Dinner At Momofuku Las Vegas

Ever since eating at David Chang's Fuku on my first trip to New York City, I've been craving more. When I found myself in Las Vegas for a day, I knew I had to make it for dinner. Momofuku Las Vegas opened in early 2017 and is Chang's first West Coast location. As resident of the Cosmopolitan and neighbor to Christina Tosi's Milk Bar, the pair look right at home amongst the neon lights of the strip. The restaurant has four distinct menus; lunch, social hour, dinner and late night. Drawing inspiration from the US, Japan and Korea the menu features a constantly evolving selection of steamed buns, noodles, and large format dinners. 

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We started with an order of crab deviled eggs and a dozen raw oysters. The eggs, topped with Dungeness crab, smoked trout roe and crispy bonito, were the perfect bite of richness and saltiness. Paired with the freshness of the oysters, accompanied by a sochu melon ice and a combination of lime juice and  black pepper,  these appetizers were an ideal way to start our dinner.

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Our first table side preparation of the night was 4 ounces of 5A Hokkaido Wagyu beef. The meat was sliced and cooked on a blocks of pink Himalayan sea salt. The propane torch used to sear the meat was outfitted with a special filter used to keep the propane from touching the meat. 

Aside the salt blocks, the meat was only seasoned with a little sesame oil and served with fresh grated wasabi. The final result were bite sized morsels of soft, deeply flavorful beef served at the ideal temperature. Enjoyed alone, the product speaks for itself.

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Our second table side preparation was Chang's signature 5 spice rotisserie duck. The perfectly cooked duck breast was sliced and served over Jasmine rice with duck leg confit. The meal was served ssäm style, with ​bibb lettuce, chive pancakes, kimchi, hoisin, ssäm sauce, ginger scallion sauce and fresh herbs. The lettuce and chive pancakes were used to warp the rice, duck and any of the sauces one desired, the ginger scallion sauce was my favorite.

The bones were taken back to the kitchen and deep fried, creating almost a duck chicharrón. It felt so primal to be chewing on bones, looking for the perfect little bites of crispy skin and meat. Totally worth it.

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Our sides were just as delicious as our main dishes. We had crispy potatoes loaded with tofu truffle sauce, parmesan and chives. The fry factor was so appealing. We also snacked on shishito peppers dusted with smoked salt and lime, because why not?

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Dessert was complimentary, and consisted of Milk Bar's crack pie and signature cereal milk soft serve with a cereal crumble. The texture of the ice cream was unlike anything I've tried and definitely lived up to it's expectations. The whole meal did honestly, and I can't wait to visit more of David Chang's restaurants. Might have to try the fried chicken and caviar dinner next time. Yeah, you read that right.