Ma Peche

Foodies, by now, should be familiar with David Chang and his momofuku empire. Ma peche is his new restaurant located in mid-town Manhattan. I heard of Momofuku noodle bar when it first opened. My labmate was the first few people to eat there. Sometime later (soon after Ssam bar was opened), I read an article about David Chang and his "struggling" restaurant business. Then and now, what a world difference.

Back to Ma Peche. I went there a month ago for dinner, sat a the bar and ordered bar food. The shrimp chips that they offered (for free) at the bar reminded me of...wait for it....HOME!

I ordered three dishes
a) Shrimp summer roll -- a few friends went to Ma Pech on separate occasions and they all raved about the summer roll. I have to agree, pretty darn good summer roll. The texture of the chewy shrimp, balanced by the crunchiness of fried summer roll wrap, and freshness of the vegetable. A winner.

b)  bahn mi (french-influenced Vietnamese sandwich)  - This dish is pretty solid too. Initially i thought the meat in there is a thin slice of cooked pork. It was much later did i realized it was actually terrine/forcemeat, which takes a little more technique to prepare. If I have know earlier, i would try eat my sandwich slowly. The pickled vegetable overpowered the delicate flavor of the terrine.

c) rice noodle - this is an unusual dish. totally not what i expected it to be. Don't get me wrong, i enjoyed it but the texture is different. How should i say this. It felt like eating baked ziti, but chinese style. If i were to venture a guess, I think the rice noodle was baked to give the crunchiness texture, then stir fried with meat and vegetable.

overall, i like the chill ambiance here, the food is solid, the price is reasonable, location is good (for east-siders). My next stop is Momofuku noodle bar and ssam bar......want to go with me??