Momofuku Fried Chicken Lunch

Wow. My friend wasn't joking when she said it was difficult to get a reservation at Momofuku. My family was in town and I thought it would be a great idea to have the fried chicken dinner at the Momofuku Noodle Bar. I had already tried the bo ssam dinner at the Momofuku Ssam Bar and loved it. I had also been coveting the fried chicken dinner for more than a year. Finally I had an opportunity to try it out.

Momofuku does online reservations direct through their site. You have to register your email address and password. When you log in, you will most likely come across this message:

There are only a few reservations available per day and you must log in at 10 AM to snag a spot. You can reserve seven days in advance but only if you are so lucky to get a reservation within a minute after the spots open. It's like a race and game of tic tac toe. The Os are actually check marks but just pretend they are Os.

                                      DATE DATE DATE DATE DATE DATE DATE 

                            TIME    X       X        X         X          X        O      O

                            TIME    O       O        O         X          X        O      O

                            TIME    O       O        X         X          O        X      X

After a few tries, I finally got a reservation but for lunch and on a date where I had to take off from work. 

The fried chicken lunch was similar to the bo ssam in a few ways. It was served with sauces (hoisin, ginger scallion, soy garlic jalapeno, and sriracha) and bibb lettuce. The fried chicken lunch also came with radishes, baby carrots, and mu shu pancakes.

The veggies taste incredibly fresh. I'm not a fan of raw carrots but I loved the baby ones they served. They were sweet, snappy, and were the perfect palate cleanser in between servings of chicken. There is a giant chalkboard in the restaurant that tells you exactly where the veggies came from.

Here is the chicken cooked two ways: Korean and southern fried. It was quite impressive the way it was presented. Tastewise, not so much. After the bo ssam, it is a tough act to follow.

Here is a sample of my open faced fried chicken taco. Momofuku definitely puts a new spin on fusion style cooking. Try the fried chicken but only once for the novelty. Try the bo ssam and try it again. 

Momofuku Noodle Bar

171 1st Avenue

New York, NY 10003