WD-50, NYC

WD-50 is one of the rare restaurants in the world specialising in molecular gastronomy. In fact El Bulli in Spain (No 1) and The Fat Duck in the UK (No 2) also specialise in this field. Cooks specialising in molecular gastronomy try to enhance their dishes through studying and experimenting with the physical and chemical processes of cooking.


Tasting menu

Tasting 1: Poached oyster, tomato molasses, green-tomate tots
Tasting 2: Grilled corn pebbles, lime mayo, scallion
Tasting 3: Knot foie
Special: Lychee-buttermilk soup, chicken confit, smoked asparagus





Although there were no standouts from the appetisers one must applaud Wylie Dufresne for his efforts to push the culinary boundaries. Each dish was appetising and certainly unique; the foie gras with the bubble pops was surprisingly good even though the concept was strange.

Having heard excellent feedback on Wylie's Popcorn soup I was extremely disappointed to hear that it was no longer available on the menu. After some inquiries our appointed waiter informed us that the popcorn soup was no longer available but there was a lychee soup available. Knowing the sort of miracles Wylie creates with his soup I ask for this to be added to my tasting menu. The soup was definitely a standout! The creaminess, sweetness and savoury flavours all worked well to enhance and balance each other out. Truly a highly recommended dish!!!


Tasting 4: Hamachi tartare, wakame, sake lees tahini, grapefruit-shallot
Tasting 5: Eggs benedict
Tasting 6: Crab tail, soybean noodles, cinnamon dashi
Tasting 7: Chicken liver spaetzie, pine needle, radish, cocoa nib
Tasting 8: Beef tongue, cherry-miso, fried quinoa, palm seeds




The hamachi was faultless but unremarkable. On the other hand Wylie's signature dish the eggs benedict truly lives up to its name perfectly showcasing his brilliance, creativity and passion for molecular gastronomy. Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of the dish was it tasted just like eggs benedict even though it did not look the part. The egg yoke was cooked for an hour at 147 F and the hollandaise sauce was inside a cube ('inside out muffin') held together by hydrocolloids and cornstarch. In fact, the secret to the cubes was that they were injected with the sauce, frozen and deep fried to remain intact and keep the integrity of the sauce.

After the eggs benedict the next few meals past in a blur that is until the beef tongue arrives. This was truly a meal well done. The textures and flavours are not only original but well executed and tasteful. I could detect a scent of something resembling hoisin sauce. Truly it felt as if I was eating peking duck!!!


Tasting 9: Yoghurt, olive oil jam, rhubarb
Tasting 10: Jasmine custard, black tea, banana
Tasting 11: Toasted coconut cake, carob, smoked cashew, brown butter sorbet
Tasting 12: Yuzu ice cream-marcona almond




A good tip for dessert lovers is that Wylie has a 3 course and 5 course dessert tasting menu. Wylie's strength is most definitely desserts as he manages to nail every single dessert dish. My personal favourite is the jasmine custard, black tea and banana. The presence of tea was infused in every single bite, the mouse was light and tasty and was a good balance with the cold and sweet custard. I make a mental note to ask Wylie if he had used liquid nitrogen to preserve the coolness of the custard (my charming and pretty dinner partner LLee had used her negotiation skills to score a kitchen tour) but alas being in the presence of a star I forget to ask :(

The other dishes were also very enjoyable which is high praise coming from someone who does not normally enjoy desserts but I have been won over by the jasmine custard and so it was truly hard to capture my heart with any of the other dishes.


Kitchen Tour




So with the meals finished we quickly turn our mind to the kitchen tour and we were definitely not disappointed. For such a well known celebrity chef Wylie looked like a mad scientist rather than a chef!!! More importantly he was humble, friendly and very open. Wylie even offered without us asking if we wanted pictures. He even shook my hand (I contemplated not washing my hands after that LOL) and seemed genuinely pleased rather than looking at me like I was an annoying bug when I gushingly told him how much I admired him and enjoyed the meal.

Overall, WD-50 was a very different dining experience to anything I had ever had and is highly recommended for the truly adventurous or those passionate about food and so achieves it objective as a restaurant. The culinary connoisseur in me is now tempted to try The Fat Duck and El Bulli to understand more of molecular gastronomy. So watch this space and wish me luck as I desperately scramble for reservations.


WD-50
50 Clinton Street
NYC NY 10002
Phone: 212 477 2900