Momofuku Bo Ssam Review: Pork Perfection

Momofuku is really one of my favorite chains in NYC.  This is impressive because I have only had two things at their restaurants – the fried chicken and the pork shoulder (bo ssam).   I really like community style dining and Momofuku is the only place I have done it in the city. The Bo Ssam is an experience that should be enjoyed among good friends.  They start by bringing you their regular menu incase you want to add anything extra to your meal.  PLEASE take my advice and don’t even look at the menu.  There is NO need to order anything additionally.  Once you get over that nonsense of adding any more items to the meal they place the order for the bo ssam to the kitchen.

Lettuce Wraps and Sauces

Prior to bringing out the bo ssam they bring out bowls of warm white rice and a dozen raw oysters, a bowl of lettuce wraps and four sauces.  The sauces are kimchi, kimchi paste, a Chinese BBQ sauce and scallions.  When the bo ssam is carried out prepare to be awed.  It is an entire pork shoulder cooked to perfection.  They bring out tongs for everyone (you should strategize to sit in the middle of the table) so that you can serve yourself the pork.  The correct way to eat it is with your hands in the form of a lettuce wrap.   To make a perfect lettuce wrap requires patience and all the ingredients – white rice, an oyster, your choice of the four sauces (I use them all) and the pork.  You may find yourself questioning the combination of raw oysters, pork and rice but just do it.

For the next hour if your friends are anything like mine no one will speak to each other until the first person taps out and is suffering from pork coma.  I have taken part in a bo ssam dinner twice and neither time did we finish the entire pork shoulder.  Don’t worry about skimping on the sauces, lettuce or rice because they will continue to bring them out until the pork is done.

Oysters & Rice two of the Lettuce Wrap Must Haves

The star of the night is the pork.  The skin is crispy, juicy, sweet and delicious and the meat is pull off of the bone tender.   The other ingredients help to make it a meal but I can sit there and eat the pork on its own and be perfectly content.  I have read a bunch of reviews complaining about the price (it is $200) but divide that by the 8 or 10 people it feeds and you are going to pay about $40 per person for an insane amount of food.  It is well worth it in my standards and I will continue to take part at least once/year.

Bo Ssam (pork shoulder) at Momofuku

I HIGHLY recommend doing a bo ssam with a group of friends.  Check out Momofuku’s site for reservations and keep in mind that they are booked up to three weeks in advance.  Try to make an earlier reservation, this meal is too indulgent to eat late at night.

Good:

Most amazing pork I have ever had

Awesome group dining experience

Bad:

You need to have at least 7 friends that love pork as much as you do

Rating: 5/5 Stars