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| - After having heard David Chang give a talk during the Food on Film series at TIFF, his mantra and dedication to food made me want to give Momofuku Noodle Bar a try.
I can only assume the markup on ramen (at $15 a bowl) is quite high and pays the rent at this Shangri-La-attached restaurant. And for a restaurant with the word noodlebar in the namesake you would expect the noodles to be the pièce de resistance - nuh uh.
We nabbed a seat at the kitchen bar and it was a great spot to see all the staff meticulously putting together the dishes. Everyone had a specified task - there was a buns guy, a noodle guy, and then the everything else guy. David Chang's work ethic and perfection definitely shows in the way the kitchen is run. He said during the TIFF talk that the mentality in Asia is to master the highest level in one said craft and do it for the rest of your life. Looks like the bun guy will always be making the buns here!
We opted for the Momofuku Ramen ($15). I figure if the restaurant is willing to put their name to the dish it must be damn good. This is composed of pork belly + shoulder, fish cake, and egg. I will say that the broth here is for the purists. It is not as rich or intense as say Santouka, but the sweet flavours from the pork bone really makes it an untainted and "pure" broth. The generous sprinkling of scallions for me was a plus and the perfectly poached egg manages to melt in your mouth like cotton candy.
Like I said earlier, the ramen wasn't the showstopper - for me it was the Pork Buns ($10) served with hoisin, scallions and cucumber. The measure of a good bun for me lies in the perfect ratio of protein to bun; the bun should be just the right amount of thickness so that the bun doesn't end up soggy and a good bun is also soft and supple. The pork bun at Momofuku definitely met every criteria I seek in a pork bun. It's great as is, but for those who like a little kick, don't be shy with the Sriracha ;)
The Smoked Chicken Wings ($12) are topped with pickled chili, fried garlic and scallions. The glaze reminds me very much of a Teriyaki sauce. I found the balance slightly off as the sugar component of the sauce was really prominent leading to an overly-sweet wing for me.
Another complaint I have is the cocktail list - they have 1 cocktail. A G&T (Gin & Tonic). Maybe the Shangri-La wants people to hang out in the hotel bar for drinks instead?
With tax and tip our meal for 2 came to $46.50. Not cheap. I am not encouraged to come back again. I may have come back for the pork buns (as a snack) if their cocktail list was a little more extensive. The pork buns get 5 stars, but the overall restaurant is just standard, hence 3 stars in total. Oh and trying to find parking is a b!tch.
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