft shell crab. I knew it was just starting to come into season and knew it wasn’t actually in season in the northeast. I am so smart. S-M-R-T. (Does anyone watch the Simpsons anymore?) They just started serving them that week, and imported them from the Carolinas.

Deep fried short ribs (sous vided for 48 hours), scallion purée, onion Way too fatty for me, but my boyfriend LOVED them.

Guava sorbet with cream cheese skin I actually tasted dessert… a cold ice cream like dessert. I only did it because I was interested in the cream cheese skin. You know when you bite half way through a watermelon jellybean? You can see the green skin around the red middle? This was kind of like that. It was red sorbet with a white candy shell (except cream cheese, not candy).

Funnel cake with black sesame ice cream, lemon curd, coconut milk. WOW. I love funnel cake. Love it. I can’t help but like fried dough. It was the prefect ending to the perfect meal, a little playful and something I can never imagine making for myself but I would dream about it.

Take it from someone who has been there twice and will be going again and again, if the internet allows… It is worth putting an Outlook reminder 10am every morning for the opening of the week’s reservations. And even a little random checking in case of cancellations. Also, make sure you cancel any plans you have that night because unless you are going out partying with some famous people for free at a club you never would be able to get into any other way and it will make you an instant star, anyone who would consider themselves a foodie, or even a person who just likes to eat good food should go to Ko when the green check mark says they can.