Morimoto Waikiki

As many of you know, I am a line cook at Morimoto Waikiki here in Hawaii. I have been loving my job and have been learning so much about Japanese cuisine and general cooking techniques. I recently moved up in the kitchen and have been working some grill shifts in addition to my usual garde manger shifts. It is such a great experience and I think it will play a large role in my future in the culinary world.

Morimoto is a very high-end restaurant, with their ribeye steak going for $85 (and that is just for the steak!). It is considered a “high-volume fine dining” restaurant thought, which means that we have fine dining cuisine, but push out large numbers, unlike many fine dining restaurants. For Valentine’s day we had a special $140 Omakase menu which I can’t believe I have not shared this with you yet. Our Omakase is a price fixe 7-course menu that we changed for the week of Valentine’s Day. Here is a look inside the menu. For those of you who are planning a getaway to O’ahu in the near future, keep Morimoto on your list of restaurants to try!

Each night we have lineup, where Chef Jevic talks about our reservations for the night and gives us some inspiration.

The first course was Kumamoto Oysters with a Calamansi sake granita and micro cilantro.

The second course was a Kona Kampachi Sashimi with caper berries, currant tomatoes, ginger and mistuba.

The third course, which came of the station I was working, was a roasted beet and black fig salad with Jamon Iberico, Big Island goat cheese, macadamia honey, petite Nalo Farms micro greens and an olive oil powder. The roasted fig was marinated in honey and had the perfect sweetness. The olive oil powder was a cool way to show off a little molecular gastronomy; it dissolved into the oil as it touched your tongue, very cool.

The fourth course was a local catch of the day with pea sprouts and a saffron dashi.

The fifth course was a sea urchin “Carbonara” made with Udon noodles, edamame, scallions, lemon zest, wild board bacon, quail egg and nori. I got to try this dish as well and I was in LOVE. The udon noodles gave the dish a different texture than your usual carbonara, but I think it made it better! Rich, decadent and perfect for Valentine’s Day.

The sixth course was the Morimoto Sushi, which was the Sushi Chef’s selection of sushi.

The seventh course was a surf and turf with an Australian Wagyu filet, Alaskan king crab, asparagus and béarnaise sauce. This was another dish that I was able to try and loved. Who doesn’t love steak, crab and BÉARNAISE sauce!?

Hope you enjoyed seeing a bit about my work! Stay tuned for more updates!

1 Year Ago: Chorizo, Poblano & Beef Tacos w/ Pepper Jack Cheese Sauce

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