Before deciding to visit Momofuku Ko, a diner is wise to ask how far he should go for good food.
To start, the restaurant only accepts reservations via their website. Starting from 10am, spots fill up in a matter of seconds. This got pretty frustrating after the first two weeks. I wrote a small python script to automatically find the next available reservation and to book it. Except it didn’t work. In some cases the day opened with no available tables. Other times availability lasted just an instant. In other words, people were clicking so quickly that even automated attempts were stressful and futile. I gave up after a few weeks of trying, until one day, I saw the green check of availability.
To further complicate things, the lower east side restaurant is easy to miss: it looks like a shop with the security gates permanently locked. The entrance is completely encased in a ragged metal mesh which blocks out most daylight, reminiscant of the eletromagnetic mesh cage in which Gene Hackman‘s extremely paranoid character worked in Enemy of the State. It’s fenced up like a prison. It’s very unwelcoming.
The service was laid-back yet distant. It seemed like the staff was playing out a more formal service than perhaps they were accustomed to. The interior was silent and scary. It was as if they secretly hated everyone there; but couldn’t decide just how much right away. The chefs, or at least the one working in front of me, were like David Chang robots. When I asked about the strict no-photo policy, I was hammered with a verbatim recitation of David Chang’s interview with Anthony Bourdain–complete with identical pauses and sighs. His trained response was “it’s just food … [pause to build suspense] … man.”
In spite of David Chang’s intense disdain, I wrote down notes about what I was eating. The maitre’d sneered at me throughout the meal. I felt like I was doing something wrong for wanting to remember my meal accurately. I didn’t even think about asking for a printed menu after seeing the intense dislike directed towards a guy a few seats down from me asking questions.
However, despite the serious service problems, and overwhelming feelings of coldness and discomfort, the 19-course tasting was overall delicious, filled with bursts of genius.
Crayfish arancino: a baked rice ball coated with breadcrumbs and filled with chunks of crayfish. This was served warm, like an Italian gougère. It could have used a pinch more salt. I was so worried this would burn my mouth, but it was just the right temperature.
Pomme soufflé, crème fraîche, hackleback caviar: a miniature cylindrical tube of pomme soufflé filled with crème fraîche and topped with caviar. The caviar acted as the salting element, combining earth and sea, making this a very balanced bite.
Greenmarket radish, salted butter: a mid-sized mild radish without much burn. The butter was on the sweeter side. In general I prefer saltier, stronger tasting butters like Beurre de Bordier served at l’Arpège or Manresa, so I wasn’t crazy about this one.
Island Creek oyster, hackleback caviar, lime, chive: this was served sashimi-style on a cube of packed ice in a wooden stand. Just like at Masa or Urasawa. The lime was generously applied, cutting through much of the brine. Overall this tasted exceptionally fresh and clean.
Kanpachi, lemon jam, white soy sauce, daikon sprout: the freshness of the amberjack was apparent immediately by the crunchy texture with a subtle sweetness. The lemon jam was used very sparingly adding just a hint of acidity and brightness to the fish.
Long Island fluke, tobanjyan, picked scallion, chive blossom, suba stem, two-year-aged soy sauce: at first this dish sounded overly complicated; but the combinations of sweet, salty, and spicy all came together really well with the fresh fish, providing a generous range of textures. The slightly fermeted chili sauce on here added a level of complexity.
Diver scallop, meyer lemon juice & zest, freeze-dried soy sauce, shiso, watermelon radish: a chunky diver scallop salted by coarse flakes of dehydrated soy sauce. The meyer lemon brightened the entire dish, particularly the crunchy slices of water-laden radish cubes. This provided an overall fantastic aroma and flavor making it my hands-down favorite dish of the afternoon. This was the last dish served on the block of compressed ice.
Uni, yuba, puffed black rice, horseradish, suba stems: the yuba had a smooth tannic quality that complimented the sweet creaminess of the sea urchin. Small puffs of black rice added textural contrast while a hint of horseradish lifted the sweetness.
Soft-shell crab hand roll, sugar snap peas, XO sauce, kewpie mayonnaise, dried shrimp: a very crunchy crab shell that crunched with each bite. It was pretty spicy. What killed this dish for me was that the hand roll was left sitting on the counter a little too long making the nori soggy. Seaweed surrounding a hand roll has a shelf-life of about 15 seconds. After that the dry seaweed crunch yields to wet sogginess.
Warm sliced octopus, mustard-cured cabbage, sea beans, lime, espelette aioli, buckwheat croquette: the octopus was sliced so thin that it melted on the buckwheat croquette. It developed a fatty texture not unlike lardo.
Puffed egg, Benton’s bacon dashi, kombu soaked in soy sauce, bagel stuffed with bacon-chive cream cheese: this was awful, the least enjoyable dish of the afternoon. It was kind of like a soft wet omelette dumped in a bowl of dashi. The fluffy egg began to disintegrate in the broth almost instantly, like the remnants of a breakfast buffet trolly.
Pea soup, housemade soft tofu, morels, bacon salt, radish sprouts: a very soft tofu sitting inside a thin broth of peas. Like the soggy puffed egg above, this was a mix of textures that I didn’t find appealing. The flavor of the pea soup was also bland.
Turbot poached in cherry blossom broth, hackleback caviar, hearts of palm, cucumber, lemongrass oil, swiss chard: a firm nugget of overcooked turbot served in strips that had been rolled before poaching. The fish was a bit under-salted despite the addition of hackleback caviar.
Cannelloni of rabbit leg & liver, rabbit bacon, fennel frond puree, minced fennel, pork cheek sauce: I liked how the licorice flavor from the fennel brought out the sweetness of the rabbit leg. However the pasta became spongy very quickly, perhaps from a second cooking in the fennel frond puree.
Shaved foie gras, lychee, pine nut brittle, riesling gelee: this was a brilliant dish, turning the foie gras into a creamy accompaniment that lasted as long as each bite on the plate. The frozen foie gras melted in my mouth like snow. The saltiness of the shaved liver with sweetness of the lychee swirled together in balance. This is a recipe I will certainly be trying at home, although the idea of shaving frozen foie gras gives me chills.
Long Island duck stuffed under the skin with vadouvan-spiced duck sausage, grilled rice & baby leeks, cassis & vadouvan sauce: this was excellent. The duck was uniformly soft and juicy crowned with a thin crispy layer of fat. The meat itself was somehow lean but not dry at all.
Manchester cheese from Consider Bardwell Farm, compressed pineapple, pistachio praliné, ground pistachio: the sweetness of the pineapple overwhelmed the delicate flavor of the cheese making the entire dish too sweet. I did like the crunch from the chunks of candied pistachio, but the cheese was almost an afterthought.
Parsnip ice cream, grapefruit, hazelnut nougat, fudge: the frozen nougat had an elastic texture that was both chewy and crunchy at once. It tasted like the grapefruit had been soaked in sugar water as it had no bitterness. Overall, a nice dessert.
Arnold Palmer sorbet, ice tea gelée, lemon cake crumble: A tart sorbet sitting atop a crunchy lemon cake. The ice tea gelée had a surprisingly crunchy texture as well.
My take-home gift was a small jar of pickled carrots and radish that made a surprisingly nice snack later that night.
Of all the Momofuku restaurants this is certainly the most refined, rife with bold and innovative flavors. A little tweaking of the menu could lift some of the roller coaster lows making the tasting even stronger. Based on food alone, this is probably the most interesting restaurant in the city right now. It sort of hurts to say that since the service and atmosphere is just terrible; but it’s the truth.
So while I probably won’t return, that doesn’t mean that Ko doesn’t warrant a first-time visit. Just leave your camera at home, and bring a lot of patience.
27 Comments
Hi Adam. A really interesting report about Ko — I wonder if you think establishments that are so unpleasant towards their clientele really deserve customers’ indulgence, regardless of the culinary skill of the chefs?
Hi Duncan –
You raise a really interesting point.
I think under no circumstance should a diner leave a restaurant less happy than when she walked in. Some meals can be enlightening: the introduction of a new technique, new combination of ingredients, new plating or preparation methods; but at the end of the day, a restaurant’s purpose is to satisfy diners. If the restaurant can’t do that, something is seriously wrong.
At Ko I tasted flavor combinations and textures I hadn’t experienced before, like frozen shaved foie gras, or fennel and rabbit. But between the general malaise and unwieldy no-photography policy, once was more than enough.
Innovative food alone can bastion a restaurant’s for only so long. Friendliness and a smile are what keep people coming back.
I don’t know if David Chang is genius or not,but arrogance and being unpleasant to their clients is a marketing strategy that will not work forever.. When i think of some of the best chefs in the world that i’ve met personally, they are also very nice and humble..
By the way, “frozen shaved foie gras” is not really new – i had it in Bo Innovation in Hong Kong one year ago.. http://www.luxeat.com/my_weblog/2009/02/bo-innovation-hong-kong.html (9th picture from the top)
Anyway, thanks for your courage noting all these dishes
I too visited Ko – I was not blown away. Some dishes were great, others (the dessert) were simply ill conceived, and overall – it just wasn’t worth the price or effort.
Adam,
My two experiences there were entirely different from each other. In the first, a lunch with a friend, we were in front of Sam Sifton who was happy to answer questions chat etc. I could also chat with my friend and the others around us. An excellent afternoon. The second was in the evening by myself in front of Peter Serpico who was surly. The diners on either side of me didn’t chat. The whole experience was a downer.
I’m surprised that you didn’t mention your beverages.
I wonder why he keeps using hackleback caviar when there are superior west coast caviars available.
Oops. Obviously I meant Sam Gelman, not Sam Sifton.
Thanks for such a complete post, you dont need photos every time. Service is arguably more important than the food; this is coming from a cook. I personally have no desire to eat at any Chang restaurant, and this article cemented my disdain: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/27/dining/27sfdine.html?scp=3&sq=wexlers&st=cse.
Keep up the good work!
@Luxeat: Your shaved foie gras dish looks wonderful. I completely agree with you — friendly chefs make good food. I have never met Chang personally, so I can only comment on his interviews and the trickle-down arrogance felt by his staff. I think part of the harsh rawness of the restaurant is a marketing strategy (heavily tattooed staff, loud rock music, informal bar seating); but I can’t say that these guys seem like nice people.
@uhockey: I’m still left with a mixed feeling after that meal. Some dishes were outstanding, others not so much; but everything was muted by an unnecessary blanket of awkwardness.
@Michael: I didn’t do the wine pairing so there wasn’t much to comment about the beverages. I think you’re right in that with such a small restaurant, the chef present has the responsibility to set the tone for communication and to open up diners. This is something that was really memorable about Urasawa. It’s amazing how far a laugh can go …
@Patrick: Thanks, Patrick! I was sitting there scribbling for most of the meal so the descriptions are pretty detailed; but a photo or two would have been appreciated
. Thanks for the link. I remember reading this article last year … made me feel a little queasy.
but Gene Hackman’s character would *not* let a script penetrate his democratic reservation system
i’d like to go some day but i’m not bothering w/ the hassle
@Chuck: Hah, this is true … I had the script try 1x / day at 10am … probably should have put it in a cron job. Want me to send it to you
?
Great post.
Ya know what, to be famous and have a lot of buzz, one needs to follow Lady gaga’s strategy, i.e. being different, OTT and OTT! Obviously the marketing strategy works for Momofuku now.
I have heard so much about the restaurant over the net, lots of raves mainly. Hopefully one day I can come over and taste it for myself.
Thanks, Anh. I’m still not convinced it’s a marketing strategy. I think a lot of the poor service stems from simple apathy and a general feeling that diners are lucky to be given the opportunity to eat there. Lots of arrogance.
The front of house staff also didn’t seem to take much pride in their work. Questions about wine pairings resulted in curt non-descriptive answers that weren’t helpful.
The chefs seemed to take tremendous pride, they just didn’t communicate it in a friendly way from what I saw.
Hopefully by the time you go the service issues will be resolved so you don’t have to deal with them.
Reservation just on their website, Wow that’s different..I’m trying to find the reason behind this though. Regardless, that sounded like a successful meal.
PS: This is an off note, not related to food: Since you use Python, are you into Unix? Just asking because aside of food, Unix is my longtime biggest passion. Thanks for Sharing.
@S Lloyd — Yeah it’s kind of interesting. Maybe they’re trying to skirt the transaction costs of using Opentable. Really not sure.
I am into unix … I am typing from my Ubuntu 9.10 machine as we speak
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I haven’t eaten at Momofuku Ko but I have cooked David Chang’s Brussels sprouts (with bacon and Sririacha) before and it was amazing.
*Sriracha
I think for a guy who was made famous by slow cooked pork should pay a little more homage to the fatty goodnes. Bacon Dashi is the only pork on the menu? When I was there, they had the English muffin soaked in pork fat, pork crackling, and I think a piece of pork belly. They also had to slow cooked shortrib. This menu looks more fish oriented then David chang should be.
On another note, I see in this months playboy they have an article on Martin Picard of A Pied De Cachon in Montreal and was wondering Adam, if you have ever been there. If you have not been, you should book a flight immediately and go check it out. It is one of the worlds top restraunts and a mecca of Fio Gras and anything fatty,
@zach, i’ve often found that Chang’s fish dishes @ Ssam are his best – i’d prefer them over most of his pork any day. but, then, we have very different opinions on food b/c i thought APC was lackluster at best.
@adam, sure, send it over
Thanks Adam for the details and description. I think that the attitude of the staff is unacceptable. What is the meaning of proposing a concept with an open kitchen, if the Chefs are moody and not pleasant, smiling to the customers !
Food is not all.
@Franck: I agree. What’s upsetting is that this could be such a positive and overall outstanding place if they could just get their attitude and hospitality right.
It took about a month of constant watching and refreshing before we finally got a reservation last fall. I think all the virtual hoops that you have to go through to get a reservation sets the tone for how you approach and view the meal. At least this was the case for me. A meal at Ko was something so special and unique and near unattainable that, by the time I walked through the door, I already felt grateful and indebted. I had brought a notebook to take notes but was too intimidated to take it out. I wasn’t subject to any sneering and I wouldn’t say the service that we received was poor by any means. They did repeat and explain a few things about the dishes when asked. The timing of the preparation and service of each dish was perfect and it was fun to see everything being prepared in the kitchen right in front of you. I think this was probably the highlight of the Ko experience for me. But, throughout the entire meal, I was never comfortable. I was at Ko, not at dinner. My partner and I didn’t really converse. There is something hushed and quiet about this little restaurant that can be a bit stifling. There was nothing wrong or unpleasant with my experience and I enjoyed pretty much everything that was placed in front of me but I can’t say that I’d ever go back. I couldn’t put my finger on it until Adam’s post. Without that certain warmth and aspect of invitation and welcome, there is little to make you return for a second visit. It makes me a little sad to think how much better the experience could’ve been. All these aspects to the Ko experience seem to belie what Chang says and tells you that what you are about to eat is anything but “just food.”
Still want to try fried chicken at Noodle Bar, though.
Totally Adam, I have to tell that I was once at the noodle bar, and had a bad experience with the chef, when I saw him preparing a dish which looked so fancy, I asked what it was and If I could get an order of it. He answered straight : ‘maybe’! and then never prepared it. I was so surprised. The food was really great, my ramen as good as in Tokyo. But the attitude far from the Japanese style ! FYI, I’m a chef restaurant owner in Shanghai and I think that David Chang should take this with a lot of concern.
I’m surprised that everybody here has found service at the Momofuku restaurants to be uniformly bad. Of the many times I’ve eaten at them (twice at Ko, countless times at Noodle Bar and Ssäm), I’ve only had two times when I was at all upset with the service. For the most part, I think the cooks and waitstaff have all been friendly, helpful when discussing the menu and attentive. And the lunch at Ko paired with excellent service, friendly chefs and music I liked made for one of the single greatest dining experiences of my life.
hi adam, really enjoy reading your posts! couldn’t help notice the shaved foie gras part. like luxeat said, this is not unique – here’s a link to a dish i had in steirereck, the 2 star restaurant in vienna. fozen foie gras shaved over smoked saibling (fish from the alps) and a little warm potato salad on top. amazing.
sorry the text is in hungarian, but the pic is fifth from top
http://foodpolice.blogspot.com/2009/12/osztrak-csillagok-haboruja-ii.html
Hi Adam. Thanks for posting a very detailed review of the dishes. This looks like a menu that I had at Ko last year (maybe spring 2009?) since I remember the rabbit dish. I’ve had lunch and dinner at Ko many times, and have always found the service to be very friendly and attentive. I find the chefs very informative and knowledgeable. I would prefer the chefs to cook, and not “kibitz” with me. I, too, take notes when I dine alone, and have never experienced any kind of negative reaction from the staff. I had dinner at Ko last week, and a woman tried to take a photo. One of the chefs politely stopped her, and explained that since we’re all sitting at a bar, the flash would probably annoy the other diners. She asked about “no flash” photos. The chef politely explained that the restaurant has adopted a no photo policy without distinguishing flash/no flash photos. Since I was sitting next to the woman, I told her that I would definitely be annoyed to have a flash in my face. I find the food at Ko to be among the most creative. I try to space out my lunches/dinners to try the new dishes that the chefs are always adding to the menu. However, last year I loved the dinner menu so much, I dined at Ko three weeks in a row! Thanks again for all of your detail.
Wow, you really took a lot of effort to note down every single dish. Learnt about Momofuku Ko from watching Masterchef Aus. I really dislike restaurants with bad service. BTW, do you ever feel slightly embarrassed taking photos of every single dish? I do feel that way sometimes especially when I am dining with a group of people or when at a more high-end establishment…
Hi Adam, I just came across your website. I was at Ko last year and had the most horrible treatment ever. I had many bad meals in my life, but this is the only one that I actually regret of having it. I wrote a 2-page letter to the PR team pointing out the service issues. The PR team said they did send it to David but he probably won’t care anyway. I received no reply after 9 months! Also, I did had a similar frozen shaved foie gras dish at the 3* Vendome in Germany years ago.
Here is my experience at Ko FYI:
http://www.finediningexplorer.com/NYC/momofukuko.php
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