Kochi NYC

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I stumbled upon Kochi NYC while browsing through the results of Resy's Korean Dining section. With the promise of an extensive chef's tasting menu with a Sool pairing ( a special separate alcohol tasting menu for each dish), I immediately booked my reservation. Around 7PM, I hopped out of my Uber to the corner restaurant. I was seated at an outdoor table and given the choice of sparkling or tap. I decided on my usual Pellegrino. If you are a newbie at Chef's Tastings like I was, the menu may seem confusing. Kochi has two options; the Chef' Signature Menu and the Kochi Tasting Menu. The Signature Menu consisted of 9 courses while the Tasting Menu was 7. I am not a big fan of seafood, so with the Signature promising the likes of sea urchin and geoduck clam, I opted for the latter.

My journey started with a serving of cold Korean sweet pumpkin soup to be poured over a potato tuile, starring chestnut and julienned spaghetti squash.

The cold first course was not what I was expecting but I was pleasantly surprised. The texture of the thinly sliced squash with the velvety sweet pumpkin soup was superb. I found that it was almost too rich and sweet but of course, almost doesn't count.

The secound course of the Kochi Tasting Menu had to be my favorite. The shrimp twigim was reminiscent of a corndog, but tasted like anything but. Stuffed with succulent shrimp, the exterior was well fried but still tender. The twigim, the generic Korean term for fried and battered food, was served over a layer of charred eggplant sauce with a serving of sweet and sour gochujang, a traiditional Korean red pepper sauce.

The third course was two squares of charcoal grilled Spanish mackerel skewered alongside eggplant doused in a Makgeolli Yuja vinagrette. Delicious! I am not a huge fan of fish but I enjoyed this course with vigor. The glaze was tasty and memorable.

The next two courses were a bit rough for me. I grew up in a family where rare or medium rare meat was considered unsavory and uncooked. As I delve more into fine dining I find that it is nearly impossible to avoid a tartar, sashimi or rare steak debacle. The fourth and fifth course were a braised short rib, with yam puree, trumpet mushrooms, and ramp chimichurri followed by Yuk Hwe Bibimbap. Bibimbap is a traditional Korean dish usually served with white rice and sections of various ingredients such as shaved carrots, bean sprouts, and various proteins. Bibimbap is usually topped off with a runny egg to pull the dish together. Yuk Hwe in Korean translates to "raw meat". Now, I prefaced this by saying I am slowly easing myself into eating uncooked proteins. The Yuk Hwe, while delicious, was my worst fear. Completely and utterly raw meat. The tartar was served over crispy forbidden rice and seaweed rice. For the pure sake of the tasting, I did eat a bit of this dish. It was delicious, but the mental block was too strong. Regrettably, I ended up wasting a good deal of these two dishes. The short rib was delicious and two of three pieces were braised well enough that I could pretend they were cooked all the way through. Both these courses were SUPERB but my ethnic culture eclipsed my will to enjoy them.

The final course was a black sesame seed ice cream sandwiched in green tea cake with nurunji or "scorched rice" cream drizzled over it . 10/10, one of the most beautifully presented desserts I've ever experienced! It was one of the most pleasant and refreshing endings to a chef's tasting menu.

I did also request two drinks that were apparenly out of my taste palette. I initally requested Red Monkey. The menu touted that Red Money was creamy with notes of strawberry and raspberry. I highly disagree. I took one sip and was almost incapacitated by how strong and bitter this was. My waiter was very sweet and took it back after I tasted it and decided it wasnt for me. I got Seoul Night Soju. The waiter mentioned that this was made with plum and not commercially created the way "green bottle" soju was. I also did not enjoy this drink. I've concluded that Kochi's drinks are not for the faint of heart; but for a sophisticated palette.

Overall, I would definetely recommend Kochi for its trendy atmosphere and delicious food. Two of my courses were almost inedible based on my own food fears and I would STILL return. That is how much of an impression the remaining courses have made on me.