Momofuku Ssam

Where would you take friends who are visiting New York from out of town? Well, it has to fit certain criteria. It must dazzle, overwhelm, excite and be quintessentially New York without being overly-touristy. Answer: a branch of Momofuku, i.e. either the impossibly-difficult to reserve, Ko, the more refined, European taste of Ma Peche, the cheap, fun and noisy Noodle Bar or the less cheap but still fun and noisy, Ssam.

Originally, I wanted to try Momofuku Ssam's PORK BUTT (yes, this meal deserves to be written in upper case!) meal for 6-10 people that needs to be booked in advance but even week night reservations were hard to come by with less than a week's notice. However, a table was not too long a wait on a Tuesday night even for 5.

We made our way through the following dishes:

1. Fuji Apple Kimchi - Big wedges of skinless apple were tossed with chilli powder, seasoning, crispy jowl bacon, arugula leaves and served with a smear of maple labne. Not a soaked cabbage leaf in sight!

2. Pork buns and BBQ Buns - I've previously raved about the pork buns that come with hoisin sauce, pickled cucumbers and scallions but they now have a bbq version that consists of crispy pork belly, coleslaw and smoked mayo. I preferred the original compared the the bigger and richer flavors of the BBQ one but neither lasted long-enough for a photo!

3. Duck Sandwich - Imagine a perfectly fresh baguette, doused in olive oil and toasted then layered with duck prosciutto, shredded iceberg lettuce and peppadews (or roasted sweet peppers). It was better than it sounds, but again, awfully rich.

4. Grilled Flat Iron Steak - High-quality steak cooked medium-rare was sliced and served with bulgur, romanesco and onion soubise. It still just tasted like steak to me and was the least inventive dish of the night.

5. Charred Spanish Octopus - Juicy and tender tentacles had been cut into segments, charred and plated up with pine nuts, tiny bits of celery, black olive and crispy rice. Squeakingly fresh and moreish.

6. Spicy Pork Sausage and Rice Cakes - This dish was a favorite for most of us. It came in a big bowl and the sausage and rice cakes had been cut up into equal sized chunks and mixed with this amazing sauce that was spicy, salty and sweet at the same time. Chinese broccoli and Sichuan peppercorn added extra elements. A must-order even if you don't normally like sausage.

7. Chevre Sorbet - This dish was like a dessert cheese plate. The sorbet was creamy with that hint of sourness you get from chevre and served with beetroot sorbet, crunchy granola and stewed lime. It was the least popular dessert given the confusion of flavors on the plate.

8. Lemon Meringue Pie - Their take on this classic dessert was thicker and heavier than what we expected but that's just what David Chang does - surprises you! There was no fluffy meringue atop lemon curd here but a condensed lemon meringue filling in a pie crust studded with pistachio and served with a lemon curd that tasted very almond-like on the side. It's a rather good dessert but too heavy after all that food and would be better if you had it for afternoon tea with a strong black tea or something.

9. Seasonal dessert special: Pancakes with raspberry jam, served with crispy bacon and black pepper butter sauce. My overseas visitors could not resist the allure of ordering this especially since we had a bacon-lover in our presence. The short and thick stack of pancakes was cute and dense. They were sweet and cake-like with layers of jam inbetween that had been conveniently cut into 5 for each of us. The crispy-bacon served on the side was not dissimilar to that which accompanied the apple kimchi dish and the black pepper butter sauce was rich and creamy. The result was a sweet, salty and sour dish that was intriguing and creative but not something that you want to eat a lot of or even finish after all that filling food. Only order this if you are feeling adventurous!

Unsurprisingly, I actually felt a bit sick after eating all this rich food. It's an overly-indulgent, sensory and stomach overload but hey, friends don't visit that often from out of town!