Chef Michael Chen leaves Momofuku after 2 months

Momofuku’s Las Vegas outpost has only been open at The Cosmopolitan a little over two months, but it’s already changing things up in a couple of pretty big ways.

First, Michael Chen is exiting his role as executive chef.

A statement from the company’s public relations team confirms, “Michael Chen will be leaving Momofuku Las Vegas due to personal reasons. We are thankful for all of the hard work that he has put into the opening of this restaurant, and he will be missed.”

Chen worked at Joel Robuchon, Yellowtail and Wing Lei, among others, before taking the job running things locally for David Chang. The restaurant is seeking a new executive chef.

The personnel change apparently hasn’t slowed things down in the kitchen, however. Momofuku has added late-night dining at its Peach Bar. The area will stay open until 2 a.m., offering a variety of small plates, buns, noodles and rice as well as discounts on a rotating selection of red, white and sparkling wines by the bottle after 11 p.m. Among the late-night food offerings will be a new sandwich, made with chili-glazed fried chicken, cucumbers and lettuce on a potato roll.

Contact Al Mancini at amancini@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlManciniVegas on Twitter.