Met up with Sopa last week at Ssam around 630 on a Thursday in hopes of avoiding a wait. Not sure if the hype has died or what but the restaurant never actually got as crowded as visits of my past. There were a couple empty chairs at the bar and a spare table or two. I did notice there were alot more people feasting on the bo ssam (which must be ordered and reserved in advance).
We were seated at the bar and decided to get two orders of pork buns to start. I don’t typically share the order even though one order includes 2 buns (one just never seems to be enough):
Maybe it was due to the fact that we arrived so early but the pork buns tasted like they had been sitting there awhile. Were they leftovers from the lunch rush? The buns weren’t super soft and fluffy but a tiny bit hard on the outside. The pork belly wasn’t warm but a little too lukewarm for my taste. The fat had slightly hardened. I still enjoyed them but they should have been warmer and the buns a little fresher.
For main, I got the rice cakes with spicy sausage with Chinese broccoli in a Szechuan peppercorn sauce and topped with scallions and crispy shallots:
I’ve had a version of this dish before but it was definitely not as fiery hot. Since this version uses Szechuan peppercorns, it had that unique taste and burn only associated with Szechuan cooking. It was pretty salty due to the sausage and seasonings but full of flavor. The rice cakes were cooked so that the outside were slightly crispy and the inside still soft and chewy. I didn’t make out any Chinese broccoli – the other flavors were too overpowering.
Sopa got the fried catfish with kambocha squash curry, green mango and peanuts:
I found the fish very moist with a nice fried crispy exterior. The curry squash sauce was slightly sweet with obvious hints of curry. The shredded green mango provided a nice crunch and slightly acidic freshness. I actually liked this dish alot. The flavors were mellow but really worked well together. But I can’t say no to any kind of fried fish…
The meal was good but it didn’t blow me away like it has in the past. I’ve visited and reviewed Ssam so much I do feel that I know the food here well and since the pork buns were quite the disappointment on this visit, perhaps it is coloring my review.
Momofuku Ssam, 207 Second Avenue, New York, NY
