November 25, 2012
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Trapped in NYC - After we finished Sunday’s dinner at Per Se, we were to spend the next five days waiting out the storm and secured a flight back to LA. It was a mix of uncertainty and excitement since this was the first time our vacation plans has been derailed. On Monday night, it was quite windy with light rain, most of the shops were closing early. We managed to find three restaurants near our hotel, and booked an early dinner at a French restaurant. Then on Tuesday night, all but one restaurant stayed open, it was Joe’s Shanghai, and I had the most juicy siao long bao there. What a treat! (The following are a recap from Monday through Wednesday).Anticipating the arrival of super storm Sandy, the hotel delivered this to our room…..
Just in case of power failure, flash light, candles, light stick, bottles of water, Ladurée chocolates…..
Carrot Soup, perfect for warming up for this chilly and stormy night…..
Fig Salad…..
Seafood risotto with chunks of shrimp, cod, calamari, etc., cooked to a very creamy consistency…..
Joe’s Shanghai Restaurant – Hot & steamy crab meat & pork siao long bao, perfect antidote for cold weather……
Peek inside the soupy siao long bao….bits of crab meat and pork…..
Onion pancake…..
NYC Eats @ Momofuku Má Pêche- Wednesday night, the weather has calmed down. We discovered all of Lower Mahattan has no electricity and restaurant choices were limited. Luckily, Momofuku Má Pêche is located close to us at Midtown and was open for business. The restaurant was started in 2010 and the name literally means “mother peach”. This is Chef David Chang’s more upscale project in terms of location – Midtown and beneath the Chambers Hotel. The seats at the restaurant have backs to them and are comfortable, there are plenty of space too. A Milk Bar is also present near the reception area of the restaurant, very convenient to grab a sweet treat after meals. Compared to Chef Chang’s other restaurants, this one is the largest and the first one not located in the East Village. 
Menu…..
Cocktails – (Right) Seven spice sour, togarashi-infused momofuku sake, yuzu, lime, (Left) Côte de Pêche, aperol, Lillet Blanc, lemon verbena…..
Oysters in half shell…..
Trout roe, rice, jalapeño, quinoa, crémé fraiche…..
Steamed bun, lobster, maitake, chicharrón…..
Mushrooms with scallion, agedashi, masago…..
Pan Fried Porgy (Long Island, NY) with hot sauce, fennel, lime, and corn bread…..
Fennel served in a separate dish…..
Dessert from the house, Flourless chocolate cake, coconut shavings, Thai basil and coffee syrup…..
Overall, the dishes are very similar to the Ssäm Bar. But the bonus here is the presence of a raw bar, offering oysters and clams, shrimp and Alaskan king crab. If I had the chance to dine here again, I would order a huge plate of fruits de mer, plus a few of the small plates and then the duck. As for tonight’s meal, W and I are very satisfied and happy as a clam.
(Many thanks to W again for snapping these luscious foodie photos)
Momofuku Má Pêche | 15 West 56th Street (Fifth Avenue), New York, NY | (212) 757-5878 | momofuku.com
Comments (20)
Hmmm, this looks like you two weathered out the storm in style.
Wow… you guys don’t even flinch when a hurricane comes into town. It looks like a memorable meal in more ways than one.
looks like the storm didnt stop the foodies!
@beowulf222 - Well Nick, the non-glamorous side was that we sat in front of the television all day (for a couple of days) watching 24/7 coverage of the storm…..could not go outside because the shops and subways were closed. Hehe~~
@ElusiveWords - Yes Matt, it was an unforgettable trip, which was originally planned for four days and ended up being eight days, thus doubling my trip budget! On hindsight, we couldn’t even cancel the flight tickets or dinner reservations because of non-refundable rules and restrictions.
@ds0905 - Hehe~~hotel food was expensive and the menu very limited. Therefore, we had to venture out!
I’m drooling right now. the juicy xiao long bao and dessert looks fantastic. you’re site is so bad for dieters with bad self-control
Reminded me of a letter the hotel I was staying in on 9/11 posted.
Getting stranded in style and yes you still eat awesome food. I’ll be staying in a Sofitel hotel on Dec 1st
@Devilzgaysianboi - Thanks Kevin! Haha~I like to tease with food porn sometimes.
@CareyGLY - I bet you must have saved the letter, there’ll always be some historic significance to that.
@oxyGENE_08 - Which Sofitel will you be staying? I’m always curious to find out!
It had to be somewhat scary and nerve wracking to be right in the midst of it. But it seems like you rose to the occasion and did justice to the stay there by going to the restaurants in your own style. Great pictures.
@CurryPuffy - This one http://www.sofitel.com/gb/hotel-6308-sofitel-philippine-plaza-manila/index.shtml ~ I’m guessing it’s under the same brand but ofcourse the one you stayed in at is much grander
@ZSA_MD - Thank you Zakiah for your kind words. Nerve wrecking to say the least, I was almost having seizures while putting on hold for more than an hour with United. Haha~~the airline did their best to accommodate everyone. We were very lucky everything turned out fine!
@oxyGENE_08 - Oh, pretty much similar….but you’ve got to try the pastries, especially the croissants
doesn’t look like you suffered too badly in the storm! you probably ate better than a lot of people on the east coast who had power the whole time (e.g., me!).
damn, even during storms you still able to eat well. now that’s the spirit i like. i would love to visit MOMOFUKU someday, at any of their many outlets.
@kunhuo42 - Awww…..we lucked out staying in an area where the electricity was on all the time! Otherwise, we would not fare that well~~hehe
@rudyhou - Momofuku is relatively closer to your area now, they opened one in Sydney, called Seiobo.