Morimoto Waikiki

Best for: Modern Japanese, Dessert, A peaceful meal in Waikiki
Location: The Modern Honolulu
Foodgasmic dish: Black cod, Tofu cheesecake, Traditional breakfast

The most beautiful restaurant in Honolulu?

Breakfast, lunch, and dessert have now been taken care of - dinner is the only meal left to try. Morimoto is, hands down, my favorite lunch place in Hawaii. Ironically, lunch time is when my expert friends advise me not to go, probably because the menu is much more limited and the lunch crowd is somewhat boring compared to the lively dinner crowd. However, I happen to enjoy the peace and quiet of this beautiful restaurant -- perhaps the most beautiful restaurant in Hawaii? -- and continue to bring out-of-town guests here for a $40 lunch that's worth every penny.



For those of you who do not watch the Food Network obsessively, this restaurant is owned by Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto. Ah yes, that explains why the dishes are (relatively) innovative and absolutely delicious. People have their own opinions about this whole celebrity chef phase which America seems to be going through, but I happen to approve, despite Anthony Bourdain's deep criticisms of it. Come on, people, it means more restaurants, more cooking shows, more food, which are always good things! By the way, I think Mario Batali should open a restaurant in Hawaii too. Please?

During lunch, I always order the iced tea. In my pre-Morimoto life, I was never a fan of iced tea. I thought it was a disgrace to Chinese oolong and Indian chai. However, I reluctantly copied Michelle's order of iced tea when I first dined at Morimoto and now can't digest a lunch set without it. Must be the fancy pitcher and the addition of the perfect amount of agave syrup.

Iced tea: $7

The lunch sets are the best deal. For a mere $22, each lunch set comes with miso soup, 3 pieces of maki sushi, 2 pieces of nigiri sushi, and salad. So far, the black cod is my favorite. Braised black cod in ginger-soy reduction, pickled bell peppers, and budo mame - all laid on top of congee (rice soup). I get hungry just thinking about this. The angry chicken and pork belly are also good.

Black cod lunch set: $22

Pork belly lunch set: $22

I always end lunch with dessert, of course. For my birthday, a group of us came to Morimoto for dessert on Friday night. The atmosphere is completely different, and it's easy to see why this place is considered one of the hot spots in Hawaii. The six of us were taken through the vibrant dining room and seated at a large circular table. The dessert menu during dinnertime is slightly larger, but we ended up ordering two orders of three dishes because apparently we were all in a chocolate mood that day. Quite fitting, considering it was my birthday.



My friend who happened to be working that night served us an adorable pink bottle of sake. Best sake I've had - she knows me too well! As for desserts, the tofu cheesecake is still my favorite. It sounds kind of disgusting, but, in fact, tofu cheesecake just tastes light and airy, and is served with molasses ice cream, kuromitsu (Japanese black honey), kinako (roasted soybean powder), and adzuki (azuki bean). The flavors and textures work together marvelously.

Tofu cheesecake: $12

Peanut butter fondant: $12

A few days ago, I finally tried Morimoto for breakfast, and it's now my favorite time to come. Chloe and I were seated outside (my first time outside!) and ordered the yose dofu and traditional breakfast. The yose dofu (house made warm tofu) comes with grilled miso cod, kim chee sauce, dashi broth, pickled vegetables, and onsen tamago. You spoon the desired amount of kim chee sauce and dashi broth onto the large pot of tofu.



The traditional breakfast comes with grilled miso cod, sashimi, miso soup, pickled vegetables, onsen tamago, rice, and tsukemono. Delicious! I was glad to see that both dishes came with the miso cod; Morimoto knows what people like.

Yose dofu ($29)

Traditional breakfast ($30)

I'll be dragging someone to breakfast with me again soon because I kind of want to try his ume shiso mary. I've never been a fan of bloody marys, but this one, made with muddled shiso and ume, and served with a wasabi-salt rim (wasabi-salt!! omg), sounds absolutley tantalizing.