Monday, February 26, 2018

Morimoto - Las Vegas

So, ended up at Las Vegas earlier than my friend...
In that case, what does one do by oneself?
Go eat some good food, of course!
Been dying to go back to Morimoto.
Haven't been there since New York's experience.
Needless to say, I was dying to go back and have some yummy goodness.... Omasake style!
1st Course: Tuna Tartare the six little sides are: soy jam, wasabi, mayo, chives, avocado, boba crisp.  What you do is that they have a mini scraper, you cut some tuna, dip it in one of the sides or mix it up, then dip it into the mini cup of soy sauce.  In the front, is a warm mini toast with caviar.  

I will say the tuna was a tad fishy.  The boba crisp was one of my favorite.  I'm not typically a mayo fan, but it was delicious.
2nd Course: Wagyu Beef carpaccio.  It has ginger hot oil splash over bed of sprouts.  The lovely thing is that the beef was lightly seared, but the soy has a mix of yuzu in it.  According to one of the chefs, they have a mix of yuzu and soy sauce a 60/40 mix.  It's super refreshing and not too oily, not even the hot oil splash.  Totally love it.
3rd Course: open faced crab leg.  It is baked, hot mayo mixed with tobiko.  It's actually pretty messy to eat.  But it was good.  You do have to work for it to get out it of the thin leg, but it's good once you got it out.  The upper right corner is a mango slaw, amazingly, it's pretty good on its own.
4th Course, sushi sampler.  We have Toro, Yellowtail, Mackerel, Uni, Madai, Tuna/Tamago Roll.  

The toro was so good that it melts in your mouth.  That's how high quality fish taste like.  The uni (sea urchin) was not fishy or slimy at all - kids, that's how uni is supposed to be - nice and smooth.  Then the mackerel was a surprise, it was a bit floral.  I have never had any mackerel like it.  Lastly, is the roll, it's super pretty and just beautiful work of art.  It's tuna and egg as the checkers, so cool, like a stain glass window.
5th Course is Surf & Turf - NY Strip and lobster.  While I'm started to get full, the strip was very delicious.  The lobster isn't bad at all, but the beef I can't stop eating.  It was so nicely done on the sides and the beef, though cooked medium, wasn't super chewy.  The lobster is already done well, so no complaint from me.
6th and last course: dessert.  It is the Fiery Chocolate Tart.  It came with a pour of flaming alcohol - spiced rum.
After they melted the sphere, it looks like this.
But once you cut it open, it's marshmallow on top and dark chocolate mousse at the bottom.  The light brown ball is the salted ganache.  The white bit is cream, not ice cream, but it does help balance all those chocolate out.
Even the coffee dish it came with was unique.
Can't miss the Morimoto art piece, he's smiling at ya!  In case you've been under a rock.  Chef Morimoto was one of the original Iron Chef, the Japan version, then expanded to the US version.  Of course, their good quality is good can't hurt either.

So, here's the thing about coming here.  As soon as you know you're coming, you need to book a reservation.  The bar opens at 4:30p and you can wiggle your way in that way.  The main restaurant part doesn't open until 5pm for dinner service only.  That said, they do get packed even with a spacious store front.  What one of the hotel concierge told me was that if I show up right at the open, sushi bar is open for seating.  That's their allotment for walk-ins in the event the reservation is busy with reservations that night.  Of course, going by myself helped, it's easier to grab a seat.  

I was seated at the end of the sushi bar, and the door to the kitchen.  So, you do get to see the actions. All of the staff saw that I was by myself and every one went out of their way to check in on me.  From the head sushi chef, to the runners, to the head waiter, to the manager.  Everyone stopped by.  I felt special!

Morimoto - Las Vegas
MGM Grand
3799 Las Vegas Blvd S
Las Vegas, NV 89119
702-891-3001
https://www.mgmgrand.com/en/restaurants/morimoto.html
http://ironchefmorimoto.com/Restaurant/morimoto-las-vegas/

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