Daisho @ Momofuku

The new Momofuku "building" at Adelaide and University near the Shangri-La

The building has 3 floors, of which the first floor is the Noodle Bar:

The second floor is Nikai and the third floor is half Daisho and half Shoto.

The Menu

I also couldn't help doing my own research into the 3 advance reservation items at The Price Hike. 

So we decided to order the Beef Short-rib dinner (the Canadian specialty!) for 4-6 people when we made our reservation. 

I love the design - it was actually more well-lit than the picture and it was just so classy with a stunning view of downtown Toronto. 

Cucumber appetizer with some spiced chilies

Nice way to build up the appetite with some fresh crisp cucumber and a hint of heat.

The white kimchi

It was pretty bitter and gingery by itself - not too spicy though. It worked well with the short ribs when they came.

Puffed rice and beansprouts with chilies in fish sauce

Mmmm fish sauce...

Beef Short ribs $220 (excl. tax and tip)

"The 7-bone beef short rib is slow-cooked for 48 hours in apple juice with hatcho miso, gochugang, and pears. it's topped with puffed white rice and served with white kimchi, marinated bean sprouts, and white rice."

At first, we were concerned that we weren't going to be able to finish it all (considering most of the group are all petite Asian girls). However, we managed it because of this:

FAT

The short ribs were like 70% fat - which was great because in terms of the meat texture and flavour, they were amazing! Super tender from the slow cooking and marinating. The meat just melted in your mouth from the marbled fat. However, in terms of overall texture and taste, it was an expensive disaster for half the table who didn't like the greasy blubbery fat of the short ribs. So after cutting out the fat from most of the short ribs (as shown in the picture...and we put it all into the bowl that was supposed to be for bones - we called it the "fat bowl" after), we managed to clear the gigantic plate. In actuality, we probably ate 60% of the overall short ribs dish (the "fat bowl" had to be cleared away twice). 

Since half our table was still a hungry, we had to order something else. Unfortunately, they don't serve the famous Momofuku Pork Buns (and they don't bring them upstairs either). So we got:

Rice cakes with pork sausage, chinese broccoli and tofu

It was kind of interesting, the rice cakes were crispy on the outside and soft and gummy on the inside. I didn't really see the chinese broccoli in the dish (maybe I just didn't get any), but there was definitely a lot of ground pork in spicy sauce. It didn't really turn out the way I pictured it - but the Korean influences were definitely there. 

Overall: I wasn't impressed with Daisho: it was an expensive meal because (a) not only was it pricey, but (b) considering the actual portion of the short ribs that we actually ate, it was rather disappointing. A few of my friends suggested maybe trying the Fried Chicken next time, but I don't think I'll be joining them. 

Website: http://momofuku.com/toronto/daisho