Momofoku Seiobo, Pyrmont
February 27, 2012
“Momo what?”
“MO-MO-FO-KU! You know that guy, David Chang, that Korean-American Michelin star chef whose famous for opening all those restaurants in Manhattan – Momofoku Noodle Bar, Saam Bar, Peche, Milk Bar and Ko? Well he’s opening his first restaurant outside of New York and it’s going to be at the new Star City!”
That was a similar conversation I had with a friend when Star City confirmed that Chang was going to be opening Momofoku Seiobo in Sydney.
And now just over a year later I’m sitting at The Star in Chang’s latest 30-seat Mod-Asian venture ready to undertake a 15-course dining experience to understand how this adopted New Yorker became to be one of the world’s most influential chefs.
The open plan kitchen, which is bordered by seated diners, is the main attraction of the dining room. Having taken this design approach, it means two things: food is cooked and plated in front of diners and the chefs have the thrill of explaining to diners what they’re serving.
'Snacks' - shiitake chip, nori, mochi and smoked potato
To kick-start the gastronomic rollercoaster and just for a bit of amusement we’re served a plate of cute little bite size ‘snacks’ including shiitake chip, nori, mochi and smoked potato.
Striped trumpeter with blood orange
Beef with radish and fermented black bean
Egg with toasted rice and brown butter
Smoked eel with Jerusalem artichoke and pink grapefruit
Lambe neck with daikon and pink turnips
The rest of the tasting menu jumps from being delicate – offered by the striped trumpeter with blood orange; the only beef dish with carefully placed thin slices of radish and fermented black bean; and the custard-like egg dressed in brown butter and is accompanied with toasted rice – through to more aggressive earthy flavours. The smoked eel with roasted Jerusalem artichokes, pink grapefruit and a puree of sunflower seeds best exemplifies this. Similarly is the lamb neck served with a puree daikon and pickled pink turnips.
Striped trumpeter with fennel and wakame
White asparagus with marron and szechuan pepper
We also see striped trumpeter make a return later in the evening this time as a meatier dish with fennel and wakame. More seafood makes its way to the table with lightly caramalised Szechuan pepper marron dressed in a miso sauce and served with toasted white asparagus.
Steamed pork bun - pork belly, cucumber and hoisin
And yes, oh yes. We are served the one and only famous steamed pork bun where the pork belly, cucumber and hoisin are sandwiched between a steamy pillow-soft bun. More please!
Mud crab with butter, pepper and pudding
Meanwhile, the pairing of swimmer crab with a mini, fluffy Yorkshire pudding and drizzled with a chowder-like sauce is fresh, sweet and quite intense.
Hand torn pasta with goat cheese, chilli and mint
Pecorino with honey licorice and bee pollen
Coming from slightly left field is the silky hand torn pasta with goats cheese, chilli and mint. Chang also does the same with the ‘cheese’ course, serving pecorino with honey liquorice and bee pollen and for someone who despises liquorice it was fairly hidden behind the sweet honey and the light shavings of the cheese.
Wattle seed with malt and crispy milk
Plenty of texture of crunchy and creamy is offered in the wattle seed dish. The wattle seed is served as a meringue and in a dehydrated form with malt ice-cream and crispy milk.
Miso ice cream with pickled strawberry, toasted rice and mustard
Chang also brings the technique of savoury into sweet with his miso-flavoured ice cream served with rice pudding, pickled strawberry and drops of mustard.
Petit four - slow-roasted pork shoulder
While feeling like a stuffed chicken ready to be roasted, we are served a slab of sweet, melt-in-your-mouth, caramelised pork shoulder. This final serving of “petit four” is cutlery free, encouraging us to get our fingers sticky. And just as we are done we’re served a second plate! Realising we were ready to roll off our seats, the kind staff suggests we doggy back it home.
(And yes it was equally as good the next day!)
Getting a booking to this place is a bit like buying tickets for a concert. It runs on a first-come-first-serve basis from 10am daily so my advice is a fast Internet speed helps. Reservations are only taken 10 days in advance and are online only.
But while it can be a bit of task to get a booking and the price is fairly steep for the average dinner ($175 per person, plus an additional $95 for beverage pairing), it’s an experience that is well worth paying for as you can expect to be ‘oo-ing’ and ‘ahh-ing’ for a good two hours as you come to understand why Chang has the reputation he does when it comes to food.
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Momofoku Seiobo
The Star
Level G, 80 Pyrmont Street
Pyrmont NSW 2209
www.momofoku.com
Monday to Saturday 7pm – 10.30pm
Abercrombie Hotel, Ultimo
February 15, 2012
There were whispers that the menu of the revamped Abercrombie Hotel features deep-fried Golden Gaytime, which is why I have returned back to where many boozy nights of my uni days were spent.
Still a popular hangout for uni students but more so back in the days of Purple Sneakers, the old watering hole has given itself a Scottish/English kitsch-style makeover.
Its menu has a good selection of American street food that can be had with a cold beer (or two). But this menu certainly is not for the health conscious as every second dish features the word ‘deep-fried’.
Deep-fried pizza with gravy
Excited about the offering of deep-fried pizza, I had imagined it was going to be more Chicago’s deep-pan pizza but rather it was a thin slice pizza dipped into an almost fish ‘n chips style batter that didn’t work in its favour. It was served with gravy, which was an interesting way to have deep-fried pizza almost to mimic the concept of chips and gravy.
Another American classic, the Philly cheese steak, is also featured on the list. But just like the deep-fried pizza it didn’t do the original any justice. Quite often the cheese is mixed through the beef so when you take a bite it’s gooey and pulls like string but this one was melted cheese on top of sliced up steak piece and topped with a few pieces capsicum and the odd onion.
Deep-fried mac 'n cheese balls and cheese croquettes
Although the meal did get better with the deep-fried mac ‘n cheese balls and cheese croquettes that were each to their own were deep-fried well and didn’t leave that greasy after taste in your month.
Deep-fried Golden Gaytime
To top it off was the deep-fried Golden Gaytime. Who ever thinks of deep-frying a honeycomb, chocolate-coated ice-cream stick? Genius.
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Abercrombie Hotel
100 Broadway
Ultimo NSW 2008
(02) 9280 2178
www.theabercrombie.com.au
Open daily for lunch and dinner
Frank’s Pizza Bar, Camperdown
February 13, 2012
Previously located two blocks away and in a dingy looking corner, Frank’s Pizza Bar relocated about just over a year ago to this warehouse-style spot that is far more spacious but still looks out onto busy Parramatta Road.
Frank’s menu is not fussy, cheap, homey and you’re always guaranteed to find the pizza classics like pepperoni, cheese or supreme.
Mushroom pizza
Tonight’s pizza selection is mushroom. The pizzas here are cooked in a wood fire oven so there’s that smoky aroma while the base here are thin and crispy yet slightly chewy – just as how a pizza should be.
Gnocchi bolognese
We also go for one of the specials for tonight – the gnocchi Bolognese. The gnocchi itself are little pillows of goodness, which are lathered in a rich tomato sauce “just like how mama use to make!”
Caesar salad
The attentive and fast service ensures we are served almost immediately after ordering our Caesar salad that comes with all the best trimmings of croutons, bacon pieces, Parmesan and anchovies. But the best bit is that it’s well dressed unlike many Caesar salads out there.
They also do gelato here too that are ridiculously affordable; but no room tonight instead we the get pleasure of digging into some cold pizza later as a midnight snack or breakfast.
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Frank’s Pizza Bar
137 Parramatta Road
Camperdown NSW 2050
(02) 9519 3404
Open for lunch and dinner daily
What I heard/read/saw this week…
February 11, 2012
I’m really enjoying these YouTube videos of ‘Shit —- say’, my two most relatable ones aside from the one titled ‘Shit girls say‘
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Also, I know I’m a bit late on getting onto this one but it’s finally good news to hear that Sydney is getting trial food trucks, which I’m definitely keen to see/taste once they hit the streets. A team of 10 food truck operators were chosen including former Tetsuya’s sous chef, steamed yum cha, and veggie burgers from a truck shaped like a barn – complete with herb garden on the roof.
According to Lord Mayor Clover Moore, City of Sydney is giving Sydneysiders what we’ve been demanding more.
“When we asked people what they wanted to make Sydney’s night-life more dynamic and diverse, they told us they wanted food trucks,” she said.
“You asked for it, and we’re delivering it.”
And if you’re unfamiliar with the food truck scene, read this story I had written on topic a while back.
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In international news, while you may have gathered I have a love for American food but this time, US fast food chain Jack in the Box has gone a little far with the introduction of adding Bacon Shake ‘secretly’ to their menu. When I refer to ‘secretly’, I mean they haven’t officially listed the beverage on their menu but the company using the press to get the word out for them.
In its ingredients list there’s no mention of real bacon (I think that’s a good thing?) but rather bacon flavoured syrup. Not exactly too sure though how well bacon flavour anything could go down well with vanilla ice-cream, whipped cream and maraschino cherry. Then again, people tell me I’m crazy when I say bacon and maple syrup is an awesome combo!
But the most interesting part about all of this is the nutritional ‘value’. A regular size Bacon Shake has 773 calories in comparison to their regular size Oreo cookie ice-cream shake that has 812 calories. So it’s in fact healthier?
The Dip, Chinatown
February 8, 2012
This diner-like joint specialises in hotdogs but also knows how to make some mad nachos.
Hidden in the back of the dimly lit Goodgod ’small club‘, The Dip is fairly noticeable – all you have to do is just have to follow the red neon sign and you’re at the ordering counter. So yes that means no table service here but the friendly staff is helpful enough to make a few suggestions about the menu.
We find ourselves not waiting too long – as we sip on our white sangria from the front bar and sink into the booths that appear to have been taken straight from the Flinstones set – before our food arrives. For starters, we have finger-licking goodness of hot sauce covered buffalo wings with a creamy ranch sauce for dipping and celery sticks. While the ‘hot’ sauce isn’t particularly spicy, it’s still quite addictive.
The flavours become more intense as we eat on knocking down the Big Windy, a smoked kosher hotdog with fresh tomato slices, dill pickle spear, neon relish, spicy sports peppers, fresh onion, celery salt and American mustard.
We also dig into the Damn Skippy burger made with a juicy grilled kangaroo and macadamia patty, beetroot, dill, mayo and rocket on a grilled bun.
But the highlight for mains would be The Dip’s pulled pork nachos with all the flavour held by the 12-hour smoked pork and is complimented with pinto beans, the freshness of tomato salsa, barbecue sauce, jalapeno cream and plenty of melted cheese.
The creativity of the menu shines through in its deserts of ice-cold guac (avocado ice-cream with strawberry salsa and waffle chips) and its peanut butter n jelly sandwich (peanut butter ice-cream sandwiched in between toasted brioche and strawberry jelly).
Also check out for weekly specials at the counter before ordering.
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