Though we were staying at on 37th and Lexington at The Affinia Shelburne for our most recent date night,,,and though they have a perfectly, awesome award winning restaurant on site (Rare), my husband and I decided to venture further downtown to Union Square. He really wanted me to try a place that had become one his favorite eateries, Momofuku Noodle Bar, an Asian Fusion restaurant located on 1st avenue.

The space is small and very casual. We arrived a little after 5:00 pm and were seated right away at the bar. This surprised us both because my husband had told me that the wait here can be very long.

They have a very interesting menu with a bit of a mostly Korean flavor, such as chicken tamales, with a Korean twist, or steamed mussels in kimchee. We started our meal with chicken buns. These are chicken wrapped in dough buns, with a sliver of pork on top. I swear this alone is a meal, so incredibly filling, but my husband wanted me to try their tamales, and we each ordered an entree.  I know, insane, it’s like we never get out!

I ordered the steamed mussels in kimchee and cilantro. Wow. So, so good. And my husband’s favorite, Momofuku Ramen Noddle was a huge bowl of goodness. The food was served quickly, our waitress at the bar was present and friendly, and our food was incredibly delicious. At about 6:01PM the crowds came. The line going out the door almost with people waiting to be seated for dinner. We really lucked out!

I noticed on the wall they have a list of places where they get all their products. All except two were from local NY farmers, and you can really taste the freshness of the food. They also have a dessert dish, a soft serve ice cream, that seemed to be a favorite among those who were there. We passed on the ice cream, but my husband assures me it is amazing. They also have various alcoholic beverages, many Korean favorites as well.

Momofuku seems to be a growing empire. It has the Noodle Bar, Ssäm Bar (ssäm being a form of Asian burrito, though this particular location offers more than that, becoming a meat lovers wonderland), Ko and Milk Bar (both for desserts and other sweets), and the soon to open Má Pêche, a Vietnamese focused eatery currently only serving the guest of The Chambers Hotel on Fifth Avenue. Each of these is always crowded.

The Momofuku Noodle Bar is also known for serving an amazing fried chicken however, you must make a reservation for it and only for 4 people or more.

If you have older children with adventurous taste buds, I would say have them try Momofuku Noodle Bar. They do not have accommodations for younger kids here and the space is limiting as well.  But whether you are with kids or not, I also recommend coming a bit earlier than the normal lunch or dinner hours to beat the ever present lines around that time.

For dessert we went right around the corner to the famous Venieros, but after endulging in so much goodness we really needed to walk back to 37th street from there just to walk it all off.

But all that goodness was worth it, even when walking in the rain.