Momofuku at Cosmopolitan -- lunch 12/2/2018

Excerpted from my TR

I went up to Momofuku and it's placement belies it's real size. This is a picture of the entrance

So, you'd think, just a little hole-in-the wall on the corner . . until you get inside.


Quite a big place.
Here is the menu, "stitched together" hope that it's readable

I chose the Pork Belly Bun, and a bowl of the Shoyu Pork Ramen.
A WARNING HERE:
If you're not a fan of pork belly, don't order either of the items. If you REALLY LIKE pork belly, I encourage you to order both of these as a lunch.
I'm kind of in the middle. I like pork belly, but this was just a shade too much.
They provided a small bottle of Ssam sauce (Korean Chili sauce) for the pork belly bun.
15-20 minutes later the pork belly bun came out

Opened up, it looked like this

The pork belly was DELICIOUS. Not overly fatty tasting, the pork taste really came through well. I ate one bite with no sauce, then added sauce for the remaining bites because the sauce went really well with the bun. It didn't Overpower the pork belly, rather complimented it.
Then came the ramen . . .

A close up picture of the pork belly piece.

OK, first the broth. Very rich, and full bodied almost "too much" flavor. I just bought David Chang's cookbook and it has the recipe for this broth, and I'm gonna try it at home.
It had pork belly, ramen noodles, green onion, and a poached egg along with the pork belly. The noodles were done just the way that I like them, chewy but not rubbery.

All in all, it was a good lunch, and I could've gone with just the ramen, but I'm not sure when I'm gonna get back here (primarily since I have to pay out of pocket) I wanted to try at least two things.

Then came the bill.

I guess it's reasonable by LV Strip standards, and I could've done without the pork belly bun, but since I'm "up" this trip, and it was on my "bucket list", I shouldn't be complaining.

 

Thanks for the report...I was wondering about that place.

Pricing seems reasonable if you have to pay.

 

Great stuff @DaiLun. I’ll be dining there for the first time in a few weeks. The ramen looks like a winner. Thx for the post.

 

OK now I've got to go. That looks DELICIOUS.

 

I'm definitely trying that ramen on my next trip.

 

Love this place. Ate there 3 or 4 times last year when I was at Cosmo. Cosmo used to have The Social Hour with rotating specials at restaurants. I think Momofuku had $5 buns (Not much of a change looking st the pic of the bill, but still), so I pigged out every time. Also the bartenders (and I think wait staff) really know their sake. Apparently that’s part of their training. So buns and sake was a fun mix. Unfortunately it looks like the Social shout is gone for now. Still, I can’t recommrnd this place enough!

 

Shit, I'm gonna go there just to get the $1 water.

 

I love pork, now I want to go there.

Nice report, thanks for sharing.

 

I have a question but not about the pork belly. Are those prices for real with the fried chicken and caviar? $1688?

 

Yes. Golden Osetra caviar is very expensive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ossetra

I've seen it on Jet for $9,000 a 32 oz. tin.

 

Did you need a reservation? I'm guessing no

 

Not at 11AM (opening) for lunch. Plenty of seats were available, as opposed to the line at Eggslut (I looked at their menu, nothing fascinating there . . . but that's just me.). Not sure about the dinner hour or later in the day for lunch. I sat at the counter.

 

@MikeOPensacola - I highly recommend the pork belly ramen, it is fabulous! I think the broth has just the right amount of flavor....for a pork lover. The ramen is almost too big for me to finish alone, but worth it every time.

I'm thrilled that, as a native Californian, I don't need to book a half day flight to the East Coast to enjoy David Chang's food and Christina Tossi's desserts. And prices are pretty reasonable even by NYC standards.

 

I'll have to add this to the list ... Cosmo is really pulling me in with their restaurant selection.

 

@Eleven99isFine - that's what keeps me coming back.

I tiered up just by eating at the Cosmo last year.

 

Quick question for all the Momofuku fans. I’ll be dining at Momofuku for the first time in less than two weeks. The Ramen that @DaiLun posted a pic of looks like a winner!! I just looked at their online menu and couldn’t really decipher if this is available at dinner or lunch only. Thanks.....

 

I think that they only have one menu. I believe that it IS available for dinner.

 

They show a lunch and dinner menu on Cosmo’s website but that’s good news that they have it available for dinner. Thx for the thread and response.

 

Well, I sent them a note and asked just to make sure . . .

Well, that was pretty quick . . . . here's the answer:

"Great question! We actually offer the Shoyu Pork Ramen all day long. However, we do not print it on the Dinner menu so that we can showcase different items to our guests. If you are in the mood for ramen and happen to come at dinner, just let your Server know."

 

Thanks so much @DaiLun; very nice of you to take the time to do that.