NY Eats: Momofuku 9Nov09
Momofuku Noodle Bar in the lower east side of Manhattan is one of those places that actually live up to the hype. I’ve read about it, heard about it and now witnessed the amazingness that is Momofuku. You tend to forget about the hour long wait and over anxious crowd after you sink your teeth into one of those pork buns. Or so I’m told, I had the vegetarian friendly shiitake mushroom buns and yes they were definitely worth the wait. Guess a couple of soju cocktails help as well!
Another reason why I love this place, they are vegetarian friendly and more than happy to accommodate my non-pork-belly eating ways. But carnivores, don’t worry, the pork is amazing. Vini absolutely loved his pork belly ramen… in fact, I think his exact words were, “I think this is better than the one I had in Japan.” Now that says a lot!
Pork & shiitake buns aside, it is all about the ramen. It is a noodle bar after all! I had the scallion and ginger noodles and they were definitely some of the best ramen I’ve ever had. Cooked spinach, sweet pickled cucumbers, finely chopped scallions, soft bamboo shoots and flavorful salty ginger bits all over a big ball of noodles. Hmm a toss up between this one and the vegetarian miso ramen from Ichiban Boshi in Sydney. This one might take the win.
Ginger Scallion Noodles
The Momofuku Ramen: pork belly, pork shoulder, chopped scallions, poached egg, with ramen noodles all swimming in a big bowl of pork broth.
The Momofuku Ramen - after
The photos don’t quite do the portion size justice. I cannot believe I watched Vini eat the entire thing. We had to tell the waiter not to take the dish away 3 times! We were obviously too full for dessert but the pie crust soft serve sounds like something I will definitely need to save room for next time. Momofuku also has a milk bar that serves a variety of equally quirky desserts… stuffing flavor soft serve?! Next time my friends, next time!
Nothing beats a good bowl of ramen. I could never finish a bowl of it myself. The size of it is so huge.
But the mushrooms for the buns are cooked in pork fat.
You can have them cooked without pork fat!