Momofuku Noodle Bar

Ah winter. As you can tell, JAM's entries and food adventures are trending more and more towards cold-weather foods, and my recent trip to Momofuku Noodle Bar was no exception.

I was meeting up with a friend for dinner, so we decided to go to Momofuku Noodle Bar for some soup and snacks to fight the colder temperatures.

My friend, Cathy, had already been there before, so she told me to order the pork buns and then some ramen of some type. I settled on the namesake, the Momofuku Ramen, and Cathy did the same. The soup arrived- rather visually appealing and smelled awesome!

The restaurant itself is small and perpetually crowded, Cathy and I were perched on small stools against a counter overlooking the open kitchen. The whole time we were just smelling bowl after bowl of ramen, so I was very excited when ours was plopped on the counter in front of us.

I mixed all the components together, taking care especially to break open the egg yolk (which was prepared in a soft-boil) and to mix the noodles with the ingredients. The ramen was good, warm and comforting, but the highlight of the dish surprisingly wasn't the ramen or the broth, but all the extras that came in the bowl. Particularly good were the strips of roast pork, the scallions, and the egg. The noodles reminded me of typical ramen and the broth was a bit salty for my personal taste. I added some hot sauce and liked it better, as it masked some of the salty flavor. All in all, 2 out of 3 JAMs. If they could turn down the saltiness, I'd gladly give it a higher rating.





We also had the pork buns, which were my favorite part of the meal. Pieces of roasted pork (very fatty, which I liked, but could see where it would not be to everyone's liking) were nestled in a U-shaped piece of steamed dough (similiar to the dough in Chinese baos or buns) on top of thin slices of cucumber (slightly vinegar marinade) and hoisin-based sauce. Really, really good, the fatty pork basically melting in your mouth contrasted with the salty/sweet sauce, the tart cucumber, and the sweet dough. Yum

3 out of 3 JAMs!
These buns made the trip worth it - and for all its hype, I did enjoy my first Momofuku experience but am looking forward to trying even better creations.