Our two-week holiday in Hawaii culminated with a stellar dinner at Morimoto. The restaurant was conveniently housed in The Modern, which is where we were staying for the last four nights in Honolulu. (PS. Seriously awesome hotel. More on that in an upcoming post about more general Honolulu tips)

Our dinner is off to an awesome start with a bowl of foie gras chawanmushi. Atop the silky smooth custard is a tender piece of duck breast and some sweet, sweet dashi soy. A dot of wasabi inconspicuously sits on the side. This is freakin’ delicious, people. It’s delicate, but full of that amazing foie gras flavor.

Next up is the yose dofu, which is tofu prepared tableside. A big bowl of hot soy milk is placed on our table, mixed with nigari flakes, and then it sits there. We’re took that we’re not allowed to peek inside. It’s not as theatrical as we thought it would be, but it’s still interesting to see that it has turned into a soft tofu a few minutes later. We can then add kimchi sauce, dashi broth, ginger, spring onions or bonito flakes. I’m liking the level of control you have in this dish.

We also get the spicy tuna roll and the tamago – both are nice, but not stand-outs. Meanwhile, the whole fried fish is definitely a standout. It’s served deboned, which I’ve never really experienced before. The spicy tofu sauce and pickled papaya salad makes it super tasty. We get the house polished rice to go with the fish. And even though I chuckle to myself at the fact that they’re house polished, the rice granules are tiny as a result! We also get the baby bok choy so there are some token greens, and they turn out to be very buttery.

For dessert we get the milk chocolate cremeux, peanut dragee, salted peanut ice cream, and a peanutty powder that liquefies in your mouth. The creamy chocolate mousse has a richer chocolate filling and is then dusted with dark chocolate. I actually prefer the black sesame cake with strawberries, white chocolate ganache, and black sesame ice cream. They’re all flavors I love, so it’s the perfect ending for me.

Golden rule in Hawaii: bring your ID everywhere. I didn’t bring it to Moritomo, and it was lucky that we stayed just a few floors up, so I could grab it to order cocktails.

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Morimoto
The Modern Honolulu
1775 Ala Moana Blvd, Honolulu, Hawaii