Review: Momofuku Daishō, the new place for family-style fried chicken and bo ssäm
One of three new David Chang restaurants, Daishō has a split personality. The glass-walled room, with its dazzling bird’s-eye view of the opera house, attracts date-night couples who order from an à la carte menu of modern Asian dishes like deliciously caramelized deep-fried Brussels sprouts tossed with puffed rice and mint, succulent ruby slices of secreto (a shoulder cut steak) doused in XO sauce, and a sweet-sour-salty salad of apple, kimchee and bacon. The main draw, however, is a separate menu for groups of four to 10, who gather at picnic-style tables for large-format meals, including a heaping plate of two chickens, jointed and fried Southern style, in an intensely savoury buttermilk breading.
The feast comes with a stack of thin, scallion-sprinkled pancakes for wrapping, a tiny bowl of Tabasco-seasoned salt and a jar of pickled veg. The bo ssäm platter is another highlight, delivering a lusciously fatty slow-roasted pork shoulder that you pull apart and bundle with spicy Korean barbecue sauce and kimchee in leaves of tender bibb lettuce. These shared dishes must be reserved two days in advance—but it’s well worth the hassle. The well-rounded wine list is designed to complement the kitchen’s expansive list of exotic ingredients.
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