‘Iron Chef’ Morimoto opens Waikiki ramen restaurant

On the heels of Morimoto Asia comes the grand opening of “Iron Chef” Masaharu Mori­moto’s second restaurant in the Alohilani Resort, Momosan by Morimoto.

The street-front ramen and sake bar offers casual dining across from Waikiki Beach that’s not limited to noodle bowls.

A highlight for me was the restaurant’s kushiyaki, assorted skewered and grilled meat and vegetables that included chicken tsukune ($4.50 per skewer) and pork belly-wrapped asparagus ($4). Thick-cut gyu (beef) tongue ($12) stood out on the yakimono (grilled) menu.

Most ramen bowls are $15, ranging from flavorful tan tan with coconut-curry accents, pork char siu and red miso ground pork, to a Tokyo chicken broth with steamed chicken and ahi tama. At the top of the line is the gyukotsu ramen ($28) with a centerpiece of seven-hour braised beef. Only 25 orders are available per day.

Also available are smaller appetizers such as ajitama potato salad ($7), chicken karaage ($9) and oven-roasted, garlic-seasoned pork sausage ($10).

One dish that did not fare well was pork gyoza ($12) with a pour of sake and oil intended to make the dumplings easy to remove from a cast-iron skillet — but with the side effect of leaving the gyoza oily and bitter.

The resort is at 2490 Kalakaua Ave. Call 922-0011 or visit momosanwaikiki.com.