Gratuitous Food Porn: Momofuku Ramen & Pork Buns at Momofuku Noodle Bar
January 11, 2010
Sinful food photos are what make a NYC Food Guy review but I have so many waiting in the wings, the real sin would be not sharing them with you, my hungry readers. Cue the gratuitous food porn…
There’s not much left to say about Momofuku Noodle Bar. All NYC Food Guy can reluctantly add is that the food is truly worth the ever-present wait. Most dishes are delicious (except for the tamales) but if I could only eat two, it’s the Steamed Pork Buns ($9) housing a ribbon of crispy, fatty pork belly resting on a dab of hoison sauce and topped with sliced cucumber and scallion…
…and the Momofuku Ramen ($16), a steaming porky bath of springy noodles topped with bamboo shoots, crisp nori, sliced kamaboko (white fish cake), chopped scallions, pulled pork shoulder, more pork belly, and crowned with a single, decadent poached egg. Crack the egg, dip some pork in the yolk and brace yourself for the swoon.
Momofuku Noodle Bar 171 First Ave b/t 10th & 11th St, New York, NY 10003 (Google Map) 212-777-7773 Official Website
January 11th, 2010 at 9:15 am
Happy new year,
Tasty,
Moe
January 11th, 2010 at 9:48 am
Oh, my! Gotta go. Those fantastic pictures will haunt my dreams. Tell us about the wait: how long? Any tips on when the line is bearable?
And PS: I haven’t forgotten about a Sammy’s expedition with King of Ketchup. Let’s revisit that.
Dr. D
January 11th, 2010 at 10:24 am
These dishes look amazing, especially that oozing egg. Who did the food styling here?
January 11th, 2010 at 12:09 pm
Nothing gratuitous about it. What a lovely sight to wake to.
I’ve love the Pork bao and should add that I think the preparation is the famous, ancient Su Tung-Po pork, named after the illustrious poet, Su Tung Po (Various spellings); to which a dab of the almost addicting hoisin sauce is added.
Ruth Reichle on March 18, 1994 in her review of the still decent (I ate there a year ago) Tang Pavilion on West 55th Street, at the beginning of the Shanghainese rebirth in the City:
“The pork is braised in soy sauce, rice wine, sugar and ginger, then steamed until the flesh has the texture of butter. At Tang Pavilion the sweet, soft chunks of meat were stuffed into chewy white buns and turned into seductive little sandwiches.”
January 11th, 2010 at 2:30 pm
Wow. I was at Momofuku Noodle Bar last night and also had pork buns and ramen (as well as fried chicken and these potato and bacon things). I found it as delicious as you.
January 11th, 2010 at 2:41 pm
Foodguy: I hope you follow your two-item Momo feast with a Lipitor chaser.
January 11th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
MOE,
Thanks Moe, same to you. Thanks for the love as always.
Dr. Dyspepsia,
Doc! Great to hear from you! Appreciate the kind words. The wait has been unusually long the last few times I’ve popped in and/or walked by. The best times, in my experience, are opening time middle of the week and late night weekdays. They’re open until 2AM Fri and Sat and if you get there around 11pm, odds are you can get a seat at the counter. Table is another story. Keep your eyes peeled, I’ll be posting Momofuku Fried Chicken soon.
Sammy’s, definitely game! I went a few months back and it was a gluttonous experience. Just watching them pour that schmaltz into the chopped liver hurt my heart. When you thinking?
gingerspice,
Without giving away any names, I can proudly say I received a bit of assistance from a sultry redheaded female with a very generous spirit.
RWordplay,
Robert! Great to hear from you and thank you for the insight, as always. Do you know if Ting Pavillion still prepares their pork belly that way? It sound pretty delicious. Not sure I tasted any ginger at Momofuku but then again you never know. I love Momofuku’s pork belly because it’s so, well, porky, fatty and decadent. The crisp top skin gives way to unctuous strands of meat and fat intertwined in soft, buttery harmony. Food-gasm.
Adam,
The potato bacon things are the “Nugget potatoes” (small chunks of potato mixed with Benton’s bacon, scallions and topped with a poached egg. Crack the yolk and mix it up. Decadence) and they’re delicious. The rice cakes are pretty tasty too surprisingly. How was the fried chicken? I had it a few months back and enjoyed it but one chicken clearly took the crown. Wonder if it was the same for you?
The Marchesa of Mustard,
Lipitor may not be a bad idea but on this night it was bone-sticking warmth and satisfaction that I departed Momofuku with. Any good meals on your end of late?
January 14th, 2010 at 11:54 am
Looking forward to your thoughts on Momo Fried Chicken Dinner (or, as in our case, lunch). For me, the best part was still the pork bun off the a la carte menu (clearly, we had to start with some apps, given the 20 minute wait for the freshly fried chickens upon being seated). A fun experience, but didn’t hold a candle to Gus’ Fried Chicken in Memphis.
The Marquise and Marchesa have had a few good meals lately, but nothing particularly adventurous or exciting: DBGB Kitchen & Bar (terrible acoustics, but lovely food…Boulud quality at bistro prices). It might be worth checking out: the menu features three ridiculous-looking burgers, and a dish called the “Menage a Trois” which is a massive trio of all.) Also discovered Square Meal, a cute, seasonal restaurant in a brownstone on the UES. Menu changes daily and the food was delish (especially dessert–caramelized banana pudding!). Still, the best part was the BYO policy. Should the FoodGuy should ever find a FoodGirl in that neighborhood, it’d be a nice date restaurant.
January 14th, 2010 at 11:08 pm
Had dinner with friends at DBGB and while enjoying my table, didn’t find the meal exceptional at all with the exception of the superb shank-length roasted bone marrow and delightful Veal tongue sauce gribiche. That said, the DB hot dog was bland and made me want to run down the street to Katz’s before they closed, the Tunisienne was dull, almost tasteless (a real disappointment) while the Tuna Crudo flat and almost pasty, the taste not as bright as it appear on the plate, and I wonder if it was really sushi grade, and the desserts prissy. To be fair, I will say that my dining companion were Muslims, so we did not eat anything with pork, which closed off half the menu. The place was shaking with a pretty mixed crowded and I agree with the Marchesa that the noise was almost unbearable (if that want she meant by “terrible acoustics.” Will I return?Perhaps to sample the Boudin Blanc and other pork-based meats, but I will go early and on an off night.
Perhaps during the next snow.
January 16th, 2010 at 12:21 am
I have just discovered your blog. Thank you… for interesting and useful content. But more importantly to me, beautiful beautiful photos of food.
February 15th, 2010 at 11:27 am
Hey, NYC Food Guy, actually just had the momofuku fried chicken. We definitely preferred the old bay style to the korean (there are just so many other good korean fried chicken spots in the city). The full review (with lots of gratuitous food porn) is on my blog: http://lawandfood.blogspot.com/2010/02/oh-hi-momofuku-fried-chicken_10.html
March 8th, 2010 at 7:24 am
[…] The Red Wattle Country Chop ($24) with homemade sauerkraut featured crispy-skinned slices of sometimes tough, sometimes buttery pork sweetly sauced but devoid of the tender, edible fat NYC Food Guy has grown to love (see: Momofuku Pork Belly). […]
January 28th, 2011 at 2:28 pm
Agree that the pork buns were good, but kind of disappointed with my fried chicken experience there. For what it’s worth, I think you can get better southern fried chicken at any number of holes-in-the-wall around the city, and way better Korean style fried chicken at Bonchon. Absolutely don’t think it’s worth the time and money when so many better options are available. But oh well, that’s my opinion I guess. I will say, those pork belly buns are sex on a plate – really fantastic. Just wrote my review on the fried chicken dinner, check it out: http://restaurantbrat.com/2011/01/28/momofuku-noodle-bar/
February 2nd, 2011 at 9:38 am
Amazing. I loved Ma Peche, and took some pretty risque photos there myself!
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