One of the many many places that I had to visit whilst in NYC was Momofuku. It wasn’t easy trying to pick a ‘warm’ day to venture to Momofuku Noodle Bar as we were still on the brink of Winter transitioning into Spring and with our luck, or lack thereof, the day we trek downtown, it’s raining, windy and cold. Frightening cold. We braved the elements and made it to Momofuku Noodle Bar hoping to get in asap to hide away from said elements. Instead, we’re met with a line! Luckily both the line and wait was short before we all file in and get seated.
The magical soju slushie machine!
Bar seating leading to the open kitchen
Creamsicle (orange and cream) soju slushie; $5.00USD
Yeah yeah, we know it was cold outside, but THIS was too good not to have! Creamy, citrusy, fresh, icy… and there’s alcohol in it too! Might as well warm our bellies up before we step outside again.. hehe.
Seven spice chips; $3.00USD
Let’s be clear here, the main reason we’re here is for this. David Chang’s famous pork buns
Pork buns, hoisin, scallion and cucumber; $10.00USD
Now look at that bad boy! Not one, not two but three, THREE thick slices of pork belly sits inside the soft fluffy bun that’s been slathered with hoisin sauce, slices of cucumber pickles and a dollop of scallions. But wait, there’s more! Accompanied with each pork bun dish is a small bottle of Sriracha sauce which I happily paired with each mouthful of pork bun goodness. The pork was fatty and tender with the pickled cucumbers cutting through the richness. So good. SO. GOOD. Even for the health conscious… i.e.. me, this was so worth it! I still have dreams about this bun. The hype it receives is well worth it!
Smoked chicken wings; $12.00USD
Smoky, sticky chicken wings that will have you asking the waiter for a wet towel! A bowl of bones remain after a handful minutes or so, take what you will of that. YUM! 
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Fingerling potatoes, bonito, poached egg and chilli; $10.00USD
Look at how delicate and soft that poached egg looks amongst the potatoes and bonito flakes. Simple ingredients but a cracker of a dish. Soft potatoes paired with the sharpness from the bonito flakes; harmoniously paired with the gooey richness from the poached egg and hints of chilli Sriracha sauce adding a slight kick to each bite.
Tiger and I were bordering on ‘stuffed’ at this point, but the meal was so tasty that I just had to order one more thing cause you know, I ain’t coming back for a long time… if ever!
Smoked ham rice cakes, pineapple, sesame and fried egg; $12.00USD
Okay, the fried egg won me over. Just look at it glisten! Sunny side up egg right thurrrr!
This dish came out a bit later as they accidentally forgot our order. By the time this dish did come out, our food had settled and we were on the edge of POOF/BANG/POP!!! SO. FULL. Meager bites were attempted to chow this down but I pulled out my white flag and admitted defeat. Interesting flavour profiles however it was our least favourite from our meal.
You might be wondering why we didn’t order the ramen seeing that we went to the Noodle Bar. Answer: we didn’t want to get full from ramen alone and wanted to try their other dishes instead.
Momofuku Noodle Bar
171 First Avenue (between 10th and 11th Street)
New York NY 10003 USA
Opening hours
Lunch
Mon–Fri 12pm–4:30pm
Sat-Sun 12pm–4pm
Dinner
Sun–Thu 5:30pm–11pm
Fri-Sat 5:30pm–2am
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Concrete jungle
Another favourite haunt during our trip: Hide Chan Ramen. The best thing about it? It was around the corner from where we were staying so that was a huge bonus seeing how huge Manhattan was and how far it can get from one end to the other!
Spicy pork buns; $8.00USD
Inspired by David Chang’s famous pork buns, these pork buns have been slightly deviated from the original using lettuce instead of pickled cucumbers and scallions. A buck extra for a good squirt of Sricacha sauce to tickle ones taste buds!
Pork buns; $7.00USD
Takoyaki; $6.50USD
Homemade pan fried pork dumplings with ponzu and grated Japanese radish, scallion; $7.00USD
Shoyu ramen: Konbu seaweed and shitake bonito based soup; $13.50USD
Green tea ice cream mochi
Pan fried pork dumplings with a golden crispy skin and juicy moist pork filling paired with the punchy ponzu, grated Japanese radish and scallion. Delish, perfect side dish to sate those hunger pangs. The ramen was rich in flavour and so hot and comforting that sent some warmth through our bodies to help with the winter cold outside. Bliss.
And the best way to end off dinner? Green tea ice cream mochi. The ice cream was so smooth, creamy with a punchy green tea flavour encased in a soft, chewy green tea flavoured rice flour skin. YUMMO!!
Hide Chan Ramen
248 E 52nd Street (between 2nd and 3rd Avenue)
New York NY 10022 USA
P 212 813 1800
Opening hours
Mon-Wed 11.30am-11pm
Thu-Fri 11.30am-4am
Sat-Sun 5.30pm-11pm
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