
6

"Underneath the corporate veil of its Westfield Century City location, this Momofuku spot channels crowd-pleasing chains like Houston’s or the Cheesecake Factory while delivering the indie restaurant excellence that has defined David Chang’s brand, weaving modern Asian diasporic flavors into classic American archetypes with more mass appeal than ever. Pasta reads like northern Chinese noodles with mixed mushrooms and a thin sauce, and a lobster-topped version could skew Sichuan or Cambodian. Naked fried chicken wings stay crunchy for every bite with sweet-spicy and honey garlic dips; savory doughnuts recall hot-from-the-fryer korokke with a molten coconut-curry filling that’s meaty and comforting; spicy tuna gimbap sets plump sushi-quality ahi on a glinting crystal plate; and the chicken salad is a textural masterpiece — shredded cabbage, pickled chiles, and cashews stacked like a Monet-esque haystack and evenly coated in sesame dressing. Lobster noodles nod to Chinatown’s Majordomo, with chile- and garlic-laden chunks of lobster resembling a doubanjiang sauce. The room feels like a futuristic diner — sleek stainless steel walls, teal contrasted with red-orange, tables and comfy banquettes, and a shaggy ceiling that evokes Elvis’s Jungle Room at Graceland — making it easy and slightly irreverent, yet buttoned up enough for office power lunches or dinners. Portions swing widely: soft tofu is just a few spoonfuls and skewers are smaller than appetizer size, while gimbap and savory doughnuts are quite filling; consider mains big enough for two to avoid over-ordering." - Matthew Kang