THE PRICE HIKE

David Chang’s Momofuku Daisho, the Canadian equivalent of Ssam Bar (or thereabouts), is set to open at the Shagri-La Hotel in Toronto on Tuesday. Like Ssam Bar in New York, there will be bo ssam pork shoulders, along with other large format items. But those dishes will cost a bit more up north. Here’s the pricing breakdown, with quoted descriptions from the Daisho website:

Beef Shortrib (4-6 people): ”Cooked with hatcho miso, gochugang, and pears, and topped with puffed white rice. It comes with white kimchi, marinated bean sprouts, and white rice.” Price: $220 ($225 USD). This one’s not available in New York, which means the Toronto folks are LUCKY DUCKS. 

Beef Ribeye (6-8 people): This is a prime cut from McGee farms that’s been “dry-aged, and roasted for about 2-3 hours. It’s crusted with horseradish and black pepper, then served with horseradish cream, ginger scallion sauce, pan drippings, and yorkshire puddings.” Price: $600 ($614 USD).  

The de facto per person price, anywhere from $75-$100 CAD, is among the highest we’ve ever seen for a large format rib-cut. According to a Price Hike analysis, New York’s most expensive rib cuts are served at Ssam Bar (usually around $163 USD, or $82 USD per person) and at Marc Forgione ($148 USD). 

Bo Ssam (6-10 people):”Whole slow cooked pork shoulder, a dozen oysters, white rice, bibb lettuce, ssäm sauce (korean bbq sauce), kimchi and ginger scallion sauce.” Price: $240 ($246 USD). That’s $46 more expensive than the New York price of $200 at the current exchange rate. 

Fried Chicken (4-6 people): “Two whole fried chickens. it comes with scallion pancakes, ginger scallion sauce, jalapeno garlic sauce, pickled vegetables, shaved radishes, herbs and tabasco salt.” Price: $125 ($128 USD). That’s $28 more expensive than the New York price of $100, at the current exchange rates. 

Reservations for these large-format meals can be made via the Momofuku Daisho website. Also recall that 13% Toronto sales tax will be added to your bill. Tipping at 20% is about right. See our previous coverage of Momofuku Toronto, which includes a Suttonomics pricing analysis of Shoto, the tasting menu-only venue inside Daisho.