Momofuku NYC

As a continuation of our farewell to Manhattan, Javi and I decided to go to one of our favorite Asian restaurants one Sunday. The weather was gorgeous, and this restaurant was only a walk away from our current apartment, so off we went to order our favorite chicken buns at Momofuku!

Now before I talk about Momofuku's chicken buns, let me tell you why these are so important to Javi and me. Pork buns, chicken buns, even beef buns, are really originally from China, but the Philippines adopted it as its own and called it the Siopao. (In Chinese: Sio=Hot, Pao=Bun).

Most Chinese take-out places will sell you the American version of the pork bun (using bread as the outer shell), while only a few will sell you the kind with authentic dough.

Momofuku, on the other hand, gives you the yummy nummy dough, with an Americanized twist to the stuffing that goes inside it - instead of just shredded beef or chicken with sauce, Momfuku adds (in this case), fried chicken skin and cucumber slices - making it a refreshing, yet sumptuous dish!

This restaurant, which name actually means "lucky peach" in Japanese, aims to cater to a wider audience by adding special dishes, such as the ravioli, below:

There are also several branches within the city, such as the Momofuku Milk Bar a few blocks away from where we finished our pork bun + ravioli lunch (they actually went well together!).

At this milk bar are the most delicious deserts - and they taste like they just came straight from Mom's oven!

Above: the Banana Crunch cookie - it gets more banana-er in the middle of the cookie! YUM!

Javi and I will definitely miss enjoying the Village on weekends. Just take a look at the view outside the Momfuku Milk Bar - what a building with character! There are so many buildings like this around Manhattan. Still, I am also excited to move to the 'burbs... no more ambulance sirens in the middle of the night, or rushing to the subway to get away from the strong gusts of wind coming from the river during winter.

And as long as Momofuku stays in town, Javi and I will always have a reason to come back to NYC - for those steamed buns!