Momofuku Ko just recently introduced a lunch service which probably not many people know of yet. A couple of friends managed to get a reservation and I joined them for the lunch.
Overall impression: some things were hit or miss, and it wasn’t interesting and tasty enough for two stars. A high one star in my book. Try to read the Momofuku cookbook before coming here, you’ll get a perspective on the owner David Chang and his line of Momofuku restaurants.
The lunch menu. Base price $195.
Cheez-it, pomme souffle, lobster paloise. I liked the lobster paloise the most, the other two were tasty, but nothing special, or anywhere close to what you would see in an amuse bouche at a place like ‘El Celler de Can Roca’
Chicken oyster (from Fuku). The chicken was very tender and moist. Probably best deep fried chicken I've ever had. If what you want is just chicken, go to Fuku that's couple blocks away for a $8 delicious chicken sandwich.
Shooter for chicken oyster. A shooter and palate cleanser after the deep fried chicken.
Black bass - consomme, shiso. Good, but no really special intense flavours. I wish I could taste more shiso flavour here.
Sea urchin - chickpea, hozon. A very umami flavour, mostly due to the uni here. Chickpea paste was good, but I think I would have liked it more if it was colder than room temperature.
Ankimo - baked egg, dashi. I think my favourite dish here. Monkfish liver and very tasty dashi with egg.
Sweet potato - smoked salt, caviar
Razor clam - pineapple, basil. The razor clams were very good and tender.
Rye flatbread. The bread was very good, maybe just a tad too salty for me. I was just watching a documentary on bread beforehand so maybe I was conditioned to enjoy any type of bread. Moreover, it was my first time having bread in a couple of weeks due to a fitness cut and carb restriction (this meal was a big cheat meal).
Bouillabaisse - mussel, herbs. The bread went with this to dip into the soup. The soup was very spicy, almost too strong to eat by itself with the neutralizing bread. The potato was soft, and apparently it was cooked for 2 hours. I forgot to ask for details, as I can imagine a potato would fall apart after 2 hours of normal cooking. I found it too salty also for my personal preference.
Sirloin - potato churro, steak sauce. I really liked the savory churro, very light and fluffy.
Duck pie - black truffle, black bean. Disappointed here. It was cold (it was meant to be, I just think it would have worked better warm), and not very tasty. My least favourite.
Foie gras - lychee, pine nut, riesling jelly. This is a dessert with shaved foie gras. David Chang's classic, you can find it in his 2009 book ‘Momofuku’, and looks like it survived to this day.
Chocolate mousse - olive oil, bergamot. A tasty dessert, I think it was my first time having the very rich olive oil ice cream. You definitely can't eat too much of this. I think this dessert could have been slightly more inventive.
Caramel apple - buckwheat, armagnac. Tasty, my favourite dessert of the three. There is a sauteed piece of apple under the mousse.
Canele as a final treat