Momofuku CCDC and the Need for Food Models

*Originally published August 7, 2016. While Momofuku CCDC is no longer open, I’ve got these memories (and the Momofuku cookbook) to keep me warm.

Yesterday I hit up David Chang's Momofuku DC outpost - a place I've been longing to visit for as long as I've owned the Momofuku cookbook. Yes, I had the pork belly buns. Yes, I had the ginger-scallion noodles. Yes, I had the holy grail ... Momofuku Ramen.

That's a lot of food but luckily, I had reinforcements - I'm in DC visiting my good friends Pete and Hanna Robbins, and we met up with Pete's brother's family as well as his parents. I always look forward to meeting new people (and they were all delightful), but honestly I was truly hoping to capitalize on making them my food models.

Mike Robbins and his family have lived in a few countries outside of 'Merica, and they're quite comfortable eating pretty much any cuisine you throw at them. His three children, Madeline, Tai and Isabel wielded chopsticks with ease and not once did they wrinkle a nose or cross an eye at any of the dishes on the table.

Which is more than I can say for some of my very mature, adult friends ...

They were a delight and inspired me to always keep an open and inquisitive mind.

Here's what we enjoyed: