Hero: The Generous World of David Chang

From pork belly bao to Japanese ramen and fried chicken, a few years ago David Chang put his unique stamp on the food world by bringing together a mix of authentic Asian flavors and good old American classics. FavorFlav’s Marieke pays tribute to her culinary hero.

The New York Times calls 2004—the year Chang opened his first restaurant, Momofuku—the year the way people dine out was turned upside down. Good, truly good food doesn’t necessarily have to be expensive or chic. And Chang plays an important role in this. I can only agree, because my goodness, this guy is brilliant.

Chang’s pork ramen with a perfectly poached egg quickly becomes an icon. He draws his inspiration from Japan, where he works for several years and, above all, tastes an awful lot of food. New Yorkers, from the super-rich to those less fortunate, are happy to wait more than an hour for a spot on the wooden benches.

Crack

You understand that it doesn’t stop at that small restaurant. Chang now has fourteen establishments. These aren’t always copies of the original, by the way. Momofuku Ko, for example, serves fine dining, has twelve seats, and you can only make a reservation a few days in advance. You can imagine that every week there’s a huge rush to secure a spot online. For those with a sweet tooth, there’s Milk Bar, where you can buy the most decadent cakes, cookies, and ice creams. The Crack Pie is legendary and, as the name suggests, addictively delicious. Prefer ice cream? Go for the Cereal Soft Serve with cornflakes, brown sugar, and a pinch of salt.

Picture piercing a poached egg in slow motion, watching the lava of yolk flow out

In Chang’s world, just about anything is possible. Every dish that comes out of his kitchen is a creation that makes you think: I need this in my life. It’s generous, exuberant, and always surprising. It’s food that makes me incredibly happy and inspires me. And, of course, many others too.

Yolk lava

There are now locations in Canada and Australia, and then there’s his brainchild, the brilliant *Lucky Peach (the English translation of the word momofuku) magazine, with incredible background stories, beautiful photography, and recipes. Follow the man on Instagram and Facebook too, because he regularly posts delicious videos there. I go wild every time. Picture piercing a poached egg in slow motion, watching the lava of yolk flow out, or a gigantic steak being buried under melted butter.  Chang, when are you coming to the Netherlands?

*Sob, since May 2017 Lucky Peach has no longer existed. You can read more about it here.

Text: Marieke Migchelbrink
Image: Eater.com