Momofuku is a culinary brand established by chef

David Chang David Chang (; ; born August 5, 1977) is an American celebrity chef, restaurateur, author, podcaster, and television personality. He is the founder of the Momofuku restaurant group. In 2009, his restaurant Momofuku Ko was awarded two Michelin st ...

in 2004 with the opening of Momofuku Noodle Bar. It includes restaurants in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

(defunct),

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

(Noodle Bar, Ssäm Bar, Ko, Má Pêche (defunct), Seiōbo, Noodle Bar Toronto, Kōjin, Fuku, Fuku+, CCDC, Nishi, Ando, Las Vegas, Fuku Wall St, Kāwi), a

bakery A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based baked goods made in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, bagels, Pastry, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as Coffeehouse, cafés, servi ...

established by pastry chef Christina Tosi (

Milk Bar A milk bar is an establishment that primarily sells dairy-based foods and beverages, often at affordable prices, and typically provides seating for customers. Their specific form and offerings can vary significantly by country. History The ...

), a bar (Nikai), and a quarterly magazine (''Lucky Peach''). Chang has written that the name "Momofuku" is "an indirect nod" to

Momofuku Ando , born Go Pek-Hok (), was a Taiwanese-born Japanese inventor and businessman who founded Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd. He is known as the inventor of Nissin Chikin Ramen (instant noodles) and the creator of the brands Top Ramen and Cup Noodl ...

, the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

- Taiwanese inventor of instant

ramen is a Chinese noodle dish popularized in Japan. It includes served in several flavors of broth. Common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen h ...

. The name means "lucky peach." Chang has suggested it is not an accident that he chose a word that sounds similar to the curse word "

motherfucker ''Motherfucker'' (; ), sometimes abbreviated as ''mofo'', ''mf'', or ''mf'er'', is an English-language vulgarism. It is a form of the profanity ''fuck''. In common usage, it is rarely used to refer to one person having intercourse with a wo ...

History

With experience in restaurants in

, Chef David Chang opened up his first restaurant in 2004, Momofuku Noodle Bar. It was influenced by his time spent working in Japan and visiting ramen shops. After about a year of trials, Noodle Bar took off as a success when the chefs began cooking what they felt like. Growing, Noodle Bar eventually moved up the street, and Momofuku Ko took over the space. Momofuku Ssäm Bar opened after Noodle Bar and originally had the concept of an Asian-style burrito bar (''

ssam ' () are dishes in Korean cuisine where one food is wrapped in another. A common variety is meat such as pork wrapped in a leafy vegetable. Momofuku Toronto followed in 2012 alongside the opening of the Shangri-La Hotel. Fuku, a chicken sandwich restaurant, opened in the original Noodle Bar location in June 2015. Doing office work for Ssäm Bar at the time, pastry chef Christina Tosi began the desserts program at the three Momofuku restaurants, first at Ssäm Bar, then Noodle Bar, and then Ko. The first Momofuku Milk Bar started in the laundromat next to Ssäm Bar. After a year and a half, a second Milk Bar opened in Midtown, in the Chambers Hotel. In November 2010 the Williamsburg, Brooklyn kitchen opened to accommodate the growth of Milk Bar. On September 24, 2011, Milk Bar opened its fourth location on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. In March 2012, Milk Bar opened a fifth location in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, and its most recent, sixth, location opened in SOHO in September 2014. In April 2018, Momofuku signed a deal with

Kraft Heinz The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC), commonly known as Kraft Heinz (), is an American multinational food company formed by the merger of Kraft Foods Group, Inc. and the H.J. Heinz Company co-headquartered in Chicago and Pittsburgh. Kraft Heinz is t ...

to start selling their chili sauce in American grocery stores.

Restaurants

Momofuku Noodle Bar was the first Momofuku restaurant; it opened in August 2004. It serves ramen, seasonal dishes, and a variety of buns. Since opening in 2006, Momofuku Ssäm Bar has been listed as one of The World's 50 Best Restaurants for 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012. Weekday lunches feature an all-rotisserie duck menu. Booker and Dax (the bar at Ssäm) is open late serving drinks. Momofuku Ko operated from March 2008 until November 2023. At Momofuku Ko (ko means "child of"), guests sat along a kitchen counter and were served by the cooks. Dinner was a set

tasting menu A tasting menu is a collection of several dishes in small portions, served by a restaurant as a single meal. The French name for a tasting menu is . Some restaurants and chefs specialize in tasting menus, while in other cases, it is a special o ...

devised by the chef, Sean Gray, and his aides-de-cuisine. It was usually about 10 courses long; at lunch the menu stretched out to 16 courses. Momofuku Ko has earned two Michelin stars in its first year, which it retained until it closed in 2023. In 2010, Ko was number 70 on the San Pellegrino World's Best Restaurants list. The closure of Momofuku Ko was announced in October 2023, with its last day in operation on November 4, 2023. Ma Pêche ("mother peach") is in

Midtown Manhattan Midtown Manhattan is the central portion of the New York City borough of Manhattan, serving as the city's primary central business district. Midtown is home to some of the city's most prominent buildings, including the Empire State Building, the ...

in the Chambers Hotel. Má Pêche opened in 2010 with co-owner and executive chef, Tien Ho, with Chef Paul Carmichael taking the reins in October 2011. This change prompted a shift in Má Pêche's cuisine from French-Vietnamese to American. Má Pêche includes a midtown outpost of Christina Tosi's bakery, Momofuku Milk Bar. Fuku is a casual chicken concept by Momofuku. Originally started as a fried chicken sandwich joint, Fuku has since grown to serve various chicken and seasonal offerings, along with beer, slushies, and more. Fuku has locations in the East Village, Wall St, Madison Square Garden, Citi Field,

T-Mobile Park T-Mobile Park is a retractable roof ballpark in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the home stadium of the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball and has a seating capacity of 47,929. It is in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood, near the w ...

in Seattle, and the Seaport in

South Boston South Boston (colloquially known as Southie) is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay (Boston Harbor), Dorchester Bay. It has under ...

. Seiōbo is Momofuku's first restaurant outside of New York City. In

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, it opened at The Star Casino in late October 2011. " Seiōbo" () is the Japanese pronunciation for the traditional Chinese "goddess of the West", who is known in mythical stories, such as ''

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the Classic Chinese Novels, great Chinese novels, and has been described as arguably the ...

'', as owning the celestial peach orchards. Momofuku Seiōbo has two hats from ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'' Good Food Guide and was named Best New Restaurant. In 2012, David Chang opened Momofuku Toronto, Momofuku's first location in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. It was located in a three-story glass cube on University Avenue in

Downtown Toronto Downtown Toronto is the main city centre of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located entirely within the district of Old Toronto, it is approximately 16.6 square kilometres in area, bounded by Bloor Street to the northeast and Dupont Street to the nor ...

and was home to Noodle Bar, Nikai, Daishō and Shōtō. Noodle Bar was on the ground floor and was a sister-restaurant to that of the same name in New York City. The menu featured bowls of ramen and a roster of dishes like steamed buns and rice cakes. The restaurant was home to a custom piece of art created by Steve Keene. Nikai was a bar and lounge on the second floor of Momofuku Toronto. The menu featured cocktails, beer, wine, and sake. Guests could order items from both the Noodle Bar and Daishō menus. Daishō was located on the third floor. The menu featured large-format meals meant for parties of 4–10 guests and an à la carte menu that included dishes to share. Shōtō was in the Daishō dining room on the third floor. Shōtō served a roughly 10-course tasting menu that was based on market availability. Guests were seated along the counter and served by the chefs. Momofuku Toronto closed permanently in 2022. Chang opened Momofuku CCDC, his first restaurant in the Washington, D.C. area in October 2015 in the downtown

CityCenterDC CityCenterDC, colloquially called CityCenter, is a mixed-use development consisting of two condominium buildings, two rental apartment buildings, two office buildings, a luxury hotel, and public park in Downtown (Washington, D.C.), downtown Wash ...

development. The restaurant included a Milkbar location. The location closed permanently in 2020 as part of a larger restructuring. Crack Pie

Momofuku Milk Bar, under the direction of pastry chef Christina Tosi, is based in New York City and has several locations in the cities of Washington and Toronto. Momofuku Nishi (which means "west") opened in January 2016 and is Momofuku's first restaurant on the west side. In New York City's Chelsea neighborhood, guests can choose from à la carte offerings for lunch or dinner. Momofuku Las Vegas is Momofuku's first restaurant in the western U.S. It is inside of The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The menu draws influence from all over the world, including the U.S., Korea, and Japan. The constantly evolving menu features steamed buns, noodles, and meat and seafood meant for sharing.

Publications

In 2009, David Chang, Peter Meehan, Gabriele Stabile and the Momofuku team produced the '' Momofuku'' cookbook. It features recipes and photographs from Momofuku Noodle Bar, Momofuku Ssam Bar, Momofuku Ko, and Milk Bar. The cookbook was a ''New York Times'' Best Seller. Written by Christina Tosi with a foreword by David Chang, the ''Momofuku Milk Bar'' cookbook was released in October 2011. Christina Tosi included her recipes for Cereal Milk, Crack Pie, the Compost Cookie, and other popular Milk Bar desserts. ''Scraps'' is a limited edition collection of outtakes and artwork from the ''Momofuku'' cookbook photographer, Gabriele Stabile.

''Lucky Peach''

From 2011 to November 2013, ''Lucky Peach'', a quarterly journal of food writing, was published by

McSweeney's McSweeney's Publishing is an American nonprofit publishing house founded by Dave Eggers in 1998 and headquartered in San Francisco. The executive director is Amanda Uhle. McSweeney's first publication was the literary journal'' Timothy McSw ...

. Since then, it has been self-published. ''Lucky Peach'' was then created by David Chang, Peter Meehan, and Zero Point Zero production. The first issue of ''Lucky Peach'' centered on

. The second issue, "The Sweet Spot", included articles on the neurobiology of how the brain detects sweet foods. This issue was a ''New York Times'' Best Seller. The third issue, "Chefs and Cooks", was also a ''New York Times'' Best Seller. The fourth issue of ''Lucky Peach'' was about American food. The fifth issue was about Chinatown and was released in November 2012. The sixth issue was centered on the theme of the apocalypse and was published in January 2013. The seventh issue of ''Lucky Peach'' was about travel. Released in May 2013, the issue featured one of Christopher Boffoli's "Big Appetites" photographs as its cover image. The eighth issue centered on the idea of gender in the food world. In March 2017, ''Lucky Peach'' announced it would cease publication after printing a double issue in the fall of 2017. Meehan stated that the shuttering of the publication was due to its partners' differences in creative direction and financial strategy.

Controversy

In March 2024, Momofuku filed with the

United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency in the United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark ...

to trademark the phrases "chili crunch" and "chile crunch". As of early April, the company has not been awarded the trademark. Coinciding with the filing, Momofuku began issuing

cease and desist A cease and desist letter is a document sent by one party, often a business, to warn another party that they believe the other party is committing an unlawful act, such as copyright infringement, and that they will take legal action if the oth ...

letters to a variety of businesses, most of which are small, using the phrases. This move was negatively received by a number of food businesses. In a statement to the LA Times, Momofuku argued that the trademark was not intended to stifle any competition surrounding the sauces, stating that "When we created our product, we wanted a name we could own and intentionally picked ‘Chili Crunch’ to further differentiate it from the broader chili crisp category." On April 12, Chang issued a public apology regarding the issue on his podcast, ''The Dave Chang Show'', stating that Momofuku had not intended to upset with their legal actions, and noted that Momofuku would no longer attempt to enforce the trademark.

Awards and honors

* 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants: Momofuku Ssam Bar * 2011, 2012, 2013 San Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants: Momofuku Ko * 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

Michelin Guide The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few restaurants ...

: Momofuku Ssäm Bar and Momofuku Noodle Bar, Michelin Bib Gourmands Guide to NYC * 2008

James Beard Award The James Beard Foundation Awards are annual awards presented by the James Beard Foundation to recognize chefs, restaurateurs, authors and journalists in the United States. They are scheduled around James Beard's May 5 birthday. The media awar ...

s: David Chang (momofuku ssäm bar), Best Chef New York City * 2009

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...

Where to Eat Momofuku Ko and Momofuku Milk Bar * 2009 James Beard Awards: Momofuku Ko, Best New Restaurant New York City * 2009

Zagat Survey The ''Zagat Survey'', commonly referred to as Zagat (stylized in all caps; , ) and established by Tim and Nina Zagat in 1979, is an organization which collects and correlates the ratings of restaurants by diners. For their first guide, coverin ...

: Momofuku Ko, Best Newcomer *2009

: Momofuku Ko, 2 Stars * 2010

Time Out New York ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 333 cities in 59 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition became ...

Eat Out Awards: Momofuku Noodle Bar, Best Fried Chicken * 2011 Time Out New York Food and Drink Awards: David Chang, Empire Builder of the Year * 2011 James Beard Awards: Christina Tosi (Momofuku Milk Bar), Rising Star Chef of the Year (nominated) * 2011 New York Magazine: Momofuku Ko, The Five Most Influential Restaurants of the Past Six Years * 2012 James Beard Awards: Christina Tosi (Momofuku Milk Bar), Rising Star Chef of the Year * 2012 James Beard Awards: David Chang (Momofuku Ssäm Bar), Outstanding Chef (nominated) * 2012 Time Out Sydney: Momofuku Seiōbo, Restaurant of the Year 2012 * 2013 James Beard Awards: David Chang (Momofuku Noodle Bar), Outstanding Chef * 2013

Bon Appétit ''Bon Appétit'' is a monthly American food and entertaining magazine, that typically contains recipes, entertaining ideas, restaurant recommendations, and wine reviews. Owned by Condé Nast, it is headquartered at the One World Trade Center ...

: Momofuku Restaurant Group, most important restaurant in America * 2013

Toronto Life ''Toronto Life'' is a monthly magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. ''Toronto Life'' also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including ''Real Estate'', ''Stylebook'', ''Eati ...

: Momofuku Shōtō, Best New Toronto Restaurants, #1 * 2013 Toronto Life: Momofuku Daishō, Best New Toronto Restaurants, #3 * 2013

Gourmet Traveller ''Australian Gourmet Traveller'' is a monthly magazine owned by the Australian media company Are Media Are Media is an Australian media company. It was formed after the 2020 purchase of the assets of Bauer Media Australia, which had in tu ...

: Momofuku Seiōbō, Restaurant of the Year * 2014 James Beard Awards: David Chang (Momofuku), Who's Who in Food & Beverage

References

External links

* {{Authority control Restaurants in New York City Restaurants in Toronto Restaurants established in 2004 Ramen shops Heinz brands 2004 establishments in New York City