“Where is Waldo?” is what a fellow oyster lover, Robin, replied when I asked him what he thought of our dinner. He was of course referring to the oyster, which seemed nowhere to be found within our otherwise delicious dinner at Momofuku Ssam Bar.

For our February New York City Oyster Lovers Meet Up, a dinner was planned at Momofuku Ssam bar, a staple in any foodie’s guide to NYC dining. Known for David Chang’s great contribution to the culinary world, the pork bun, we were all very excited to see just how our favorite little oyster would be incorporated into a three course tasting. Although the meal in itself was quite delectable, it seemed that with every bite, we longed more and more for our dear bivalve.

We began with raw oysters three ways. The first came in the form of a shooter. The Shigoku oyster lay below the milky and frothy liquid and upon its appearance at the end of the “shot”, it seemed to save the otherwise not very pleasing mixture. Next, the cucumber gazpacho with the Matunuck oyster tasted refreshing and something to be enjoyed on a hot summer day.  And finally, the crispy oyster cracker with a creamy and plump Pacific oyster left nothing more than an overwhelming taste of cracker to linger in our mouths.

For the second course, we were presented with two mini fried oyster buns. One with the east coaster Malpeque and the other with the Hama Hama from the west. The combination of soft bun, crispy oyster and tangy tarter sauce was fantastic. Unfortunately, it could have been a fried clam, for the taste of both oysters was overpowered by the cornmeal crusting.

The final course was a beef cheek pot pie, served along side a sauce incorporated with the Ninigret Cups oyster from Charlestown Pond, RI. The tender meat within the crispy pastry, combined with the creamy sauce, was divine. Unfortunately, once again the oyster went missing within the other more prevalent flavors.

Although unsuccessful as far as “oysters” go, our February Meet Up was far from disappointing. Momofuku welcomed us Oyster Lovers with open arms, and served a well-planned enticing dinner. Nevertheless, it is no wonder why they serve their out of this world, mouth watering bun with braised pork rather then fried oysters.