Morimoto Asia - Beer Dinner with Crooked Can Brewery

1600 Buena Vista Dr.
Orlando FL. 32830
(407) 939-6686
View Website Here

If you have been keeping up with all things Disney, more specifically the rebranded Disney Springs, you have heard about the complete redesign and all of the new restaurants that are open, with more scheduled to open soon.

Morimoto Asia is one of those new restaurants that is located at The Landing at Disney Springs, which is an entertainment and dining retail district. With an overhaul and rebranding of this portion of the resort, Disney Springs is aiming to present a fresh and new face to the Magic Kingdom that is sure to be an extraordinary experience.

Morimoto Asia is the first collaboration with Patina Restaurant Group and Chef Masaharu Morimoto and the Japanese master chef’s first pan-Asian restaurant. Morimoto Asia offers an entirely new experience for guests, led by the creativity of Chef Morimoto, already one of the most inventive forces in Asian cuisine. The Patina Restaurant Group was built on the belief that culinary excellence is an art form, and that a superb visit to a cultural venue should be matched with equally inspired cuisine. This is a dynamic collaboration that has resulted in a restaurant that looks wonderful and delivers on the promise of culinary excellence.

Morimoto Asia is full of eye catching chandeliers, glass light sculptures and unique exhibition kitchens that showcase traditions like Peking duck carving and dim sum. Inside the 36-foot tall, two story layout of Morimoto you will find lounges, private dining spaces, and an exhibition glass encased kitchen that allows guests a behind the scenes glimpse of the culinary action. The second level sushi bar and lounge have a separate entrance.

The menu at Morimoto is described as Pan-Asian and was inspired and created by Chef Masaharu Morimoto, a Japanese chef, best known as an Iron Chef on the Japanese TV cooking show Iron Chef and its spinoff Iron Chef America. He is also known for his unique style of presenting food.

Pan Asian food combines a little bit of everything from various Asian cultures, so at Morimoto Asia, you can find spectacular Chinese style spare ribs, Korean BBQ Kalbi short ribs, Vietnamese style Pho, Pad Thai cooked in the traditional Thai style, and of course lots of Japanese food with a large variety of sushi and sashimi.

Although Chef Morimoto has a wonderful selection of Sake and various other craft cocktails, beer goes with just about everything. As part of a special beer dinner pairing I was invited to, we were treated to a pairing from one of my favorite new brewers, Crooked Can Brewing Co. Crooked Can Brewery is an upstart craft brewery based in Winter Garden that is creating a cultural following with unique craft brews and excellent taste.

Our first course was the Spring Collection of Shellfish Ceviche that featured Alaskan king crab, Washington state mirugai (saltwater clam), Maine Uni (sea urchin), Salmon roe, and bean thread noodles. This was a very unique dish with all kinds of textures from the various ingredients that all worked really well together for a great starter.

The beer paired with the first course was Crooked Can’s seasonal Cherry Blossom Kolsch that will only be made for Morimoto Asia, and for a limited time. Very crisp and mild with excellent flavors and drinkability.

The second course was a Duo of Duck with Morimoto Peking Duck wrapped in flour pancakes, hoisin miso, apricot chili and scallions. The duck was accompanied with a consomme soup of daikon, carrots and foie gras. The duck was nice and crispy inside and full of flavor and the soup was a wonderful addition.

The second course was paired with Crooked Can’s Bock Humbug, which is a Dopplebock, or double bock which makes it a darker and maltier beer but slightly sweet with an ABV of 6.9%.

For our third course, we had a Trio of Chicken Satays with chicken skins, boneless chicken wings and chicken thigh with yuzo-kosho (a fermented chili and yuzu peel seasoning), Himalayan salt, spicy garlic glaze,peanut sauce and cilantro. All of the chicken was delicious and paired perfectly with Crooked Can’s Mc Swagger Amber Ale.

Our fourth course was Domestic Wagyu Sirloin “Ishiyaki” that is grilled tableside in a ceramic fire pot with a hefty cooking stone. This dish was served with kimchi fried rice cake, fresh wasabi and a smoked soy for dipping. Wagyu of any type is usually pretty good, and the one at Morimoto did not disappoint, and it was a fun experience to cook it yourself. This was paired with Crooked Can’s Stout beer that was very dark and full bodied.

Our fifth course, or the dessert course was Taiyaki, which is a Japanese style fish shaped pancake stuffed with sweet azuki beans. This was served with a matcha green tea gelato. I did bite the fish’s head off before I took a picture, but I couldn't resist trying the fun to eat dessert. Paired together with the gelato, this was a great ending to our food journey for the evening.

The dessert was paired with perhaps my favorite Crooked Can beer of all time… Cloudchaser. Crooked Can produces this wheat beer in the true Hefeweizen fashion that leaves it unfiltered and cloudy. The beer has unique flavors of banana and cloves with an often dry and tart edge, some spiciness, bubblegum and notes of apples with little hop bitterness, and a moderate level of alcohol.

Although I had these on a separate visit to Morimoto Asia, It's worth noting the Morimoto Spare Ribs with cilantro and hoisin sweet chili glaze are probably some of the best you will find in Orlando. I don't say that lightly either..they are addictive and darn good.

Disney Springs is still being built up and undergoing a lot of change, but there are quite a few restaurants open already, and it's worth a trip to go visit… especially Morimoto Asia. The restaurant is beautiful inside and out with a two story dining space and they even have an upstairs outside section with a fun tabletop shuffleboard. The menu is fun and inviting and even the pickiest of eaters should be able to find something to eat.

Crooked Can is making its way into a lot of establishments lately, but the best way to get some is to go visit them directly at 426 W Plant St, Winter Garden, Florida 34787. They keep a steady rotation of current and seasonal brews on tap for consumption. They do Brewery tours on Sundays that max out at 12 people, so it's best to call ahead and plan a time at (407) 395-9520. You can find out more here: http://www.crookedcan.com

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