momofuku noodle bar - nyc

David Chang is kind of a big deal. His food ticks the box of every trend (often because he’s the reason it’s trending) but does so with equal measures of hip hop gung hoe and fine-dining finesse.

Being a not particularly religious man (sorry, Grandma), it was surprising to find myself transfixed by an other-worldly, crescendo-ing internal force to undertake a haj to Momofuku Mecca. This is the place where Chang’s dynasty was carved out of the bedrock of Manhattan’s East Village and where he continues to bless his pilgrims with heavenly mana (read: pork buns): the 50-pewed church that is Momofuku Noodle Bar.

The divinity of the Momofuku pork buns is well documented here, here, and of course here, here and here. So I won’t risk plagiarising my contemporaries with pornographic visuals of porky perfection. I barely need to mention that the two half-inch-thick pork belly slabs are so tender that we, the unwashed, struggle to discern where the meat stops, the fat ends and the steamed buns begin. Afterwards, the grease on your hands is dessert. The pickles, hoisin and squeezie bottles of sriracha are all profit. These bad boys are so good that they deserve mixed metaphors. They deserve to have started a city-consuming trend. They deserve to start wars.

I want to make it quite clear that these fist-sized buns suffer inverse diseconomies of scale. Allow me to explain. We Sydney-siders, unworthy as we are, were blessed by our deity with the first Momofuku outside of North America, Momofuku Seibo, in the Star. At Seibo, Chang does a 12-course deg during which he serves a scaled-down, two-bite-sized version of the original bun. This little cousin, while excellent and worth gushing about, does not fairly depict the genius of that which came before. In other words, making it smaller, made it worse. Only when faced with the real thing can an acolyte truly understand the vision of The Creator.

But the fun doesn’t stop at the bun. Chang’s ramen is demonstrative of his respect of tradition and steady hand in execution. The noodles are chewy, the broth has depth without being viscous and the poached egg makes everything in the world okay. Kimchi comes in a Mason jar for four bucks and is the best bar snack imaginable. Rosemary-flavoured soft served ice cream takes a while to get used to but ultimately refreshes both mouth and soul!

Chang does other things at Noodle Bar that convert non-believers just as effectively, but for me, the ramen and buns are the mainstay. Chang is a visionary who has made hour-and-a-half-long queues of people not bat an eye-lid when they’re asked to wait a little longer. It’s because he makes better food than anyone else.

I’m a fan boy, I just wanted you to know.

the larder - woolloomooloo

The creation of the pop-up venue reflects Information Age society's fleeting infatuations. Viral, but finite, consumption of this minute's trends typifies us. We revel in recommending to our last-season friends the latest food or fashion hot spot. It's even more satisfying if your friends are too late...

Luckily for you all, Sydney's latest “place to eat (be seen)” is still in existence and busting out food like it’s going out of fashion. The Larder, down at Cowper Wharf, is the baby of Otto Ristorante next door. The setting is comfortable and casual in comparison, but the chefs are clearly years beyond their teething stage. 

Let your collective cheer sound from the rooftops: The Larder is BYO (yay!) - $5 corkage pp. But if you accidentally left your favourite bottle on the bench at home, there is still a selection of brewskies that’s got your back. Being a winter pop-up, the menu is geared towards consumables to compensate for the weather.

Shortly after ordering, a giant pot of steamed spring bay mussels ($18) arrives, the shelled treats clustered in a crimson pool of chilli, garlic and tomato broth. Whole, softened cherry tomatoes are also  bobbing around in the pot. Mouthful after mouthful of mussels, tomatoes and crusty bread warms my insides, but the single piece of bread provided  proves insufficient to mop up all the delicious broth, so order supplementary pieces ($4).

Marinated BBQ lamb ribs ($24), are overlayed with a sweet tomato-ey sauce. The texture and taste of the meat are the champions, deftly evading the common pitfall of becoming all about the sauce. The lamb peels off the bone at the touch of a knife, a disappointment for those geared up to wrestle with the bones. The ribs are teamed with a bowl of creamy, crisp coleslaw. Served on a rustic, wooden board (speaking of fashionable…) the dish is outstanding. 

Marinated BBQ lamb ribs with coleslaw ($24)

The Larder's mission statement is to create dishes based on what's in "the larder", or rather, what's in season. Chestnuts, the new most popular kid on the block, appropriately feature in a dish of confit duck leg ($25). The duck itself gets ticks for all the basic confit-criteria: Crackly skin and juice-laden meat, cooked perfectly. The leg rests on an assembly of cavolo nero, jeruselum artichokes and sliced chestnuts. The jus is sweet and buttery. Tonight we’re sharing, and I'm all too quick to pounce when my dining partners are politely hesitant with the last mouthful.

Confit duck leg with cavolo nero chesnuts & jerusalem artichokes ($25)

For dessert chocolate pizza ($12) is served in a pizza box whose novelty value is similar to the biscuit box serving of donuts at Duke. Here, the pizza has a pastry base, dark chocolate topping, with white chocolate drippings in place of cheese and hazelnuts scattered across the top. If you're going to make pizza consumption even more indulgent, this is the way to do it. Pear and rhubarb crumble ($12) has a biscuit-like topping, sweet fruity inside and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. A classic which always does the trick.

Chocolate pizza ($12)

I'm always sceptical of those who harp on about life being short. (Even if life was long, shouldn’t we be aiming to use our time suitably anyway?) However if this mantra has encouraged the team at Otto to take a risk with The Larder, maybe it's something worth paying attention to. Or at least, no time should be wasted in getting down to Cowper Wharf. You have till the end of September at which point The Larder will shut its doors, after which time it will sadly fade into the abyss to join so many other fellow pop-ups after their 5 minutes of fame. 

breakfast with audrey

Fellow Food Fatties check out this awesome fashion blog on which we guest blogged last week! Tune into Breakfast With Audrey with fashion and beauty headlines for everything from fashion weeks, events, celebrities, industry news, shopping and more! They also have a Lifestyle section featuring yours truly.