Morimoto - The Best Meal I've Ever Had

In February of 2007, my wife Reena and I went to Morimoto's Restaurant in New York with Reena's Uncle R.K. and Maria. The restaurant itself had very modern decor, which was highlighted by a wall of water bottles. But the appearance of a restaurant is far less important than the food.

In my mind, Morimoto is the best restaurant that I have been too. It starts with the appetizers. We ordered two different appetizers, which we shared. The first was a steamed scallop. I was hesitant to try the scallop. From the description it sounded like a very bland and rather unappetizing starter, but nothing could be farther from the truth. The appetizer is four individual scallops, drizzled in a Chinese glaze and served with scallions. Each scallop is steamed to perfection so that it melts in your mouth as you eat it. I am not a huge fan of scallops in general, but I would eat these scallops again in a heart beat. The second appetizer that we ordered was the crispy rock shrimp tempura. Once again Morimoto had cooked up a masterpiece. The shrimp were fried in a tempura batter made with sparkling water. The tempura was crispy, but very light, and the shrimp were coated in a tangy sauce that had a little bit of a kick to it. The shrimp were good enough to eat on their own, but to highlight the dish even more, there was a side of wasabi aioli.

For the main course I ordered the Duck Duck Duck. It was a dish with three parts, a duck egg, a croissant with a foie gras spread and some roast duck. The foie gras croissant was the best part. It was flaky and had the foie gras spread was a wonderful match with the bread.

Reena ordered sushi, which she orders as often as she can, for her main course, and still says that this was the best she's ever had.

The only negative about this restaurant was that the drinks were not that spectacular. Each of us ordered something different and while none of the drinks were bad, none of them were ery memorable.

If you are able to go to Morimoto in New York I would highly recommend it. Be sure to order the appetizers and instead of ordering drinks get an extra order of steamed scallops, you won't regret it.