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

NYC: Ippudo -Japanese Noodles and Pork Buns

Ippudo is by far my favorite ramen noodle joint and pork buns in all of NYC. I started going here when they first opened--back when they used huge chunks of flavorful pork belly in the pork buns and when you order a bowl of ramen noodles you could order extra pork belly which would also be a huge chunk.  But times are tough and the pork belly has gotten a bit thinner, still it's still awfully good!  Keep an eye out for a future Momofuku posting.

Keep in mind that you'll likely have to wait for a table for at least an hour.  We went on a Friday at about 6:30pm.  If you go between Monday and Thursday, they have beer specials: 2 for 1 until a certain time - maybe until 7pm.  If you go early enough when dinner first opens, you might get lucky and get seated right away (if you have only a couple people in your party).  Otherwise, just lean up against the bar and have a drink.  I unfortunately had two Kirin's at the bar, so by the time we sat down to eat, I was already a bit tipsy.

We ordered a couple Hirata Pork Buns at the bar, so we ordered the "Tofu Hot Pot" (I can't find their Japanese name from their menu online) when we sat down at our table - this is so amazingly awesome!  I haven't ordered this in a while, b/c we usually order the pork buns for our appetizer instead, but I guess that's another good thing for the wait...eating pork buns and overhearing a first date next to us ; )

We've been to Ippudo many times and Ethan and our friends often try all different kinds of ramen noodles, but from our experience and opinion, the Akamaru Modern Ramen Noodles are the BEST.  Akamaru Modern is described as "'the original tonkotsu' soup noodles with Ippudo's special sauce, miso paste and fragrant garlic oil, slices of simmered berkshire pork, cabbage, onions, kikurage & scallions".

I love how the bar countertops are made up of square bunches of ramen...very creative.

A bite out of my pork bun

Tofu Hot Pot in action

Akamaru Modern Ramen

Ippudo

65 4th Avenue (between 9th & 10th Street) (map)

New York, NY 10003

(212) 388-0088