The Long Awaited

We finally managed to secure a booking at Mosu and went a couple of months ago. With only a handful tables available every night, it did take a bit of effort to get a reservation at this restaurant which opened about a year ago in West Kowloon. 

I guess part of the hype was due to the fact that the original Mosu in Seoul (which is still in operation, just to be clear) has been awarded Michelin 3-stars in 2022, and their chef Sung Anh, born and trained in the US before moving back to Korea to open Mosu, has become one of the prominent chefs responsible to change the world's perception on Korean cuisine. 

The restaurant could be a bit out of the way even when we decided to drive - they sent us a 8-page PDF document detailing how to walk from the parking lot to the restaurant located above the M+ Museum in the same building, but then you got this sense of exclusiveness sitting in the spacious dining room with only a handful of tables with the view of the garden outside and then the Hong Kong Island skyline as backdrop further back. It's also worth coming a little earlier to have a stroll in the garden with no one else there and to catch a bit of sunset or the gorgeous night view across Victoria Harbor. The interior of the restaurant is definitely on the modern and minimalist side, with recessed lighting and cloth-less wooden tables spread around the open space with the kitchen in open view through the window near the entrance. 

Serving only a "simple", 7-course tasting menu every evening (with only a choice from 2 main courses) meant they could keep a relatively small kitchen team, especially when compared to other establishments of similar caliber. I am impressed by the first course of "Small Bites", with a few bite-sized snacks served in quick succession. The shrimp tartlet was served in a toasted seaweed shell with potato salad filling, followed by a neatly arranged mini mushroom pie with smoked cream and a buttery crust. I like its clean and rich taste with a hint of fermentation. 

I love the presentation of “Abalone taco”, with the large piece of slow-cooked abalone was halved and served in a crispy taco shell made of tofu skin with finely julienned shiso leaf, gamtae seaweed and a gentle squeeze of lime. The abalone was perfectly cooked with the most tender texture. Last but not least was another tartlet, this time the smooth foie gras terrine with beetroot and apple juice in a buttery crust infused with squid ink gave every bite a nice balance of umami and sweet flavor. 

Then we continue with the rest of the tasting menu. The “Tofu” is one of the signature dishes from Mosu Seoul with seasonal variations based on ingredients available at different time of the year served in the form of a “tofu dumpling”. It was late summer so our version was sweet corn paired with sea urchin in an “ajo blanco” sauce with nice hint of mineral and nutty flavor and slightly creamy. It would be easy to have mistaken hanwoo bresola dish as some soft of Spanish tapas, with thin slices of thin cured hanwoo sirloin nicely arranged on top of a piece of brioche toast with tomatoes and cucumber sandwiched between. The fatty meat just worked perfectly well with the acidity flavor. 

The sea eel was served as jeonbyeong (Korean crepe) with a piece of eel battered and deep-fried and topped with condiments such as clam, capers, walnuts and shiso leaves, served on a thin piece of buckwheat wrap, and we were asked to roll it to eat. It was an overall mild flavor with slight aroma, and the chewy texture of the crepe was interesting. Then came the “pasta course” with ember-roasted acorn noodles with summer black truffles shaved on top with a nice rustic, nutty flavor with the bouncy noodles with was one of the traditional Korean staple food. 

Both of us went for beef as our choice for the main course. The top grade piece of hanwoo striploin was gently seared and served with clams and meat jus underneath. Not much of a surprise but it was well-executed. A few sweet courses were served at the end, including the rice cake with lemon granita (served like a slice of lemon), jasmine tea yogurt, the refreshing summer melon hwachae with sake lees custard, the dashima cheesecake with the strong umami flavor from the seaweed that added into the cheese custard.

With a short menu I went for the wine by-glass selection. With much of the dishes inspired by cuisine and ingredients from Jeju Island I thought it’s perfectly appropriate to go with a bottle also from a picturesque island, this time from Greece’s Santorini. Fresh and crisp with strong hint of minerality. Worked out just fine for the hot summer night and with many of the seafood dishes. 

When? August 24 2023
Where? Mosu, 3/F, M+ Tower, West Kowloon Cultural District, 38 Museum Drive, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Menu Highlights? Abalone Taco
Drinks? 2022 Sigalas Santorini Assyrtiko, Greece

Web: hk.restaurantmosu.com