Majordomo: Restaurant Review

After loving some of the Momofuku restaurants in New York, I was so excited to hear that David Chang was finally opening a restaurant in LA. It was a highly anticipated restaurant opening. Majordomo is housed in a large, industrial and hip space located in Chinatown. It has an indoor section and outdoor patio. The menu seems to be mostly Asian with some Korean influences. I went with a large group so I was able to taste many different dishes. 

For drinks, I wanted a fun cocktail, so of course I ordered the drink that comes in the kitty cat mug. It is called Thriller, and is comprised of mezcal, Strega, passion fruit, cardamon, ginger, and lime. I like mezcal so I enjoyed the smokiness of this  well-balanced drink. 

One of the first dishes we received at the table was avocado with broken tofu. It is paired with a light yuzu sauce. The avocado and tofu are both soft and velvety. It’s a refreshing appetizer with a nice kick. I’ve also seen that they serve this with uni, which sadly I missed out on. 

Next we, of course, had to get some Bing bread. Out of all the options, we selected spicy lamb and eggs with smoked roe to go with the bread. Both are spectacular! The spicy lamb has Sichuan peppercorns which is always fun because they make your mouth sort of numb and tingly. It’s balanced out with cool yogurt, so once it’s all mixed together with the bing bread it’s definitely a dish that’s very unique to have. The eggs with smoked roe are complemented with chives and potato chips, and they sit in an onion soubise. When all these ingredients are mixed together and you get the pop of the roe with the crunch of chips, combined with all the other strong flavors, it’s just heavenly, especially when soaked up in the bing bread. 

Next, was the marinated mushrooms with pistachio and radish. There are several different types of mushrooms sitting on a sesame paste. The nuttiness of the pistachio works well with the mushrooms, and the flavors come together nicely. It wasn’t my favorite, but it’s a nice light appetizer for those who fancy mushrooms. 

The smoked cabbage was one of the most surprising dishes for me. I was probably going to overlook it, but some of my friends who had been to the restaurant before insisted on ordering it. It’s made with brown butter, so it is definitely somewhat rich, as well as smoky. It is a very complex dish, and I’d never had anything like it before.

Next was one of my favorites of the night: the macaroni & chickpea. It’s a genius cream-less version of cacio e pepe made with fermented chickpeas that mimics the taste and texture of cheese and butter. It’s topped with some black truffle shavings which greatly enhances the flavor. It’s still so creamy and delicious, you won’t even miss cheese, and you won’t want to share. 

The last dinner dish was marinated black cod. This has a really great texture and pretty much melts in your mouth. The fish is fresh and buttery, cooked to perfection, bursting with flavor, and is accompanied by some blood orange that really cuts through the richness nicely. 

For dessert, we couldn’t resist a huge mountain of shaved ice with rice pudding in the middle, drizzled with coffee and caramel, and topped with dulce de leche cream. This is a super fun dessert to eat, and it’s nice that it is so light and icy after a heavy meal. 

 

I really enjoyed Majordomo. The spicy lamb, smoked roe and macaroni and chickpea dishes still stick in my mind so vividly. Sometimes I even crave them. The group I was with included a few vegetarians, so we didn’t get too much into the meat dishes, but next time I go, I would love to order the crispy pork belly or the steak. The space is really cool and it’s fun eating there at night. In my opinion, David Chang definitely has a winner with his first LA location!