Momofuku Noodle bar was high on my list of places that I wanted to check out on this last trip to New York. Friends of mine from the upper east side had been banging on about David Chang’s noodle bar in the east village for ages, so I knew we just had to go

I suppose I was going a bit sanitized by checking out the new location up at Columbus Circle, perhaps we should have headed to the village but to be honest we had played tourist heading up 5th Avenue via Rockfeller and crossing over to the circle through the park, So who am I kidding 

Momofuku is just one of a number of restaurants in the city headed up by David Chang, another one is due to open down at South Street Seaport later in the year, and I suspect I will be all over that too.

Anyhow back to the food I was looking for ramen noodles and steamed buns and that is what I found 🙂

CARAMELIZED SHIITAKE BUN

The first one of the buns or bao to arrive that we had ordered to start with was the Caramelized Shiitake described on the menu simply with just the words ‘hoisin’ and ‘cucumber’ added.

Luckily I had already figured that all three of those were going to be excellent bedfellows so I knew (hoped) it was going to be a winner when I picked it #smug

It was really good, those fungi were so meaty, the hoisin was sweet and sticky and clung to the mushroom holding on for dear life to deliver it’s flavour 

The cucumber was lurking in and around adding a little crunch and a little pocket of coolness to the bite. Chopped up slices of something green added a bit of asian herbiness

I really liked these and could have happily eaten both on the plate, but we shared so that was my loss 😦

SEARED SHRIMP BUN

The second bun to arrive was the Seared Shrimp Bun. These were great too, big juicy seared shrimp with spicy mayo and pickled red onion. Just the right mix of spice and sweet pickle to enhance the bite and still let those big fat old shrimp shine. 

SPICY BEEF RAMEN

 

OK so now for the main event we were reaching the point that I had been all excited by with a bowl of the Spicy Beef Ramen!

I love noodles and ramen, and I had seen a lot of David Chang on the telly and I like the way he talks about food, so I was kind of all ‘fangirl’ over this.

So I knew it wasn’t really going to be that ‘spicy’ as when we asked our waitress she had told us that spice wise it was kind of a 5 out of 10. That was OK though as I didn’t know how David worked out his spice levels and figured perhaps he was being cautious for the average punter.

For me it could have been spicier BUT the beef(iness) flavour in that broth was so good and so moreish that when I think about it now, I am happy that it wasn’t ruined by too much chilli heat. To be honest give me flavour over heat any day of the week.

The big thick, tender juicy slices of beef in the bowl were excellent. They fell apart with ease as you grabbed them with your chopsticks and really added a lot of joy to the bowl.

I really liked it here, I think I want to try the one in the village though just to see how they compare. I am also pretty keen to check out Bang Bar next door which had a huge line and was sold out pretty quick

Momofuku Noodle Bar at Columbus Circus is located up on the third floor

The Shops at Columbus Circle, 10 Columbus Circle, New York,  NY 10019

Check out their website and what is happening on their Facebook Page, their Twitter feed and on their Instagram Profile