Momofuku Noodle Bar

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Momofuku Noodle Bar
East Village, New York



We had fun checking out Momofuku Ssam Bar some time ago, so we were game to try the sister restaurant, Momofuku Noodle Bar. The prices on the menu for MNB looked more reasonable.



We started off with some beer, chips and chicken wings.

Left: Ginka Kogen (Japan); middle: Lagunitas Censored Ale (California); right: seven spice potato chips. I really liked the Lagunitas ale. It had a very well-rounded, balanced flavor that went well with the food. DJKung said the same about his beer, although I detected a hint of bubble gum to it. (Be forewarned that the Ginka beer is $14!).

The potato chips were excellent. The spice blend was just right. The chips were cut rather coarsely, so they were nice and crispy.

Smoked chicken wings. DJKung liked this a lot, and in fact did not save some for Chibs. I tried the sauce and it was sweet, lots of little chili pieces; you could taste the smoke (hickory?) that went into it. DJKung said that this was falling-off-the-bone tender.

DJKung espied the tasting menu (four courses), so there went the budget. What's nice about their tasting menu is that each course has two options.

Tasting menu course #1: hamachi sashimi with carrot and celery puree. There were crunchy bits sprinkled all around; perhaps sea salt. The fish was fresh and yummy. We're of two minds about this; on one hand, good fish does not need anything else other than maybe a dab of wasabi. On the other, the play of textures and flavors was rather nice.





Course #2: Oxtail ragu. The noodles (garliani?) were thin sqaure strips of pasta rolled on it diagonal, rather chewy. This dish was gamy; DJKung felt that the beef was full of flavor.

I ordered the chicken ramen.

Chicken ramen. The chicken bits looked like they were broiled. The broth was pretty good.

Third course: broiled mackerel. I think we were expecting a whole fish, instead of just fillets, so we were disappointed. The fish did not taste fresh, but more like it was picked up from somewhere else and flown here. The sauce, a black olive puree, was excellent. So did the pieces of sweet fruity blood orange, pickles and the crunchy/chewy anise-flavored garbanzos. DJKung felt that the flavors were better individually and did not really gel well together.

Fourth course: quince and maple syrup ice cream, with crushed nuts and sugar crunch on top. This was excellent---salty, creamy, sweet and fruity.

Overall, we had a great time enjoying the food and the place. The restaurant was quite empty when we arrived around 6pm. It was quite nice just munching on our chips and admiring all that handsome blonde wood. Later on, it got pretty packed. Table-sharing seemed to be the norm here.

Back again at You Chun

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You Chun Korean Restaurant

It has simply been frigid all day yesterday. We were ready for some Koreran food to warm up our insides. DJKung's pops has never been to You Chun, so we brought him there last night.

He really liked the hot beef broth that comes in a thermos, which everybody gets. Ditto with the cute app dishes that the always give out. Korean food rocks!

Clockwise from top left: string beans, fish in chili sauce, house saland with carrot-gigner dressing, napa cabbage kimchee, pickles (maybe turnip or daikon), kimchee, fried mushrooms, sweet onions. We never really figured out whether these are apps or condiments, really... we just go on attack mode as soon as they hit the table. THe variety of tastes and textures is very pleasing.

We skipped on the apps this time,since we were pretty hungry. DJKung got the bulgogi andthe kalbi ribs for hima nd his pops. I got hte seafood and kimchee noodle soup.

Bulgogi. This comes out sizzling hot! DJKung's pops liked this with rice.

Seafood and kimchee soup. This was quite spicy and very hearty. A lot of umami goin' on in this dish.

Look at how fat the noodles are! This was when I was a quarter-way into my soup. The noodles really plumped up---one noodle filled up my soup spoon! The menu is not too specific on the type of noodle this is. I am guessing it is a type of wheat noodle with some seaweed to give it a nice green color. Rather chewy, feels like it was hand-cut and made in-house or very close by.

Kalbi ribs (bbq beef short ribs). What else can I say.

DJKung and his pops did get jealous of the dumpling soup on the next table. The dumplings were just massive and full to bursting with pork filling. They kinda felt that getting both the kalbi and bulgogi was a bit overkill, as both were heavy beef dishes that had the same class of flavors. Me, I was just happy with my noodle soup!

We even got a little tipple of rice drink at the end of the meal. It was a refreshing way to end the meal.

DJKung has recommended that You Chun be upgraded to SUPERROTATION. Chibs had the take-home kalbi, and he agrees.

Hot chocolate, hot chocolate, hot chocolate at City Bakery

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City Bakery
Flatiron/Union Square

After another satisfying meal at Nyonya (we got house special crabs this time), we were in the mood for dessert. We're heard of City Bakery's hot chocolate, so we went to check it out.

City Bakery is in a very nice, airy cafeteria-style space. You could practically just lounge there all day nursing your drink. I was kinda disappointed that there wasn't a bigger array of pastries to pick from, since I thought it was mainly a bakery.

DJKung and I got hot chocolate. His pops got coffee, which he said was pretty good.

Left: honey and raisin scone. Right: hot chocolate with giant-sized marshmallow. The scone was light and buttery. The chocolate... well. It was soooo rich and chocolately, as if they just melted a big bar of premium chocolate and poured it in a cup. The hot chocolate was literally in a big soup pot, which they had to stir a bit before ladling out. We liked the it a lot, although it was a bit too sweet. DJKung was impressed with the sheer density of the marshmallow.

Apple tart. This was excellent. The apple slices were caramelized and full of apple goodness.

We could not finish our hot chocolate because it was just too rich. After overnight refrigeration, it was so super-thick, it was mousse-like. You could have stuck a metal spoon in the cup and it would have stood upright, so thick it was.

I think we'll try this place again, maybe for lunch or dinner. The hot cocoa was just waaay too rich; we'll probably split a cup next time.