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Momofuku Noodle Bar, New York City (9.5/10)

In the heart of the East Village in New York City there is a tiny noodle bar with a very subtle sign on the door. You would never know it was run by a world class chef unless you looked more closely to see there is never an empty seat in the house.

Momofuku Noodle Bar was a non negotiable goal of mine being in New York City. I have watched Chef David Chang on many food shows and have found myself inspired by his love of Asian cuisine and the beauty and simplicity that can come from something as simple as Ramen.

 This is what Momofuku was built on, a chef's vision of finding his little hole in the east village to sell Ramen. He went on to open multiple restaurants in multiple cities but it started in this little long galley shaped noodle bar. I love Ramen and I love this chef's story so naturally I had to go.

Downfall, I was travelling with my best friend who does not really like Asian cuisine, She was totally in support of me finding my little shop but we had to find a time that we would be in the area and had the time to each eat separately that day. It was finally on our second to last day in New York that we had a few extra hours before a pub crawl that I got my chance.

 It was about 6 pm and the place was packed. We were seated at the bar where to my delight I had a perfect view of the kitchen and the magic noodle dance that was going on. 4 cooks creating assembly style Soup in such a way that it looked like chaos but you knew it was perfectly timed.

 The menu was small, 3 or 4 soups, a Pork Bun and some add ons like kimchi. I was there specifically for the "momofuku ramen".  A poached egg, pork belly, nori pulled pork and noodles nestled in their house special broth.

The restaurant was hot. I mean really hot. I was already sweating from the 31 degree Celsius heat outside and thought I might be crazy to be eating hot soup!

As soon as it arrived and I got a nose full of the beautiful umami coming off of that bowl, there was no going back I knew how good this was going to be.

 How can I describe the broth full bodied, salty, fatty, dense with layers of veg and protein. The noodles a perfect texture . The Nori gave a tiny touch of acid to the bowl that set off the egg and pork belly.  Just a touch of green onion floating on the top.

 I ate with glee, I was emotional about it really. It was the place, the vibe, the realization that I was there in the city that holds my heart experiencing something for Chef D and I that we had talked about so often.
 Yeah I know, to some its just food. To me this was a "moment" and it was worth every slurp.

 I look so forward to going back with Chef D to share this with him.

Cheers and Bon Appetit

Whiskey G ( 9.5/10)  it was very very hot in the restaurant.





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