Momofuku Ko — Restaurant in New York

Upon arriving to the restaurant, there was a bum outside the alley smoking weed, back in California it's understandable since its legalized to smoke weed in public, i didnt know NYC has passed that law too? So i walked in to the restaurant trying to see if i am lucky enough to hit the gap and be served without a reservation. To do this, i had to approach the server manually to request (i thought even the cheapest Chinese restaurant in town had a proactive front desk clerk to at least greet the customer upon entering, yea right, never in NYC). And i was told i can dine in even without a reservation, but i WAS NOT informed of the 2ndary service choice. The 2ndary service is where i can dine in for their "interning Chef" menu, without prior reservation. Apparently, i was very lucky in prior experiences of walking-in to GaryDynkos, French Laundry, Jean Georges, Le Bernardinz, Alinea, and multiple Michelin 3 stars and got their "Main Menu" bon appetit, without reservations (obviously they did not have a 2ndary service). And there i was, sitting in their anterior serving room like an idiot hoping that my dinner would be so satisfing which i wouldnt need to eat a 2nd dinner later. Then here comes my orders in detail: Scallops with pineapple and shizo: obviously these were not labeled Hokkaido scallops, so i did not anticipate that it would taste like one. The scallops were quite sweet, honestly speaking, but just lacked the freshness a Sashimi plate should pronounce . Even if it has, it would be covered by the heavy flavor of Spicy-Oil. Supposedly, a fresh, full bodied scallop in sashimi style is best with shizo and tiny bit of sauce. Now it just lost its meaning because of the addition of the oil. I had a feeling like eating Dragon Rolls in Japan (for many years that i have lived there, i have never encountered a good sushi restaurant that serves rolls... since restaurants that served rolls are to decoy the freshness of the fish). 3/5 scores i would give. Sawagani Crabs: omg i thought i just ate rocks! I am sorry, i am very used to eating sawagani crabs growing up, we have them in tiny pocket size servings as snacks in Asia.... and these are NOT the same lol.... hmmmm, maybe they skip the process of soaking it in Acetic Acid prior to deep frying? Lol.... 1/5 scores i would give. Spot Prawns: this dish is the best of tonight's participants. But same as i have mentioned with the scallops, the sauce totally covers the freshness of the shrimp sashimi.... although the shrimp heads were perfectly fried, which I enjoyed lol..... 3/5 scores. Fried chicken: first of all, i dont like the presentation, it looks like fried rocks... 2ndly, the idea of cold fried chicken from the south has not been the best spot light even in good fried chicken restaurants in the south lol... i am pretty sure that even a fried chicken fanatic would still prefer a good piece of fresh fried chicken.... i would be surprise that Ad Hoc or Willie Mae would have this on their menu... not even a Nice Try at least... 0/5 scores. 45 days dryage striploin: very very mediocre piece of meat, up to this point I already lost all the interests in continuing the course, i just wished to move on to my 2nd dinner for the night... 1/5 scores for having it charcoal grilled. Pork Pie with Foie Gras: i like the presentation of this one, and it actually tastes pretty good (outer layer only). Inside is just like eating uncleaned pig intestines..... and there were no chase of foie gras to be found. 1/5 scores for making it presentable and fluffy.

I also ordered the japanese cheesecake, but since i am very disappointed already, I cancelled the order. I doubt it that they can make a good Nama Cheesecake anyways.

So, the major disappointment came from finding out about the Prime Reserve Service, and the 2ndary for which i had. They should have told the customer upon entering. $200 for this meal is certainly not...

I know some people who get put off by the idea of going into fancy restaurants. Why pay so much when you can have something from the dollar menu?

However, to me, I'm not paying for the food alone when I go to these kinds of restaurants. I am also paying for the experience and expertise of those who took the time to choose/grow/prepare the ingredients, perfect the recipé, cook the food, plate it, then serve it.

In one way, shape, or form, we all consume something that we're ready to spend money on. There are differences between seeing a movie at home and the theater. There are differences between listening to music and watching the artist perform it live. There are differences between buying a mass produced print and commissioning an art piece. Food is no different. There's food as sustenance, and food as art. #itscalledculinaryARTSforareason

We usually celebrate birthdays and anniversaries at dinner so the ambience and lighting for this meal was different from what we usually experience. The whole experience felt oddly comforting, almost like being at home.

The rock and alternative playlist playing in the background allowed us to settle in pretty easily. Which is why I have no photos of the place--- photos wouldn't do it justice anyway.

The sleek, modernist interior peppered with warm and personal touches like a Hulk Hogan toy and a framed illustration of a dog made the restaurant's interior feel like we were at our own place--- it was intimate, and we slipped into a conversation right away.

And the food, though creatively executed and certainly not something we can prepare at home, all felt familiar and casual. Maybe it helped that the chefs were on the younger side and more relatable too. Maybe it's just me, but I find some places unfriendly to younger guests like us. There's a stiffness to other Michelin star restaurants that takes away from the experience and I'm glad I didn't have to be /that/ self-conscious at Momofuku.

My babbling aside, here's what we had:

Pomme Soufflée

Lobster Paloise

Chicken Oyster

Black Bass - Consommé, finger chili

Sea Urchin - Chickpea hozon, olive oil

Ko Egg - White Sturgeon caviar

Beef - Au poivre

Dungeness Crab - Brown rice, bourbon

Skate - Potato, black truffle

10-11. Duck - cabbage and blood orange

12-13. Foie gras - lychee, pine nut, and riesling

Wild rice - kombu

Chocolate - mint, fernet branca

I ended my meal with a cup of coffee. My boyfriend ended his with a matcha roll birthday cake~

For our souvenir, we got more dessert: the Ko...

I feel very conflicted about leaving a critical review of a restaurant as respected as Momofuku Ko, but it's the only honest review I can give.

It's not that the chefs aren't immensely talented, or that they aren't giving it their all; they are, and they are. But somehow the menu creativity has gotten out of control. While some of the courses I was served were lovely—the mandarin tarte tatin with shaved comté that finished the evening made my heart sing, and the lobster paloise amuse bouche delighted—others were simply puzzling.

Things started looking down with the razor clams in pineapple juice. That combination worked, but the basil oil and seeds did not play well with the pineapple. Next came an exquisite piece of halibut that would impress the masters at Le Bernardin, served on a bed of... just plain soybeans. Am I missing something? How are these mealy, bland grains meant to complement such a soft, savory piece of fish? The dish would be improved by simply removing them. Pay attention to East Asian cuisines: plain soybeans are a bar snack at best, meant to tide you over until the meal arrives. You don't add them unadorned to a main course.

Finally I feasted on what may be the the best piece of lamb I have ever seen. Served alongside it: an overpoached artichoke, lacking the toothsomeness for which we eat artichokes in the first place. Oh, and there were slices of raw celery—not even celeriac, just celery—on top for some reason.

After those mildly disappointing encounters came the only disaster of the evening: lychee riesling jelly tarts with frozen foie gras shavings. Foie gras: excellent. Lychee: excellent. Riesling: drinkable enough. All three together: so unpalatable that neither my significant other nor I wanted any more than one bite.

Service was attentive, but there was a distinct lack of attention to detail that frustrated my attempt to enjoy my visit. Our waiter somehow translated "I don't want wine until the first course" into "please choose wine for us and bring it minutes beforehand"; although I do admit the wine we were brought was excellent. The eclectic playlist was played loudly enough that I struggled to hear my significant other; I had to ask for it to be turned down. As it happens we were seated directly underneath one of the loudspeakers, but still, these kinds of things shouldn't happen at a restaurant of such repute.

Toward the end of the evening, our waiter asked if we would like anything else à la carte. Perhaps revealingly,...