Morimoto Waikiki / Dining at Morimoto Waikiki is as much about entertainment as it is about food. That’s appropriate, given that Masaharu Morimoto made his fame in the Iron Chef stadium.

So you eat here to revel in the hip and modern ambience. The decor is white and bright with larger-than-life orchids on the walls and white-washed shells the size of chandeliers suspended from the ceiling. The atmosphere is pleasantly noisy and lively. This is a social place to share the Morimoto experience, not a romantic spot to share a moment with a date.

Then there’s the cast. “You’re lucky…Chef Morimoto flew in last night, so he’s making your dinner,” our server tells us. Not exactly. We do see Morimoto, but he’s in the dining room posing for photographs with his shokutso, or “little foodies,” as he calls them on Twitter.

No matter. We’ve come here before and each time, without Morimoto’s presence in the kitchen, the food has been consistent. After all, this isn’t the Iron Chef competition arena with only the chef and two assistants; at Morimoto Waikiki, as in all his restaurants from New York to Mumbai, there is a sizable staff to execute his dishes, signature quirks and striking presentations to a T.

So as at Morimoto’s other restaurants, the Toro Tartare ($28) is pressed into a shallow wooden tray, nestled in ice alongside another tray of condiments that looks more like an eyeshadow palette than food.

Indeed, scooping the fish and dabbing it in the ingredients (including wasabi, bubu arare, onions and dashi soy) calls to mind applying makeup, not eating.

Morimoto’s inventiveness continues with the Morimoto Style Poke accompanied by a scoop of avocado wasabi sorbet ($19) and the Yellowtail Pastrami, which re-imagines yellowtail sashimi by lightly curing and crusting it with togarashi and serving it with a dollop of gin crème fraiche ($18). The presentations of these dishes are artful but their parts don’t quite meld together.

What does dissolve luxuriously on the tongue is the Foie Gras Chawan Mushi ($16), a rich, silky egg custard fortified with foie and duck. It’s a better use of foie than the Oyster Foie Gras ($20), in which raw oysters are topped with foie, uni and kabayaki glaze. Though delicious, each ingredient is lost in a mass of richness. It’s too much of a good thing–or things, rather.

In the end, most of the dishes were like the puns Morimoto has a penchant for–clever and somewhat forced. Unusualness seems to have trumped taste. Maybe that’s why it’s the simplest items on the menu that win us over. The Ramen Soup ($14) is as spare as the Toro Tartare is flamboyant, with perfect noodles in an utterly chicken-y broth–there simply isn’t a better description–garnished only with green onions.

Yose Dofu ($16), tofu made tableside, is a favorite. A server mixes soymilk, salt water and nigari in a clay pot, covers it, and returns 10 minutes later to unveil a barely set tofu, warm and wonderful. Perhaps we have fallen captive to Morimoto’s entertainment after all, because we are charmed by the magic of having tofu made almost before our eyes.

The menu, which runs for almost 10 pages, is overwhelming. It lists hot and cold appetizers, raw bar selections, soups and noodles, salads, steaks, sushi and sashimi, and finally, entrees and the multi-course omakase.

When it’s time to pick the entree, we’re fatigued and let the server select for us: the Lamb Rack with a yuzu pepper jus, topped with crispy gobo strips and a watercress salad ($28). The sauce is bright and intriguing, but doesn’t save the wan and mushy lamb.

During a previous visit, we tried the Chef’s Loco Moco–or Loco Moto–($18), which resembles more a luxurious curry-don than Hawaii’s iconic hamburger patty with gravy on rice.

Ultimately, it’s the desserts that are best executed to Morimoto’s vision. They perfectly combine inventiveness with taste. The Chocolate Peanut Bombe ($12)–peanut mousse enveloped by chocolate–is balanced with a salted peanut ice cream and anchored in the memory of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup. The Haupia Semifreddo ($12)–coconut ice cream sandwiched between two crisp matcha wafers and fluffy moss-like clouds of green tea cake–is delicately delicious.

Come to see and be seen, to witness Morimoto’s humor and presentation. Come for dessert and maybe a cocktail, to drop a lot of money and to experience some great dishes. But don’t expect the meal to be just about the food.

Sushi and mostly Japanese food, with other Asian and far-flung influences, from Italy to India

Morimoto Waikiki

Address: 1775 Ala Moana Blvd., 943-5900

Hours: Mon–Thu., Sun.: 6:30am–2:30pm, 5pm–10pm, Fri. and Sat.: 6:30am–2:30pm, 5pm to 11pm.

Prices: Appetizers, $13-$28; entrees, $23-$47

Favorites: Foie Gras Chawan Mushi, Yose Dofu, Chocolate Peanut Bombe, Haupia Semifreddo

---