Ahh...it's that time of the year again when I'm happy and sad at the same time. Happy because I get to be showered with prezzies and good food. Sad because I am yet, another year older *weeps*.
I have been dying to try the renowned Momofuku Seiobo which is the first and only restaurant by David Chang outside of NY but it came with an exxy price tag of $175pp. Ouch! Hey, it's my birthday! We can let it slide this time, ok? Ok. :D
The tasting menu consists of a whopping 15 courses. I starved myself for the entire day to fit everything in and even then, I was on the verge of throwing up.
Sous Chef Chase Lovecky
Sake: Kameman Shuzo, ‘Genmaishu,’ Junmai Genmai-zake (Kumamoto) $125/bottle
No celebration is complete without alcohol! At least not mine! We had a bottle of sweet sake made from brown rice which is very rare as they usually make it from white rice.
Snacks - Dehyrated Shiitake Chip, Deep Fried Nori, Mochi Ball
The first course is a share platter amongst two. The shiitake chip had a very nice fungi aroma and was paper thin and crisp. The mochi ball was gummy and tasted similar to Korean rice cakes.
Steamed Pork Bun - Pork Belly, Cucumber, Hoisin
The infamous pork bun that everyone is talking about. The pork bun came with a little bottle of Sriracha sauce if you like it a bit more spicy. The bun was super soft and fluffy. Twitterverse said it tasted like a 'baby' ROFL! Sounds a bit gory but I think that analogy works.
Kingfish - Warrigal Greens, Furikake
A clean and tasty dish with fresh kingfish, warrigal greens stem and coulis then sprinkled with furikake.
White Asparagus - Marron, Szechuan Pepper
One of my favourite dish of the night. The marron was so tender that it almost melted in my mouth. The lightly pan fried marron went perfectly well with the earthy flavours of the caramelised spring onions and white asparagus.
Beef - Radish, Fermented Black Bean
My initial thought was "Oh! A radish salad" but how wrong could I be. Hidden underneath the radish flower arrangement were cubes of charred wagyu beef in a puddle of burnt watermelon oil and fermented black bean. As strange as the dish sounds, it was delicious.
Hidden Goodies!
Eel Dashi - Hailstone Radish, Chive Blossom
Eel Dashi - Eel with Apple Gel and Apple Powder
This came with the eel dashi and looked like a little cannoli. The eel acted like the pasty shell and held the apple gel inside. The dish was a combination of salty and sweet and it tasted a bit weird on its own. When mixed with the eel dashi, it had a nice balance of salty, smokey eel flavour with a hint of apple coming through.
Spanner and Swimmer Crab - Butter, Pepper, Biscuit
I really liked the juicy, fresh spanner crab but the sauce was a little too salty for my liking. Unfortunately, my brother found a long piece of crab shell in his dish and the person responsible got told off which I felt a bit bad for. The crab Yorkshire pudding on the other hand, was perfect and soft.
Egg - Toasted Rice, Brown Butter
The egg pudding reminded me of the steamed egg custard my mum used to make when I was little. This was slightly different however, as it was coupled with melted brown butter instead of soy sauce. The toasted rice brought out different textures to make the dish more interesting.
Hand Torn Pasta - Goat Cheese, Chilli, Mint
Another dish that brings back memories! This time, the hand torn pasta made me think of wonton skins :P The little dish had many elements; hand torn pasta on the bottom, melted goat cheese, pickled tomatoes, fresh chopped chilli and topped with deep fried basil. A very Italian inspired dish and tasted divine!
Pink Snapper - Broccoli, Horseradish, Potato
I have to say this is the best snapper I've ever had! I normally don't like 'Western style' cooked fish because I found it dry and flavourless but this is totally the opposite. The snapper literally fell apart with a jab of the fork and packed with flavour. It is sided with grilled broccoli, broccoli puree and topped with potato crumble.
Lamb Neck - Daikon, Pickled Turnips
After just learning about the lamb neck during a Lamb Masterclass at the Eat Drink Blog Food Blogger Conference 2011, I appreciated this dish a little more.
The lamb neck came out prettily pink and tender. On the side, it had a daikon puree and pickled turnips. If you have been reading my blog long enough, you should know I love pickled stuff and this turnip is pickled alright! It was sweet and sour; just the way I like it.
Pecorino - Honey Licorice, Bee Pollen
Shaved Percorino cheese with hidden honey licorice on the bottom and topped with bee pollen! The elements in the dessert are meant to be mixed together. I had issues with the licorice department but the honey flavours helped a lot. I really enjoyed the bee pollen and it wasn't 'waxy' as I initially thought it would be.
Wattle Seed - Malt, Crispy Skin
The most amazing dish of the night! It had the wattle seed in two forms: one is a wattle seed meringue which was soft and chewy and the other was dehydrated making it hard and crunchy. The malt icecream was next and finally topped with...get this, crispy milk skin! I have no idea how they made it but omg it was just awesome.
Miso - Pickled Strawberry, Toasted Rice, Mochi
White miso icecream with toasted rice, mochi cubes and pickled fruit. The idea of miso icecream was interesting but sadly didn't wow us at the table. Both the miso icecream and toasted rice was salty and the fruits was not sweet enough to balance out the flavour.
Petite Four
A slow roasted candied pork shoulder was presented to our table. Petite four. Er...WTF? THIS is a petite four? It sure looks like a main to me but you can never expect the ordinary from David Chang.
Four rolls of hot towels came along with this 'petite four' indicating it was meant to be eaten with our hands. The hot and steaming pork was crazily succulent, tender and sweet as all the flavours has been infused into the meat. The skin was perfectly caramelised with the fat layer underneath had oil trickling off my hand. It was definitely the most interesting, most filling, most artery clogging and biggest petite four I've had!
Momofuku Seiobo
Location: Ground Floor, The Star, 80 pyrmont Street, Pyrmont NSW 2009
Opening Hours: Mon - Sat Dinner Only
Website: http://www.momofuku.com/restaurants/seiobo/
Cadbury's New 'Real Chocolate' Baking Range
Fill moulds to 2/3 full
This is like...insanely delicious! 
Tada!
Add strawberries and icing sugar to decorate if you wish. 
Vanilla Panna Cotta with Macerated Strawberries and Strawberry Coulis
Jiggly Panna Cotta