David Chang’s Momofuku group just opened its first ‘real’ restaurant in years — and Kabawa is insanely delicious

Momofuku Ko is history  — but agelong unrecorded Kabawa.

Neither nan flavors nor pretensions of  David Chang’s fabled, impossible-to-get-into restaurant lives connected astatine its successor.

Kabawa is nan first caller venue from his Momofuku empire since Chang began closing astir of his sit-down places 2 years agone and turned his attraction to branding and user products.

But nan spot wherever Momofuku Ko served its past uni pinch chickpea hozon recalls Ko’s restless, risk-taking spirit, even though its paper is Caribbean, not Asian, and served successful a specified 3 courses compared pinch Ko’s 10.

The room, on weirdly named Extra Place successful nan East Village, remains hard-edged contempt immoderate brighter colors and mosaics, yet oddly cozy acknowledgment to cook Paul Carmichael’s infectious bully cheer. The fistful of tables person an out-of-the-action feel, but it’s a different communicative astatine nan three-sided antagonistic wherever strangers mingle easy and Carmichael presides complete nan steamy, aromatic unfastened room pinch an omnipresent grin and infectious bully humor.

Carmichael chuckled erstwhile I told him my woman and honeymooned decades agone successful Barbados, his birthplace, erstwhile each repast  featured variations connected flying food that each tasted alike.  

“Flying fish,” he said pinch a twinkle. “We person existent Bajan nutrient festivals now.”

The paper (prix-fixe only and costing $145, but pinch supplements that tin raise nan value considerably) reflects nan accepted Bajan array — without flying food —  arsenic good arsenic nan tastes of Jamaica, Trinidad, Martinique, Puerto Rico and different Caribbean locales.

Almost everything I tasted deed nan spot — “tropical” without a tacky onslaught of pineapple and coconut. Carmichael, who erstwhile worked astatine Chang’s still-missed Ma Peche, isn’t trying for a “pan-Caribbean” menu; rather, it’s a personalized return connected certain dishes he loves.

He avoids cliches: There’s nary a naughty successful nan location isolated from for hearty “jerk” duck sausage that’s not nan existent thing, but simply “inspired” by naughty seasonings.

My meals began pinch 2 kinds of irresistible bread: Trinidad-inspired flaky roti that was nosy to tear isolated pinch fingers, and firm, Jamaican cassava cubes. Dips of capsicum jelly, plantain ginger chutney, curried chickpeas and mango chutney foreshadow nan spirit adventures to come.

Black oversea bass — served beside a mini excavation of woodsy, mild Trinidadian-style curry — looked minimalist connected nan sheet but packed maximum spirit punch. Breadfruit tostones, arsenic toothsome arsenic pizza-style flatbread but a batch tastier, were topped pinch rings of impossibly tender octopus and sparked pinch “dog” sauce, a piquant condiment made pinch parsley, lime and habanero from nan French Caribbean.

Luscious earthy capsicum shrimp from Montauk waters, dusted pinch tangy hibiscus and tingly fermented Scotch bonnet peppers deed each nan notes perfectly. That awesome crockery has been replaced by raw, mineral-rich water scallops that were astir arsenic good.

Plantain-scrambled ovum and brackish cod were truthful delicious, I propose you ask, arsenic I did, to clasp nan caviar that would adhd $50 to nan bill. It was capable to conscionable bask nan creamiest scramble and sweetest brackish cod I’ve ever had.

The only disappointment was chuletas tin can ($75 other but capable to provender three) — a monumental combo of pork rib, belly and loin, seasoned with pungent recaito, a accepted Puerto Rican sofrito of capsicum and cilantro.

Although awesome to behold, nan nutrient emerged excessively barren and pinch small textural differentiation among nan cuts.

Kabawa has a reasonably priced vino database and killer, top-tier rums. I loved a Cuban-inspired daiquiri made pinch shaved ice.

Next-door Bar Kabawa’s a la carte “small bites” and patties of goat, shrimp and crab, variously baked and fried, are inexpensive introductions to Carmichael’s talent. But nan spot to bask it to nan afloat is nan main edifice — and nan antagonistic is wherever it tin beryllium knowledgeable astatine its spectacular best.