Houston’s New Sushi Palace Welcomes Michelin-Star Chef — Your First Look at Molihua, an Asian Culinary Marvel

TThe Michelin Guide may not be published in Houston (at least not yet), but the Bayou City can now boast not one, but two chefs who have each earned two Michelin stars at their previous restaurants. Chef Ho Chee Boon, founder of the Boon Group, has just opened the new restaurant Molihua at the Blossom Hotel at the Medical Center in Houston.

Born in Malaysia, the chef has opened numerous high-end Asian fine-dining restaurants from Bangkok to London, Moscow to San Francisco, and has earned rave reviews and a few Michelin stars for his international work at Hakkasan Global. Boon’s partner, chef Hideki Hiwatashi, is a more permanent fixture in the kitchen at Molihua in Houston, having specialized over the course of his career in the art of kaiseki cuisine (a series of small, seasonal dishes considered the finest level of fine dining in Japan).

Located on the hotel’s second floor, you enter Molihua through a simple, understated black door, a humble entrance that betrays the spectacular interiors on the other side. The serene, elegant setting features ebony wood accents, dark burlap wallpaper walls, and pincushion lamps that float above each table.

In collaboration with Molihua (which means jasmine in Chinese), the chef duo combines Chinese dim sum dishes with traditional Japanese cuisine, while adding a modern twist. Open for dinner (currently 5pm-9:30pm, with lunch planned for the coming weeks), Molihua’s à la carte menu features a selection of hot and cold small plates, two-part sashimi and nigiri, maki rolls, tempura, noodles and grilled dishes (sumiyaki).

You can start with a cocktail (from a pink lychee martini ($14) to a matcha sour ($16)) or choose from a small, curated list of wines and sakes by the glass.

Highlights from the chef-crafted menu include the crispy taco-like temaki (fried) roll (two for $14) cradled by shrimp (though salmon and tuna are options) and the warm pumpkin puff ($18), a fluffy globe filled with minced duck meat and an assortment of mushrooms (cloud ear, shiitake and shimeji) with a trio of pickled shallots on the side. Beautifully presented maki rolls include the Naruto, named after the Naruto Strait in Awaji and Shikoku, which blends salmon, chutoro and hamachi with shiso leaves, all wrapped in pickled daikon and served with yuzu ponzu, while the crunchy soy-marinated soft-shell crab roll is tempura-fried and rolled with fresh, creamy mango ($18).

Don’t miss the fragrant rice with wild mushrooms and black truffle ($32), a communal dish cooked and served tableside kamameshi-style, otherwise known as pot rice cooked in a kama, a sturdy iron pot. The succulent Chilean sea bass ($36) is charcoal-grilled and topped with a delicate yuzo and miso marinade.

You can round off your Japanese meal with the magnificent coconut and sago dessert ($19). A creamy tapioca blend topped with yuzu and fresh pineapple sorbet, accompanied by small lime-scented financier biscuits, served in a clear trifle-like glass and topped with a wafer-thin caramel tuile.

Molihua is located in the Blossom Hotel at 7118 Bertner Avenue. The restaurant is open from 5pm to 9:30pm Tuesday through Sunday. It is closed on Mondays.