Momosan

Sorry for our absence. Ryan and I got married in the end of 2018 and unfortunately ramen isn’t the best wedding diet food...BUT THE TEAM IS BACK AND READY TO GET OUR SLURP ON! We decided to kick-off 2019 with a high-roller, Momosan, Chef Morimoto's ramen restaurant in midtown!

Our Rating Out of 5:

• Overall: 4
• Broth: 4
• Noodles: 4
• Toppings: 3.5

First lets talk a little bit about Momosan’s noodle and broth situation. On the menu and website for Momosan, they talk about how their noodles are different than other ramen noodles. Morimoto teamed up with our BFF’s at Sun Noodle to create a noodle that lasts longer in the broth before it gets too soggy (aka “Noribu”). Momosan noodles are “temomi” which translates to “hand massaged”. The irregular shape makes it better to pick up soup with when you are slurping. Plus, they claim that the noodles float which helps it not get as soggy.

I will be completely honest with you, this is the second time that I have been to Momosan, and this thought did not come to mind while I was eating either time. The noodles taste and feel like typical sun noodles…which are delicious, but I am not sure if it is worth having its own little blurb on the menu except to advertise for sun noodle. Again, I am 100% in for that, but just wanted to throw it out there. Everyone loved the noodles.

I will talk about the broth right now when I go over Ryan’s Tonkotsu experience.

Tonkotsu

The tonkotsu is definitely the most popular dish at Momosan. Just like the noodles, Morimoto claims that the broth to this tonkotsu is different than other tonkotsu broths. On the website he explains that normal tonkotsu is made from 100% pork bones that are boiled for up to 24 hours. Momosan’s tonkotsu is comprised of 70% pork bones and 30% chicken bones which allows for a darker color, yet lighter broth than most tonkotsu’s. I will definitely say that this is true. I personally liked this broth and asked for a couple of tastes from Ryan, since what is his is mine now. I am not sure that it was any of our favorite broths, but allowed for us not to feel insanely full afterwards, which sometimes is a big negative toward eating ramen…for some people. The pork was thin and on the fattier side, but had good flavor. Personally, I prefer thicker pork (that’s what she said), but this goes back to the lack of heaviness in the bowl. Ryan did say that he felt like he could eat more afterwards, which is saying a lot. The best part of the dish though, was the egg. Ryan claims that it is the best egg he has ever had, and that is very high praise from him. I thought it was a really great egg, but I don’t know if I could say it was my favorite of all time. That is a hard one. The yolk was the perfect texture (barely set), and the flavor was both sweet but still with a strong soy sauce flavor

Tantan

I decided to go “wild” and got the Tantan. Tantan ramens are usually not my go-to but the description really got me. This tantan (how many times can I say tantan?) was a coconut curry with miso base that was very thick and rich (so very different from the tonkotsu broth conversation). To be perfectly honest with you, I went through a lot of waves while eating this and think that this bowl is not your typical ramen experience. At first, I was totally into it. I loved the miso and coconut curry combination and tried to savor it. As I got further into the bowl though, it started to get stronger and the texture changed - almost a little granular. But then, shockingly, I would get over it and go through the love-affair again. Everyone at the table was shocked by my high broth score because I even commented on it while at the table. Maybe I was just in a high-period during the rankings, but it is definitely something to flag. Coconut curry can be a hard thing to eat a whole bowl of ramen of, but if you like it, you would really like this bowl. Just be aware of the texture change and maybe eat it faster, or order something else. Like other tantan’s (there it is again), there was ground pork and chashu, and, just like every other time I eat it, I wish it was just all chashu. But the ground pork was very flavorful and was enjoyable. The chashu, just like the tonkotsu, was thin and fatty. The egg was great (just like it was described above) and this and the noodles were by favorite part of the dish (shocking literally no one).

Other Ramens

Momosan has 2 exclusive ramens that I have never eaten because they are never available. They have a peking duck ramen, that is only available twice a week with a limited quantity of bowls. The other is a short rib ramen (gyukotsu) that only has 20 bowls per day. If you go and happen to be lucky enough to try it, let us know how it goes! I can never get out of work early enough to accomplish this feat.

Long story short…

We really recommend this place, especially if you are near Grand Central and are hankering for some ramen and don’t mind a little bit of pretentiousness. Sorry Morimoto, but it’s true. There will definitely be a wait but it is worth it so give it a shot. Oh, also the sake selection is really good!

 

Momosan Address:

342 Lexington Ave, New York, NY 10016