NYC: Momofuku Noodle Bar...Why the Hype?

I've made it pretty clear that my favorite ramen noodle joint in NYC is Ippudo.  The biggest contender in the city seems to be Momofuku Noodle Bar, but with all the hype, I've been resistent to go check it out.

I ate at Momofuku Ssam Bar over a year ago (pre-blog) and with much anticipation. I was sadly disappointed - probably the reason why I didn't feel the urgent need to try another David Chang restaurant.  At Ssam Bar, we tried their pork buns but they just didn't hold up to Ippudo's.  I do like that David Chang uses thinly sliced cucumber in his buns which makes it a bit lighter and refreshing along with extra thick cut pork belly. Still, I prefer Ippudo's with its spicy mayo flavor.

I guess I came to Momofuku ready to be disappointed, but I was in some ways hoping to be pleasantly surprised.  Let me start off by saying that I was really impressed that David Chang orders so much (if not all) his ingredients from local farmers.  One of the chalk menus on the wall included a pretty long list of the local farms - kuddos to him on that front.

While we were waiting for Yumi, Ethan and I tried their frozen soju cocktails. They had four flavors: flor de jamaica, yuzu palmer, lychee, and limeade and we tried all four of them.  My favorites were flor de jamaica (mild and floral) and limeade (very strong and it'll make your mouth pucker up).

Frozen Flor de Jamaica Soju

Frozen Yuzu Palmer

Frozen Lychee Soju

Frozen Limeade Soju (with a mint sprig)

Appetizers:  Yumi and I ordered the pork buns (2 per order) and Ethan ordered the tamale trio (chicken mole, pork kimchi, jalepeno queso).  Let me start with the pork buns.  They looked gorgeous and just looking at the photos again makes me salivate and want to stuff my face... but then again it wasn't that great the first time around. It wasn't bad, I just think when up against Ippudo, I'd rather have an Ippudo pork bun.  I wasn't that excited about the tamales either.  They all tasted very similar for some reason and  were a bit dry.

The Noodles:  The three of us ordered the same momofuku ramen (pork belly, pork shoulder, poached egg).  I'm not saying it was bad, it was fine, but even after the first couple bites, I knew Ippudo remains #1.  I did like the big fatty chunks of pork belly but the broth didn't seem as complex in flavor as Ippudo's and the consistency of the noodles was more al dente than I care for.

Conclusion:  I don't think I'll be coming back, but I'm glad I tried it.

Momofuku Noodle Bar (map)
171 1st Avenue (between 10th & 11th)
New York, NY 10003