Bunn And Daheen Wang Mandoo Bring Buns Back
Pork buns, meet your match: wang mandu are here
Wang mandu, we're looking at you.
For too long, these behemoth buns with delicate pinched ruffles have been overshadowed by the ubiquitous split pork-belly bao, à la Momofuku and Baohaus.
Two new spots in Koreatown are primed to change that, ushering in a reign of these gut-busting snacks.
Bunn: With a street-side spot in Food Gallery 32, Bunn is ideal for a quick snack fly-by. Puffy and sized like a weightlifter's fist, the crunchy kimchi bun is plump and zippy with flavor. At $2.50 each, one bun quells hunger pains, and two are more than a meal.
Daheen Wang Mandoo: A sister spot to the original Flushing restaurant, the steamed house classic buns ($2) here are packed with a mix of spicy ground pork, glass noodles and minced scallions. The sweet red bean ($2) version is a swell alternative to an afternoon cookie. If you still have room, grab a paper "kup" of mouth-burningly spicy rice cakes ($3).