While food fanatics are going cuckoo for Ko (ressies for one of 12 seats at David Chang’s Momofuku Ko are getting booked in four seconds), there are plenty of new places where the rest of us can satisfy our cravings for all things Far Eastern. Give these just-opened restaurants a try the next time you want to give your Buddha belly a workout.
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Ippudo
65 4th Ave. (10th & 11th Sts.)
East Village 212.388.0088
This isn’t your L train-riding waif’s kind of ramen—at $13 a bowl, the homemade noodles at this NYC outpost of one of Japan’s top chains are a work of art. Delectably chewy, skinny noodles are seeped in rich miso and pork broth. Toppings include slow-cooked pork, soft-boiled eggs, and thin sheets of nori. A bar serving sake, shochu, and beer opens up to a Zen-tranquil dining room with a bamboo tree sculpture as a centerpiece. Who would ever guess you could impress a date over ramen? |
Bar Q
308-310 Bleecker St. (Grove & Barrow Sts.)
West Village 212.206.7817
When the weather cooperates, Q is where you’ll find us gnawing on carnivorous delights from Chef Anita Lo (Annisa) in the restaurant’s outdoor garden. Inside, an ultra-modern, sleek white interior, complete with a glass-encased greenhouse, serves as a minimalist backdrop for Lo’s exotic blend of Asian and Southern BBQ flavors. Dishes such as tea-smoked duck and spit-roasted pork belly with kimchee are sure to attract a queue of diners.
Slurp
84 Stanton St. (@ Orchard St.)
Lower East Side 212.982.8895
Fifteen minutes north of cheaper, similar options in Chinatown, this Vietnamese restaurant offers less oily food and romantic digs. Given its name, noodles are the main draw here—from thick rice noodle soups and vermicelli dishes to pho, which comes with ribeye, oxtail, or crabmeat and shrimp. Dishes like grilled pork chops and curried chicken are some of the non-slurpy offerings. They’re still waiting for their liquor license, so in the meantime, take advantage of their no-corkage-fee BYOB. |
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Tet
83 Ave. A (5th & 6th Sts.)
East Village 212.253.0800
This brand new Vietnamese restaurant is a romantic purple nook off of bustling Avenue A, where the sweet-meets-spicy menu is sure to heat the neighborhood up. Saigon-born chef Steven Duong offers inventive cuisine such as salmon simmered in chili and pineapple and baby back ribs coated in a lemongrass, honey, and plum sauce. We’re betting this place will be received as well as his other ventures, Nam and O Mai.
Moco Global Dining
516 3rd Ave. (@ 34th St.)
212.685.3663 Murray Hill
Chef Joe Kurauchi studied the kaiseki style of cooking in Japan before traveling the world and sampling cuisine from more than 120 countries. Don’t let the corporate-sounding name and mild décor here mislead you—dishes such as Japanese style chicken wings and baby octopus ceviche jump off the plate. While food from other non-Asian regions (like Lima or Honolulu) peppers the menu, a sizeable offering of sushi sways the offerings to the Eastern side of fusion.
~ Selena Ricks
