We had a nice camp of 7 hungry people. After perusing the salivating menu, we made a (potentially foolish) decision to get a few bowls of ramen to try, a pork bun each and a few other snippets. Two whole fried chickens is a lot of food and sadly we struggled to finish it all, but I am happy to have tried so many of their dishes.
From the starters, the Pork Buns (hoisin, scallion, cucumber) are deservedly world famous. They comprise of a lovely white soft flour shell, delicate pork belly and the typical complementary flavours usually in Peking duck. It is fantastic.
We also tried the Charred Octopus (pearl onion, mole, zucchini flower) and a daily special of Pig Tails, both of which were good albeit not particularly memorable.
The Fried Chicken appeared to us like a dream. A crispy buttermilk triple-fried Southern style and also a slightly spicy Korean version. The Southern style is a rich and tasty bird, as expected given the known fried chicken quality in the USA. I can't say this is the best version I've had, but it is certainly nice especially with some lovely vegetables and sauces in a perfect wrap. I honestly prefered the sweet spicy Korean fried chicken, which in my opinion had that additional flavour to make it particularly special and unique.
Given the place is originally reputed as a ramen-ya, we were all excited to try the famous Momofuku versions. Between us we tried two staples: Momofuku Ramen (pork belly, pork shoulder, poached egg), Ginger Scallion Noodles (pickled shiitakes, cucumber, cabbage) which my companions liked. Personally I felt the broth was much too heavy on smoked ham hock flavour (like a typical ham & pea soup), which although tasty seemed a bit too unusual for a ramen base to me (given my ramen favourites have all been in Japan). A daily special of Lamb Ramen (piquillo, soy egg, shiso) was a different variation but seemingly more standard as the broth was more lamb meat flavour rather than smoked.
Nonetheless I highly recommend this place. If nothing else besides reputation, it is a place of taste experience and good social ability, and that is what food is all about.
Next time I would order the fried chicken dinner again. The pork buns are a must. Everything else (including the ramen) is optional. Just make sure to go with at least 6 very hungry individuals.
