Morimoto's in Honolulu

To optimize this fine dining experience, one should begin by taking a seat on a teakwood recliner under the Autograph Trees around the pool and sip their favorite cocktail.  It is a very relaxing way to begin this evening of culinary adventure.  Just before dinner time the pool is empty of guests, except for the few who will be joining you for this late afternoon extravagance.  If the timing is right, you may watch the sun set between the palm trees and the masts of the sailboats in the marina just below.  Me?  I was fortunate enough to have good timing.  As I sipped my very smooth single malt scotch the sun slipped into the ocean.

Now that I was totally relaxed I casted that aside to enter the very vibrant, modern world of Morimoto's.  A very friendly greeting topped by a warm smile smoothed my transition from my mellow state to this place of high activity.  I elected to sit at the sushi bar so that I could observe the kitchen's wizardry.

The restaurant has a very diverse menu.  Also, the wine and sake list extremely extensive.  I began with a nice 10 year old sake to accompany my course of Morimoto's Shashimi.  This course stacked thinly sliced toro, salmon, eel, tuna, and hamachi and accompanied it with five wonderful sauces.  After adding a touch of wasabi to each sauce, I topped each delicious bite with a different sauce.  The texture was so tender and the combined taste so mouthwatering that I was sorry to finish this selection.

Next came a serving of Wagyu Carpaccio which was very nicely presented and quite tasty.  Myself, I am not a big fan of Australia's Wagyu Beef but this was very good.  However, the next course was beyond belief.  The third course was Oxtail Soup with sides of fried rice and shoyu with herbs and wasabi.  The broth of the soup was deliciously rich.  The meat was amazingly tender.  The fried rice was perfectly seasoned and perfectly done.  Each time I dipped my spoon into the broth I was rewarded with an amazing taste of golden richness.  When I dipped the oxtail meat into the shoyu and wasabi a taste was created that made me close my eyes, drop my chin to my chest and moan in deep enjoyment.  This was, by far, my favorite part of this meal.  I savored each bite.

I was becoming full but I wasn't quite there, so I elected to have three servings of sushi.  I selected Anago (eel), Kani (king crab) and Ika (squid).  Each was prepared in front of me using fresh pieces of the seafood.  Each was accompanied by freshly gound wasabi and freshly slice white Japanese ginger.  The textures and the tastes were different but the combination was amazingly excellent.  The sushi chef smiles at me.  As I finished the final morsel he bowed to me and my joy of eating.  I smiled, returned his bow and bid him good night.  I retreated to the bar for my dessert.  The bartender was happy to serve me a slightly oversized portion of 30 year old sake.  It was a perfect finish to a delicious evening.  I shall definately return to this place.