Located in the East Village district of New York is the Momofuku Ssam Bar which, since its opening in the summer of 2006, has become the meeting place for enthusiasts of great food in New York. The talented chef/owner David Chang is of Korean/American descent and has created his unstructured menu by drawing inspiration from the food he grew up with.
Mr. Chang succeeds in combining challenging dishes with the ultra-casual style of his restaurant. The diners are welcomed into a contemporary space of dark stained wooden walls and a bright open kitchen. The seating areas are backless stools at the bar or picnic style tables around the walls where breakfast, lunch or dinner may be enjoyed to the accompaniment of loud music.
Offering more than 200 choices from raw fish to succulent meat dishes, it comes as no surprise to learn that pork takes pride of place as the centerpiece of his Korean fusion menu, and all at affordable prices. A creative wine list and a few desserts are available but unfortunately, for some reason, coffee is not served here.
Momofuku Ssam Bar, (Momofuku is Japanese for Lucky Peach) was presented with the award for The Best New Restaurant of 2009.
