Momofuku Pork Belly Bun in NYC New York

I wanted to try the famed Momofuku's famous ramen. I walked pass it, in search of Momofuku Noodle Bar on 1st Avenue without noticing it.


Momofuku Noodle Bar, 171 1st Ave, NYC (between 10th & 11th Streets)
 
Uniquely Strangely, there was no signboard at all at Momofuku Noodle Bar  :-(

So, I stopped and asked a helpful passerby where is Momofuku. Fortunately, Momofuku is famous enough that the first person I asked pointed me right to a Momofuku.


Momofuku Ssam Bar, 202 2nd Ave (between 12th and 13th Streets)    

I ended up at Momofuku Ssam Bar which also had no signboard ;-D



Inside Momofuku Ssam Bar, the decor was minimalist chic with lots of rich dark wood. Informal and casual, yet classy.

Ramen was not on the menu at Momofuku Ssam Bar, so I opted for their legendary Pork Bun.

Coming from Singapore, I've eaten a lot of pork buns in my life and had always wondered what the hype about Momofuku pork buns was all about.



These two steamed pork buns for USD10 (before tax and tip).

They looked ordinary enough pale and anaemic.



Two slices of belly pork with sliced cucumber and scallion with brown sauce between familiar looking Chinese buns.

How did it taste?



The snowy "bao" 包 bun had a bit of fluffiness but was otherwise generic and unremarkable.

But, when I bit through the soft bun into the pork, oh my...., it was stunning.



The belly pork was utterly buttery soft and naturally sweet savoury in a delightful way. The fat to lean meat ratio leaned on more fat, and it was the fat that held the delicate alluring flavours.

The warm savoury sweet juice was dripping and running down my fingers. There was a lot of fat - so calorie and cholesterol watching people may be wary of this. To me, this belly pork fat was calories and cholesterol very well spent ;-D

The brown sauce though generic commercially bottled Lee Kum Kee hoisin sauce, added an additional savoury layer to the dish.

The chopped raw scallions and thin slices of quick pickled cucumbers added crunch and balance to the savoury grease.



Each table had a small squeeze bottle of Sriracha chili which was spicy hot, vinegary and slightly sweet.

I didn't used any Sriracha on my belly pork buns which are best eaten neat, in my opinion.



I've eaten countless pork buns in my life but this one still amazes me.

After Momofuku Ssam Bar, I hopped over to 1st Avenue for their famous Ramen at Momofuku Noodle Bar 👈 click

Don't leave New York City without tasting Momofuku's pork buns by David Chang.



Restaurant name: Momofuku Ssam Bar
Address: 207, 2nd Avenue, NYC New York (between 12th & 13th Street)
Map: http://bit.ly/MoMofuku
Hours: 12:00 – 4:30 pm, 5:30 pm – 1:00 am




Date visited: 9 Jan 2015

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