Momofuku Ssam Bar

Filed under East Village, Japanese, Korean · Print This Post

207 2nd Avenue corner of 13th Street
212/254.3500
$9 for one, with a drink, without tip
♥ ♥ ♥

Remember when the Lambs were all over 5th Street opening up to five restaurants in the area? Two of them, a Korean grill, now Degustation, and Makimono, now occupied by Jack Oyster Bar that was around the corner, have since closed. So can the east Village only be conquered by one person–or one couple–at a time? And is it David Chang’s turn this year?

Every time I walk by Momofuku, it’s packed. I like my Berkshire pork as much as everyone else, but spending $13 on a bowl of somen is hard to swallow at times. Besides, when I am in the mood to spend that much for a bowl of noodle soup, any one of my white guy friends are not available to eat with me–a white guy is the accessory-du-jour at Momofuku if you’re an Asian girl. (Look up from your sticky steamed buns when you go.)

I wish Chef David Chang all the luck now that his second restaurant has opened. From bowls of noodles made fancy by adding Berkshire pork and seasonal ingredients come Korean burritos called ssam made fancy by adding, well, Berkshire pork and other seasonal ingredients. To me, though, a burrito is a burrito: a whole mess of rice, beans and meat wrapped in soft tortilla even if there are Asian touches to it. At Momofuku Ssam Bar, edamame, shiitake mushrooms and kimchi are the culprits. I was ready to surrender towards the end of my heavy lunch but I was with three other boys who thought another half would have made the $9 worth it.

Momofuku Ssam is so much better for dinner. After an hour wait in a pub down the street, we returned to be seated at the bar. The warm veal head terrine reminded me of Babbo that I almost forgot David Chang became famous because of his noodle bowls. The sweetbreads were grilled, complete with burnt stripes, and were excellent beer food with pickles. I loved the roasted mushroom salad with crosne, or Chinese artichoke, in a pistachio-based sauce. The grilled lemongrass pork sausage was much better and lighter than its soft tortilla counterpart. The lettuce is fresh and crunchy, and like Korean kalbi, is used to pick up the soft sausages. David Chang just can’t help but go back to his Asian roots and I commend him for that.

Related post/s:
Momofuku Noodle Bar, David Chang’s first restaurant
Degustation, from the Lambs

Comments (2)

fresh.

Filed under American, West Village + TriBeCa · Print This Post

105 Reade Street between Church and Broadway
212/406.1900
about $55 for one, with two drinks, without tip
♥

For a $28 lunch prix fixe, my shellfish crepe with spinach was very satisfying. It included a scallop, small pieces of lobster and crab plus shrimps sandwiched in a soft crepe swimming in crab broth. I would have been happy without the crepe because it got soggy at the end, but that El Bulli-inspired foam is always interesting to look at. The gazpacho with shrimps had a nice spicy kick to it that I liked. They ran out of the octopus and squid salad and this cold soup was the right choice for a summer starter. I had room for dessert and I thought I made a good choice with the strawberry almond shortcake with sorbet. To me, something tart is always a good ending to a good meal.

The busboy brought bread to the table three times while we waited for our food. Maybe the small flies buzzing around made him nervous because he was keen on spilling water whenever he would give us a refill. One of the flies–a really, really tiny one–dove into one of our wine glasses. To make up for it, the manager brought us an extra bottle of wine–a service totally unnecessary but very much appreciated by our entire group. Sometimes, attentive service makes up for everything else, even small insects. Sometimes.

Related post/s:
A roach in my meal at Blue Hill Restaurant

Comments