A bi-monthly head to head competition - two restaurants, one dish. Help me decide which should be the top dog in town!
Every other Friday I'll post a new face off. Within the next two weeks, eat the same dish at one or both restaurants and post your reviews. Then I'll add up the results and announce the winner!
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Masu reviews
Once you've eaten at Masu, add a comment here to register your review. Use the 5 categories and 10 point scale provided in the template.
Taste: 9/10 The broth at Masu seems more developed than that of Moto i. The smokey bbq that dominated the dish at Moto i, here is more subtle and integrated into more ocean-y umami flavors. The shredded pork and pork belly were wonderful! I kept thinking that I'd kind of like a sandwich made out of them. There was also a small bowl of dried red pepper provided so that I could get the level of spice exactly to my own taste. I guess that's what gave Masu the edge in this category - each of the individual components were high quality, thus coming together in a dish that is more than the sum of its parts.
Texture: 9/10 The noodles offered the perfect al dente bite and the fat on the pork belly was wonderfully crisp. The egg could have been just a tad less cooked so that it integrated into the broth more evenly.
Presentation: 9/10 I like the contrast of the bright green onions at Moto i, but the bowl and the table settings reinforced the traditional take Masu has on this dish.
Creative/authentic: 8/10 The inclusion of the seaweed definitely nodded toward a traditional take, but the shredded pork and crispy pork belly seemed like a Midwestern take on the dish.
Wild Card: 9/10 If I considered the appetizer at Moto i, I guess I could also consider it here too. The ginger duck gyoza and seaweed salad were highly flavorful and were sucked down in much faster than is commonly considered polite in a restaurant!
Taste: 9/10 The broth at Masu seems more developed than that of Moto i. The smokey bbq that dominated the dish at Moto i, here is more subtle and integrated into more ocean-y umami flavors. The shredded pork and pork belly were wonderful! I kept thinking that I'd kind of like a sandwich made out of them. There was also a small bowl of dried red pepper provided so that I could get the level of spice exactly to my own taste. I guess that's what gave Masu the edge in this category - each of the individual components were high quality, thus coming together in a dish that is more than the sum of its parts.
ReplyDeleteTexture: 9/10 The noodles offered the perfect al dente bite and the fat on the pork belly was wonderfully crisp. The egg could have been just a tad less cooked so that it integrated into the broth more evenly.
Presentation: 9/10 I like the contrast of the bright green onions at Moto i, but the bowl and the table settings reinforced the traditional take Masu has on this dish.
Creative/authentic: 8/10 The inclusion of the seaweed definitely nodded toward a traditional take, but the shredded pork and crispy pork belly seemed like a Midwestern take on the dish.
Wild Card: 9/10 If I considered the appetizer at Moto i, I guess I could also consider it here too. The ginger duck gyoza and seaweed salad were highly flavorful and were sucked down in much faster than is commonly considered polite in a restaurant!