Winterlicious!!!! part deux!

In this never ending winter I went to my second Winterlicious event of the season, Momofuku. Momofuku quite widely known in the culinary world for its ramen, various other asian inspired dishes and its celebrity chef David Chang. This well known ramen establishment is located in one of Toronto's luxury hotels, Shangri-La.

Momofuku seems to have built itself quite the following in the states and in the media, which really surprised me when I walked into the restaurant and everything was quite unassuming. Inside looked like your typical Ramen place in Toronto. The decor was simplistic, clean, and really didn't have anything that made it stand out. There wasn't a lot of private tables for patrons because it was more communal tables to help feed the massive crowds that seemed to never really stop streaming into the restaurant. The communal tables can be off putting to some but I was perfectly fine with it because I've been to other ramen restaurants and other places which had the same kind of setup.

To start my meal at Momofuku I had their Kimchi in a jar and my dining companion I had their steamed pork bun.

Kimchi is exactly like it sounds: Kimchi stuffed into a large glass jar. The kimchi was actually quite tasty and was better then the kimchi I would get at korean restaurants. To be fair to the korean restaurants, the kimchi I get at restaurants is free and the jar I got here is something I paid for, which hopefully means Momofuku did something special with their kimchi. The Kimchi I had exploded with flavour and was spicy and sour.

When the pork bun arrived, I was a little surprised because it wasn't what I imagined.  I thought the bun would be your traditional steamed pork bun. The "bun" was good but it didn't really stand out too much.

Dan Dan Mein

The Robin to my culinary experience at Momofuku ordered the dan dan mein, a dry spicy pork noodle dish. The noodles used in the dish were the same noodles used in the ramen, the pork was seasoned well and was not as spicy as advertised. The noodles were tasty and went well with the pork but again this dish didn't really stand out from similar dishes I've had in the past.

Smoked Chicken Ramen

I had their smoked chicken ramen, also on their regular menu, which had a nice broth with tons of toppings. There was crispy chicken skins, a barely poached egg, mushrooms and all sorts of goodies. There was a lot of flavours going on, the broth was nice and there was an earthiness from the mushrooms. There was also a variety of textures to be enjoyed: the crispy chicken skin, the silky poached egg and of course the ramen noodles. This was a great ramen dish and I really enjoyed this as part of my 3 course meal.

 Chocolate Pudding

For the finale I had the chocolate pudding. The chocolate pudding was the highlight of the meal for me. The pudding was smooth and creamy like how great puddings should be. Floating on top of the pudding were chunks of the "compost cookie" and what I think were were chocolate covered malt balls. This wasn't a very heavy desert and was the perfect way for me to end my meal.

Compost Cookie

My dining companion ordered the compost cookie as recommended by the wait staff. The name might not sound appealing but I can guarantee you that it is one of the best cookies you'll ever have. There were chocolate chips, what I think was granola and oatmeal. The cookie was chewy on the inside and had a really nice crispy caramelized outside.

Here was the full Winterlicious menu form Momofuku:

This was a very filling meal and a great value for 15 dollars for 3 courses. Normally I would never go to Momofuku because the regular menu is quite steep but I'm glad that Winterlicious provided me the opportunity to have a Momofuku experience. I can't say I will be back anytime soon, but I will jump at another opporunity to come back for Summerlicious or Winterlicious.

For more information.

Momofuku