PrintMomofuku Noodle Bar's Ramen, Dissed
As noted over on the Serious Eats homestead, ramen blog Rameniac crowned the city's "Kings of the Bowl," with top ramen props going to Setagaya and Ippudo, but definitely not to Momofuku Noodle Bar.
"Overhyped, overpriced and blessed by Iron Chef Morimoto in what has got to be the most flagrant abuse of ranking of since the BCS screwed up college football, Momofuku is a gentrified abomination of a ramen shop with food peddled to New York diners who really ought to know better."
Rameniac is referring to this notorious Grub Street post, when Morimoto ranked Momofuku in the tip-top, but conveniently, a certain David Chang was right next to him. Says Serious Eater Michele Humes (who, in this case, goes by her street name m.Hu.): "fo’ sho’. the ‘fuku serves flabby, oily ramen."
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12 Comments:
Wow I have to disagree. I adore Momofuku's signature ramens. I give due respect to Ippudo, and really loved it as well, but I prefer the former. I love the poached egg and the perfectly spiced broth.
It's a decision every woman must make for herself.
secondbecky at 11:24AM on 01/13/09
Funny, I just had Momofuku ramen yesterday for the first time in year or so. At $17 it's overpriced, but I really don't get the visceral hatred. "Gentrified?" I'm not sure it's any more fancy schmancy than Ippudo, and furthermore, I'm not sure why that matters. Flavor-wise, I thought it was great, though a bit too salty. The 2 forms of pork were the tastiest I've had in ramen, and you can't beat the perfectly poached egg. Ippudo is still my no. 1, but Momofuku is putting out a great bowl of noodles.
bedwell at 11:34AM on 01/13/09
Unless they've seriously upped their noodle game since I was last there, Momofuku's noodles lack that all-important springy mouthfeel. This is what I mean about their "flabbiness".
m.Hu
Michele Humes at 11:38AM on 01/13/09
Bagging on Momo's Ramen has fashionable for some time now. A-typical example of "hype backlash".
Clearly it's not for everyone, and is not the same classic take as Setagaya and others... but it has ingediants and elements that set it appart in other ways as well.
Serious question: does anyone elses pork rival Momofuku's?
Abe Froman at 12:35PM on 01/13/09
Don't go to Noodle Bar for the noodles. Don't go to Ssam Bar for the ssams. That's all I'm saying.
kathryn at 12:45PM on 01/13/09
I agree with Kathryn. The ramen at Momofuku Noodle Bar is *okay* (I find the broth too salty) but there's so much other, better stuff to eat there.
The Ssam is actually pretty great but would be better ordered as takeout for a party where 20 people can eat it, instead of 10.
SoundBitesNYC at 1:35PM on 01/13/09
Ok I will agree about the salt content at Fuku. Definitely high, which is why I wind up eating the whole bowl and then regretting it later.
However, I never noticed a lack of springiness to my noodles. I guess after savoring the flavor of the broth and meat, the noodles are not high on my list of importance.
the pork buns at Ippudo do in fact rival Noodle Bar's, however close, but no cigar.
secondbecky at 2:30PM on 01/13/09
My creds: I lived in Japan for 7 years (over a 15 year period) and sampled the ramen there from Hokkaido to Okinawa, with all the major stops in between. There are oodles of styles, and the debate over what is good ramen reminds me over the US debate over what is good pizza. (My own personal favorite is Ten-Ka-Ippin, in Kyoto--they have a thick brothed Kotteri Ramen that, with the addition of a bit of garlic, is about as close to heaven as I've gotten.)
I went to Momofuku noodle a few years back along with some other ramen aficionados. Our verdict: Momofuku was crap; we haven't returned since.
To break it down, the noodles didn't have the proper Koshi (spine) or slipperiness; in fact they were downright mushy. The broth didn't inspire one to drink down the bowl. The pork was nice, but not really cha-shu. In other words, "that's not ramen, that's just noodle soup." And not a great example of it.
Ippudo comes much closer to great ramen. But I'm still searching for the next taste of heaven.
Thomas_Traveler at 4:21PM on 01/13/09
@Thomas_Traveler - thanks for the noodle texture backup, my friend.
Michele Humes at 5:05PM on 01/13/09
I'm a huge Momofuku fan and I agree, the ramen sucks big time. It's not so much that it is "gentrified," but it lacks all the qualities a good ramen should have: toothsome noodles, correct proportion of noodles to soup, and correct proportion of noodle and soup to toppings. At Momofuku, the noodles are too mushy and sticky, there is always too little soup, and the entire bowl is always weighed down with a ridiculous amount of stuff. I rather pay the same amount and go to Ippudo for real ramen. I would say the ramen at Momofuku is an expensive bastardized version of the real thing. It's like going to an Italian restaurant and getting served Chef Boyardee, but having to pay for good pasta.
bionicgrrrl at 12:34AM on 01/15/09
Shall we all chip in and by David C. a copy of Tampopo?
Thomas_Traveler at 11:22PM on 01/19/09
I didn't notice that much of a difference between the pork ramen at Momofuku and Ippudo. maybe i dont have a japanese palate, but I adore them both.
secondbecky at 11:13AM on 01/20/09