It's been half a decade since I've strolled the streets of NYC. I've almost forgotten the fumes of garbage bags on trash day mixing with the smells of something spicy, something baking, and something frying on every corner of every street. I miss it, all of it, even the trash. It was like a different life.
Nostalgia, pleasant nostalgia anyway, smells just like Momofuku, my first taste of David Chang's genius almost ten years ago. I remember when the original noodle bar had the LES fighting Stuy Town for barstools, no reservations for front-row seats to what was probably the first decent bowl of ramen NYC had ever seen.
For me, Momofuku Las Vegas releases a wave of pleasant porky memories worth visiting more than once...and we did. All those restaurants all around, but this visit starts and ends with Momofuku.
The bar section even looks like Momofuku NYC, and I could almost be back there biting into their legendary Pork Belly Bun. The bun is steamed soft and fluffy, barely containing a brick of a belly, braised melty and soft, rivulets of liquid fat dripping tears of joy with every chew. There's a dab of hoisin, a dice of scallion, a cut of cucumber. It's the simplest thing, but I've never found one better.
There's a Spicy Fried Chicken Sandwich, too, a red-hot but not too hot crispy cut. Full in flavor, highlight by a smoky, creamy sauce and cooled down with a cucumber cured.
I hesitated before I ordered the Shoyu Pork Ramen. Shoyu broth is never my favorite, and after years of the real deal in Torrance, I wasn't sure it would feel the same. It feels the same. Same rich, porky broth, so savory and dense it could be a sauce. Same thick, dissolving chunk of belly with marbled shredded shoulder, and a seeping poached egg. Noodles still al dente, a bowl of all sorts of happiness.
I got another ramen for our last lunch, and we ordered the Jidori Chicken Ssam as a lighter contrast. The chicken is perfect. Thin skin and tender meat with all the juices, savory-flavory in a crisp and fresh lettuce wrap. Ginger-scallion perks up the rice, and pickles refresh the palate.
David Chang makes fireworks when he gets it right. His Momofuku will be the Bellagio fountain once people catch on. It's a classic that never gets old, and it's breathtaking no matter how many times you have it.
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