Ma Peche Take 2

Earlier this month, David Chang opened up his fifth establishment in the Momofuku family of restaurants. Ma Peche is the first of the Momofuku restaurants to venture outside of New York City’s East Village. It is on 15 West 56th Street inside the Chambers Hotel – but don’t let the high ceilings in the hotel lobby fool you. Ma Peche stays true to the Momofuku brand of exclusivity that is brought about by dim lighting, low ceilings, community seating, and chefs working within an arms reach, all of which can be found here. Extending the feeling of separateness from the hustle and bustle outside that is New York City’s midtown is the restaurant’s layout; there is a mezzanine and a small first floor seating area but the prime seats are at the X shaped community table on the basement level. There, below the street, taking in the ambience of this restaurant with all five senses, it is hard to recall the taxis, buses, and crowds of tourists just outside.


Ma Peche is currently serving lunch and an express lunch that is appropriately called “midtown lunch” for business men that want fine dining to go. The menu changes daily depending on what local farmers have on the chopping block but you can always be sure to find a lot of meat. Mainstay entrees include spicy pork two ways, ribs with carrots and spaetzle, steak with rice fries, and roasted chicken with mushrooms, green papaya, and peanuts. And for those that prefer to dine on the fruit of the sea, there are delicious options for you as well. Seafood offerings include squid salad with cilantro and peanuts, and mussels with crab paste and beer, to name a few.


And if all you have time for is a quick treat to go you can get that here too. At the front end of the house is the twin sister to the always packed East 13th Street Milk Bar. This Milk Bar is smaller but still manages to pack in all the desserts that many a New Yorker has come to love and maybe even get addicted to. Both Milk Bars offer a Momofuku signature dessert called the Crack Pie, among others that are just as addictive. But if you can’t decide then go for the Franken Pie, its two slices each of Crack Pie, Candy Bar Pie, Grasshopper Pie, and Cinnamon Bun Pie. Also on the menu is the daily changing variety of soft serve flavors. For a true Milk Bar classic, try Cereal Milk soft serve with Crunchy Corn Flake topping – it is sure to please.