NY eats: Momofuku Noodle Bar

My second night in NY, my mom and I met up with some old family friends. The story of how we know them is an interesting one, so I'll tell it briefly. When I was 5, we met them on the plane going to China. They, meanwhile, were heading off to Beijing to live there (I think they lived there a good 6 or so years), and their parents were journalists. I became friends with their daughter Cara, my age, and her brother Andy was 2 years younger than us.
MEANWHILE, I got the chicken pox. On the plane. It sucked. My mom didn't want to scare me or anything, but Libby, the mother, had been a doctor before being a journalist, so she knew the symptoms. Her kids had already had chicken pox, so I could still hang out with them. We kept in touch and the year I lived in China when I was 7, we hung out nearly every weekend. Cute story, huh?
Anyways, when they heard I had a food blog, they wanted to make sure we went to dinner somewhere interesting. They chose Momofuku Noodle Bar, a trendly little no-reservations place in the East Village. Momofuku has two other restaurants: one is called Ssam Bar-Bakery, and the other is Ko, which is one of those Omakase-type deals with no menu and a crazy price.
The waiting time wasn't bad at all, but when I walked into the restaurant it immediately struck me that this looked nearly exactly like Avec, the Chicago restaurant that looks like a wooden box.

Just like at Avec, there you could sit at the bar, but if not, there was communal seating on wooden benches. Just like at Avec, the menu was short, seasonal, and organized into sides, small plates, large plates, and dessert.
And unfortunately, just like Avec, the menu was NOT vegetarian-friendly in the slightest. Like Avec, there were many delicious-sounding seafood options that happened to be cooked with sausage.
Momofuku is, I suppose, Asian fusion, but that description makes it sound much less original than it is. For example, the night I was there, here was the menu (short enough to fit the entire thing into a photo):

noodle bar etc.

steamed buns – chicken / shiitake / pork

smoked chicken wings – pickled chili, garlic, scallions

ramen – chicken / shredded pork

momofuku ramen – pork combo, poached egg

kimchi stew – braised kimchi, rice cakes, shredded pork

ginger scallion – dressed noodles, seasonal vegetables***

***(no broth, our only vegetarian option)

market

roasted skate wing – brussels sprouts, kimchi, bacon

bouchot mussels – miso garlic sausage, black kale, fennel

roasted tri-tip steak – nugget potatoes, kimchi butter

dessert

cousin leroy & arlo’s soft serve ice cream – quince / smoked maple / twist

The raw bar online has already changed, so squint and see if you can read it.
I ate very lightly that night. I ordered the hamachi and the only vegetarian noodle option.
The hamachi was refreshing and the fish was good quality-- unfortunately, it was really cold that day and sashimi wasn't what I was in the mood for. The grated horseradish was an economical but effective alternative to fresh wasabi, and the apple was a nice touch. Somehow they managed to turn the beets into a kind of jello. I'll admit, I wasn't in love with this dish, but I was fascinated by the different tastes and textures-- the acidity of the apple, the bitterness of the horseradish, and the sweet and slippery beets, were very unique and minimal adornments that highlighted the fish itself.

The noodles came in a huge bowl and were garnished with lots of ginger, sliced cucumber, roasted cauliflower, scallions, mushrooms, and a nori sheet. However, in an attempt to add flavor to an otherwise bland dish, they were drenched in sesame oil. If eaten in a much smaller portion after eating a spicy dish, I would have enjoyed them more. I mainly just ate the vegetables.


Everybody else took advantage of the carnivorous menu, but according to my mom, the ramen that they ordered was too meaty, and the pork too fatty. All the same, It would have been nice to drink some hot broth.
They also ordered the mussels, but the sausage, rather than being a garnish, was served in huge chunks and apparently overpowered the dish.
Everybody ordered steamed buns: chicken and pork. Interestingly, rather than the classic bao zi, the filling, instead of being minced and wrapped inside, was in block form and sandwiched within the wrapper. I wonder if this is to save time or simply for originality's sake.

I know it sounds like I'm being critical, but it was dessert that saved the day, although I only had a little. The only option was homemade softserve in quince and smoked maple, available separately or in a twist. The adults smartly ordered the twist, whereas my friends and I ordered one of each. We discovered that the ice creams were too overpowering to eat on their own, but with a little bit of each on the spoon, tasted wonderful. On the other hand, it did allow us to try each flavor first. In addition to the impeccable texture (it was topped with crushed candied walnuts), the quince took me straight back to the crisp I made on Thanksgiving. The maple was a little too sweet for me, but my favorite part was the saltiness of the smoky flavor. Really, just incredible. Amazing. The best ice cream ever.

I think as a whole, this place is great for meat-eaters, contrary to what my mom says. meanwhile, I looked at their other restaurant's menu online, and they have some non-meat dishes that sound incredible, such as:
diver sea scallops (ri) – xo broth, orange, snow peas

charred squid salad – ginger scallion, mizuna

pumpkin chawanmushi – grana padano, kelp, pepita

PUMPKIN CHAWANMUSHI? In case you don't know, chawanmushi is the Japanese version of ji dan geng, the steamed egg custard my dad often makes. Grana padano is a Parmesan-like cheese and pepita are pumpkin seeds. Don't know if this dish would be good, but the idea of it fascinates me.

bouchot mussels – nigori broth, pickled ramps, grapes

poached chatham cod – matsutake dashi, pinenut, black garlic

grilled long island monkfish – savoy cabbage, kimchi, pistachio

And so on... as you can see, if you don't eat fish or seafood, do not come to any of these restaurants.

Piano lesson, AVEC

Let's make this a quick one.
Breakfast: oats with 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup oats, 1/2 cup skim milk, 1/2 cup water, chopped up cinnamon roasted pear, almonds, and pear butter. (PS, I always add vanilla and cinnamon to my oats)
On the side: Greek yogurt with pomegranate seeds, pomegranate molasses, and a drizzle of honey. Chocolate soy milk. A lot of it. This stuff is deadly because I can't stop at one glass.
3rd period (was hungrier earlier today) snack: Kashi bar.
WAS STARVING BY 5TH PERIOD, which is English. I love discussion, but I was so hungry today for some reason that I could hardly sit still by the end.
Lunch: interesting variation on the PB and banana sandwich-- peanut butter, 1/2 sliced banana, the leftover pumpkin from yesterday, pumpkin butter, and a thin layer of whipped cottage cheese, which is spreadable. It was delicious, but like most PB sandwiches, didn't fill me up at all.
However, I had a lot of fiber on the side, so although I thought I was still hungry, I was able to get full later on--
Celery and red pepper with hummus
some lettuce with lentils thrown in, but for some reason it tasted weird and grassy, so I took about 2 bites and then put it away.
An Asian pear. These are so full of water that you might as well be drinking a glass of pear juice instead.
My body was definitely craving more carbs, since I usually have more than just this at lunch, but since I missed swim practice to make up the piano I'll be missing on Saturday for Sectionals, I knew I didn't need to eat more today.
I spent my free period working on my model city for my Sustainability project in art, but I don't think this is how I'm going to end up assembling it-- I'll probably do an installation in a glass case where you can see it at every angle. Cool, right? It's all made of recycled stuff.
After school I went straight to my music school, but I first stopped at Starbucks (did you know it's named for Starbuck, the 1st mate, in Moby-Dick?) for a nonfat latte pick-me-up.
So basically I had an hour of piano duet and then an hour private lesson with about an hour and a half to kill in between. On Wednesdays if one parent is out of town we usually go out for dinner afterwards, but lately we found that we had just been getting home too late, so we decided to eat early. This was actually a perfect plan because my music school is in a really trendy restaurant neighborhood, and some of the restaurants don't take reservations, so it's hard to get in unless you go early. We went to Avec, which is hands down on of the best restaurants in Chicago. It can be pricey or moderate, depending on what you do. It's basically tapas, but not necessarily Spanish food. There are small plates and large plates, and all of it focuses on rustic fare and fresh produce.
The restaurant looks like a wooden box. The seating is communal and it's really noisy (you usually end up making friends with your neighbors). The back wall is completely made of green glass bottles, which is amazing.
I have to say, though, out of all the times we've been here, it was the worst today. I think it's because they don't actually have a lot of vegetarian options (because they use a LITTLE bit of meat in everything for flavoring, so there wasn't much to choose. The last time I went there, I was definitely ordering the chorizo-stuffed dates wrapped in bacon (this was a LONG time ago... maybe 3 years ago, actually? God, was that really the last time I went there?).
We didn't order a huge amount of food, but since I didn't swim today, it ended up being okay. We ordered 4 small plates, one that my mom was skeptical about, but which turned out to be the best-- house-made barley bread with their own cottage cheese and spicy quinces, with a salad of greens on the side. Of course, I realize that we could even make this at home with the cinnamon pears, but I had never had quinces before and they were great, not to mention really beautiful! Their soft, pink, silky texture reminded me almost of smoked fish on crostini. They were spicy with cinnamon, but also actually hot with what was probably cayenne. Even the cottage cheese was extra creamy, probably because it wasn't low-fat (although cottage cheese IS already naturally low in fat).
My mom for some reason lately has been obsessed with trying dishes with salted cod, and so far none of her attempts have been successful-- in Greektown she ordered what she thought was a casserole dish, but turned out to be fried fish, and at Avec she ordered the brandade, which she didn't realize was a dip (I did). It was served with garlic bread, and was way too creamy for me-- it tasted like fish, but was full of cream, onions, olive oil, and topped with little potato croutons. I took a few bites before I realized what it reminded me of: CLAM CHOWDER! I had hit the nail on the head... or I suppose it was more like clam chowder fondue. My mom didn't eat too much more after I made that comment.
We also ordered an octopus dish in a spicy sauce with spinach. Originally the dressing had pancetta with it, but they were able to do it without. The flavor of the dish was fine, albeit a little salty (can you imagine what would have happened if they hadn't left out the pancetta?). The problem was that unlike the octopus at Greektown, which was crispy and charred, this was too soft, so that the whole time you were eating it you were absolutely aware that you were eating octopus. Actually, I got a little scared when I saw the OCTOPUS HEADS at the bottom of the dish! I could even see the eyes!
One of the specials of the day was rapini with lemon and garlic, which is honestly exactly the kind of dish we make at home. Unfortunately, this was so bitter I could hardly eat it! It tasted like horseradish, or those crazily bitter mountain greens in China that even my dad couldn't choke down.
We were rushed for time, but we probably wouldn't have gotten dessert anyway (options that night didn't sound that great). I realize that I'm really not doing this restaurant justice, but it really is wonderful. The chef also owns Blackbird, which is fancier. But just to put it into perspective, here are some other dishes on the menu that I would have ordered if I ate meat:
slow roasted crispy duck leg with marinated plums, tarragon, grilled onion and savory streusel
portugese mariner's stew with tripe, manilla clams, rice and housemade preserved lemon sausage (not sure about the tripe though)
"la quercia" prosciutto with market pears, lemon, slivered almonds and marinated manchego 20.5
There was also a pheasant sausage dish with lentils that sounded really interesting.
So we rushed back to music, I had my private lesson, and came home, where, despite my smallish dinner (these are SMALL plates, and we didn't eat everything), all I needed were some strawberries. See how much less I eat on days without swimming? I really do think that, counterintuitive as it seems, I might lose some weight when the season ends.
Jeez, that wasn't that quick a post, was it? Good night.