Eggs Benedict
by Celia Cheng
July 12th, 2005
ASIATE
80 Columbus Circle
@ 60th St
212-805-8881
map
On the 35th floor of the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Asiate offers a great view of Central Park and Manhattan’s cityscape. Unfortunately, the food is not as stunning as the view. Brunch is a $48 prix fixe menu that includes a starter tasting bento box, then a choice of two main entrées, followed by a dessert sampler.
Asiate serves a fusion of French and Japanese inspired cuisine and while chef Nori Sugie* has trained with some of the top chefs in the world, including my all time favorite, Tetsuya Wakuda (chef/owner of Tetsuya’s in Sydney, Australia), the meal I ate today was rather disappointing. The concept of offering a variety of different foods is wonderful, but the fusion of East meets West fails here because the balance is not met and ultimately it is quantity that wins over delicacy. The Japanese are masters at offering a little taste of everything, just enough so that you can savor what you are eating. At Asiate, the portion sizes are too large to be considered delicate, and the food itself just isn’t.
I came to Asiate to try the eggs benedict, which was entirely unspectacular. The toasted white bread on which the poached egg and ham were served was the wrong texture, as it was too fluffy. Even the truffle salsa on the eggs benedict couldn’t save the dish. The raspberry sorbet palate cleanser that came between the starter tasting bento box and main entrées was oddly textured and way too sweet to be a cleanser. Dessert was also nothing to write home about, so I won’t. The only thing I recall that I liked was the lobster tempura that was part of the starter sampler. The tempura batter was crisp and not overly greasy and the lobster tender.
For a Mandarin Oriental Hotel restaurant, the price of the meal is not considered outrageous, but I would rather they reduce the variety by two or three items and instead increase the quality of the menu so that Asiate can actually be the restaurant it purports to be and not just a “hotel restaurant.”
- Nori Sugie was not the chef for brunch today
Posted in Asian , Brunch , UWS
Berkshire Pork Steamed Buns
by Celia Cheng
March 26th, 2005
MOMOFUKU
171 First Ave
(10th & 11th St)
212-777-7773
This was my fourth visit to Momofuku, and there must be a reason why I keep coming back, but each time I leave not quite satisfied. I think I just really like the concept of steamed buns with pork and chicken and egg over rice, but the dishes lack flavor at Momofuku.
The other issue is that there is always a wait. So the concept of a neighborhood noodle bar is great, the concept behind the menu is great, overall the concept is great, but the execution is lacking. Too many people, too long a wait both standing and sitting, and not enough taste to really get my appetite going.
The steamed buns are pretty good, as the Berkshire pork is fatty and the sliced cucumber gave it a little crunch, but again, there isn’t enough kick in it to make it truly memorable. The signature poached egg is added in most noodle and rice dishes, but despite its novelty, it doesn’t add much flavor to the dishes. I leave craving steamed buns and chicken and egg, but not from Momofuku, and wonder where I can find a place that will satiate this craving.
Posted in Asian , East Village
