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Hello food lovers, DineInSquad followers and welcome to the second part of my food adventure in Las Vegas. Let me share with you about my dining experience at Momofuku that located at 3708 S Las Vegas Blvd at the Cosmopolitan. Accompanying me for this dining experience will be my friends: Richard, Tyler, Chris, and Abdullah who all flew in to Las Vegas from across the United States.
Momofuku is a restaurant brand that owned by David Chang (seen on BuzzFeed worth it series and Netflix) that specializes in delicious pork belly bao buns and massive dishes that are to be enjoyed with friends like the Golden Fried Chicken with caviar. The price range for most of the dishes is around $27-50 with the massive party dishes being an exception. Normally I don’t write an article at dining in a big restaurant brand but this is one of the few times I would make an exception because the food was really mouthwatering and delectable.
We got to Momofuku sometime late in the evening after a long day of exploring the sites on the strip, and thankfully that night the wait was not too long, as we got a table within seconds of arriving. The size of the restaurant based on visuals is roughly around 100 seats and it has a dark ambiance with dim lights while having a bar nearby for those who want a drink while waiting. We got one of the high tables near the main entrance which luckily had more light.
After getting seated we quickly took a look at the menu as we want to try and get out within an hour so we can go clubbing afterwards. While looking we can see the variety of dishes to choose from ranging from seafood based dishes, ramen, and many others including the legendary fried chicken with caviar. But in the interest of time since we are in a hurry, no mega feasting on fried chicken with caviar (even if some of us have corporate credit cards with big limits). We then ordered the following dishes: Miso Cod (Richard), six Bao Buns (Andy and Chris), Kampachi (Tyler), and Caesar Salad (Abdullah). After ordering our food we sat and discuss our plans for what we are going to do for the rest of the week in Las Vegas.
After 25 minutes of waiting our food is brought to the table. The first plate to arrive was the Miso Cod for Richard, we got presented with a medium size plate that houses a six oz. piece of cod that baked in a miso mixture, served on a bed of white beech mushrooms, seaweed and a side of two crispy pieces of vegetable tempura.
The Bao buns were the next plate to arrive, these delicious bao buns were loaded with a big piece of juicy pork belly, thin slices of cucumbers, chopped green onions, and a light splash of hoisin sauce as well. To hold the bao in place was a toothpick with the Momofuku logo on a little flag.
The Kampachi had slices of yellow-tail sashimi topped with a lemon dashi, red peppers, and cilantro.
The Caesar salad which I forgot to take a picture of is a standard bowl with greens, croutons, and slices of mozzarella cheese on top.
Afterwards it time to start enjoying the variety of food that on our table. The Miso Cod was firm on the outside, but once you slice through it the meat inside was soft and tender. Richard believes that the reason for the soft flavorful cod was because during the baking within the miso broth this allows for a greater soaking of flavor. He only wishes that the piece of cod was bigger so he can enjoy more of it delectable taste. The vegetables were stir fry and it also happens to have a miso taste to it as well, which he guesses because it used the same miso broth as the fish.
The Bao buns appearance was delightful with the biggest piece of pork belly I seen in a while for a pork belly bao dish. As me and Chris each take a bite into one of our bao bun, we can feel the oozing juices from the tender smoky meat being squeezed out and landing on our taste palate with the crunch of the green onions and cucumber with a hint of the salty hoisin sauce. It was delicious and it only feels like the pork belly will melt into our mouth with limited effort. Delicious and very enjoyable “finger food” as I each of these bao buns can be finished within three bites, good thing we got three each so the pleasure of eating has been tripled.
The Kampachi sashimi was very thinly cut from appearance when Tyler picks up a piece with his chopsticks. As he takes a bite I can tell from his reaction that he receive an explosion of flavor. Tyler explains from his experience with eating yellow-tail that if they are fresh then they have a slightly citrus like taste, and the lemon dashi help enhances the citrus flavor.
In conclusion after eating our meals, we all discuss our opinion of what we would recommend as the go to dish for others to enjoy when going to Momofuku. Our main recommendation would be the Pork Belly Bao bun as not only the portion was generous on the meat, at the same time it had the most bang for your buck in value while being filling. Overall our dining experience was fantastic at Momofuku in Las Vegas; our only advice for those eating is that while the place is fantastic for eating out with friends and bonding; just make sure your friends are not afraid to pay as the food here is a bit more on the pricey end per dish.
Come back next time to hear about part three in my dining adventures in Las Vegas with my friends from the DineInSquad USA Team.
Cheers,
AV
