Momofuku Noodle Bar

I am a big big Momofuku fan, so much so that New York is chosen as a holiday vacation out many other interesting places in the States partly because Momofuku restaurants are there. I have a Momofuku cook book, still loving it; and have been trying to perform some David Chang experiments in my own kitchen with great success, so I have very high hopes in Momofuku Restaurants.

Not wanting to spend a fortune on the new Momofuku Ko, we decided to try the first Momofuku shop - The Noodle Bar. The noodle bar's original location is now Ko and Noodle Bar is moved to East Village, bigger space, more seats. We make it a point to visit Momofuku Noodle bar for a late lunch while we're in NY. 

I must say the shop has a very subtle facade but having previously checked out the location on Google Earth, it's not a problem finding the location. Warm welcoming staff and a pretty occupied restaurant at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon seem like good signs to me :) We were lead to the bar seats, simple 'paper menu' are provided and specials of the day are written on chalk boards hanging on the walls.

Open kitchen so diner can see all the kitchen actions; simple decó, nice & bright; and the process flow of the restaurant is streamlined to perfection, I must say. The kitchen never have to worry about take away for it is being taken care of at the bar. Even the placement of the take away utensils are thoughtfully arranged in a way that benefits the process flow. One of the head staff is closely monitoring the output from kitchen, checking the 'performance'.

We ordered the 'must try' Momofuku pork bun as starter to share, Mr.T decided to try their signature ramen and while I want to put my taste bud to test on their Kimchi stew (did I forget to mention I LOVE kimchi?).

Our pork bun arrived after a short wait. My first impression of the bun was not good. The pork is too fatty and the colour doesn't look like it's been braised well. A bite into the bun brought even more disappointment. The pork is no doubt tender and the buns are steaming hot but the combination of pickled cucumber, hoisin sauce and spring onion which should accentuate the taste of the pork are just not working. The textures are there but the tastes are missing!

Soon after, my kimchi stew is delivered and the colour just looks so luring. Does the Kimchi stew taste as good as it looks? Nah, big NO NO. The attractive colours aside, the kimchi stew doesn't even taste much of kimchi. The only thing that taste of anything in this stew is the pickled daikon. Unfortunately the daikons are cut into such a big chunk, a few bites of the same bits is enough to push me to the limit of stop eating. Pork is still tender albeit tasteless. Did they forget to season the stew?

And then comes Mr.T's order of signature Momofuku ramen. Judging from his expression, he's not happy with the quality of his noodle either. Thinking it cannot be that bad, I tasted his noodle and reluctantly, I have to admit this is an absolutely bland noodle. The only part that taste good is when Mr.T broke the egg and the yolks blends into the soup. I'm sorry to say they seem to have the ability to suck all the tastes away from what should have been a very tasty bowl of noodle (considering how many ingredients are present in this bowl).

Three dishes tasting below par on a visit really makes me doubt Momofuku's reviews & ravings. It's either both Mr.T and my palettes are totally off than those of New Yorkers or something is really wrong with the Momofuku Noodle Bar the day we visit. I also suspect they're using MSGs because we are both very thirsty after dining at Momofuku.

After the trip, I log into Trip Advisor to leave a comment and was surprise to see that others who have visited the restaurant on the same day as we did had very good review about the restaurant. Having dining from street side stalls to Michelin restaurants, I do not think my taste buds (or Mr.T's for that matter) are made any much different than others; and although hard to believe but even as a Momofuku fan, I have to say Momofuku Noodle Bar is not delivering!! 

I still refuse to believe this is the normal standard of Momofuku but I do believe they need some better quality control if this is what they are delivering daily to customers. For now, I'll just be a Momofuku cook book fan than the restaurant itself.

9/11 Memorial

On 9/11, we woke up early (despite getting up at 3am in the middle of the night) and went for our complimentary breakfast at the diners below the hotel. The diner is totally filled to the brink but the turnover rate is fast, so we quickly got our seats. I love the fresh orange juice, saw half & half for the first time, tasted a bland American breakfast then to realize apparently seasoning are to be done by ourselves (unlike in Europe) and sipped a terribly thin American coffee. Mr.T love his American breakfast though.

We went back to the hotel after breakfast for a quick use of toilet and saw some helicopters hovering around the World Trade Center old sites. Did I forget to mention I'm in the same city as 2 presidents (President Obama & ex-President Bush), senators, governors, mayors and politically important 'big shots' of US? Suddenly I feel so much more privilege to be in the city.

Subway station that stops at WTC is closed off and every single exit is guarded by 2 policemen. Due to 10th year 'anniversary' of the 9/11 incident, the entrance to the memorial site is given to family members of the victims of the attack as priority and we tourists who failed to reserve the remaining limited tickets can only walk around the perimeters that are safely guarded by almost the entire state's police force.

The crowd walking outside the perimeter of WTC

Coming out from the subway station, we were merely walking blindly in the financial district, assured on the fact that the best force are in town maintaining the security and ensure the smooth progress of the memorial ceremony. Psssk, by the way, there was a bomb threat to the memorial day but the authority has been doing a good job screening every single van that fit description, so we feel pretty safe. We walked pass the patisserie that is said to serve the best financier, but we're too full for that, so a picture as memorial.

The best financier in town?

I just love the water towers on top of the buildings and the outside staircases, and can almost see Spiderman hoovering from one tower to another.

Nice police car

One of the replacement building for WTC under construction, from battery park.

The raging bull at Wall Street

Walking pass the financial district, we tried to be smart and decided to go against the flow and take the ferry to the Statue of Liberty, which turns out to be a good decision because there's literally no queue. Passing through the Battery Park, seeing the flags designed using all 911 victims names left a rather heavy impression.

As the ferry leaves Manhattan, the city's beautiful skyline that is featured in so many movies appears in front of our eyes, I almost feel like I'm in a movie. Unfortunately the weather is cloudy and hazy, it'd would have been a great view with clear blue sky.

Arriving at the Liberty Island, special agents with heavy machine guns are stationed at the dock for extra security precaution. I wanted to take a picture of them but not sure if it'll cause any unnecessary trouble, so I give it a rest. Standing at the feet of the Statue of Liberty, I can finally proudly say 'I've been here!'

Manhattan from Liberty Island

Despite the warm weather on Manhattan, once we're on the Liberty Island, the constantly blowing wind actually brings down the temperature and make it rather chilly. We take a really slow pace to go around the island, skipping Ellis Island and head back to the Skyscraper's Museum. A small free museum, nothing to shout about.

I have planned for the day's lunch to be food truck lunch but on a weekend, food trucks are not so easily available at the financial district, so we head for the subway to the new Momofuku Noodle Bar in East Village. To find out what's going on in the restaurant that sweeps New Yorkers feet away, check out Momofuku Noodle Bar.

Food truck selling soft ice

One of my colleagues says the best way to enjoy New York is by walking on the street, seeing it and feeling it; I couldn't agree more. So after Momofuku, we walked from 14th street to 37th street, passing by some of the more iconic landmarks like the Flatiron building and part of Fifth Avenue.

Our wonderful plan is to go back to the hotel for a small pit stop and then head out again to hit the town, but alas, jet lag hit us. A supposed little nap prolonged to be a good night sleep, when we wake up again, it is 3am in the morning. Empire State Building is looking gorgeous from the window but the day is gone, argh!!! We vow to do better the next day.

New York - First Contact

Finally, I set foot on the United States, and it's none other than the city that never sleeps - New York, hooray!!! My travelling time coincides with 9/11 10th year memorial, which is not intended. My brain stops working when I saw the word 'sales' on air ticket and forget about the extra security check that might be imposed during that period. Well, it turns out to be okay, nothing excessive in particular during our one week stay (except the day on 9/11 itself).

Hotel New Yorker that we stayed in

Mr.T booked us a suite on the top floor of a nice hotel and we were given a suite that not only boasts Empire States Building view (which is just a block away), but also has a Manhattan down town view and on a clear day, we can actually see the Statue of Liberty. We can't stop amazed at the suite's view throughout our stay during different times of days, good choice, Mr.T; and thanks for the stay :)

What did I say about the view? ;)

Getting to the city is easy as a breeze with the train and since we're staying at mid-town, the streets are very easy to navigate, so check in, drop baggage and done with. We then went out to Time Square to pick up our New York Pass, rubbing shoulders with people of all trades along the way and amazed at how common Spanish is in America's everyday life. Many times, I felt a deja-vu of seeing scenes from so many movies taken place in this very city. Mr.T has been doing 'research' by watching movies involving New York - Godzilla, US Marshall, King Kong, MIB etc., hence the influence...

Time Square

And then something 'magical' happens: Woodie, Elmo, the cookie monster suddenly appear on the street, how cute right? So I approach a Woodie and asked for a picture to realize the picture will cost ~USD1- 2, I was angry at myself for being naive forgetting about the realistic sides of this city. Well, that aside, we visited Hershey and M&M, saw some huge chocolates and also bought quite some amount of chocolates. Mr.T claims he didn't like the taste of Hershey (mainly due to the milk used) yet manage to eat 250g of my newly bought Hershey nougats!!

My 2USD shot with Woodie

Another shot of Time Square

Giant Hershey bar, real chocolate!

Tired, we decided to walk back to the hotel and take a rest. Along the way, a very special mini cup cake shop caught my eye, check out how beautiful the display is below. I cannot remember the shop name but there are plenty of mini cup cake stores in NY, be sure to treat yourself one.

These mini cup cakes cost a dollar each, not cheap for they are really small. After Mr.T and I munched down two, I realized I haven't take any picture and hence this is the last of it with vanilla frosting and cookie bear topping. They taste pretty good at their size, I think they'll be too sweet if they are normal sized cup cake.

The street was actually quite warm for a September day, around 26degreeC, we really appreciate the powerful air-conditioning in the hotel. After some discussion, we decided to sleep early tonight to try to gain energy for the days to come but before that, we of course have to had our first American dinner. TGI Friday is right across the street and so we went for it. 

My first encounter with American servicing, the same waiter/waitress that waits you will be the one you settle the bill with, good to know. As for the food...it's very disappointing. Mr.T's burger was very dry, the fries are fried so many times that they are too hard to be consumed; the best part of my Jack Daniel sauce chicken & shrimp platter is actually the broccoli, the shrimp is half raw and the chicken is dry, the sauce was ok though. 

And the most unwanted thing happen - jet lag. We automatically wakes up around 3am, wide awake, watching TVs, eating chocolates and taking picture from our room's wonderful view.

The jet lag goes on for a few more days but that aside, more on 9/11 day next.