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New York City

Tonchin

Posted on July 13, 2019

Ramen boy and I ventured to Midtown West for Michelin bib gourmand ramen at Tonchin. We hadn’t tried this Tokyo-based chain while living in Japan and had missed opportunities when visiting New York. Since my son is a creature of habit and very loyal to Ippudo ramen it required some convincing to try something new this time around. We waited for about 40 minutes and then we were seated in the back of the restaurant near the open kitchen. Watching the chefs at each of their stations was mesmerizing as I ate my smoked dashi ramen filled with clams topped with pea sprouts, menma, egg, tobiko, dried seaweed in a tonkotsu broth with a drizzle of smoked fish oil. The homemade noodles were springy and al dente and the broth was deep in flavor with a slight fish essence – truly sublime. Ramen boy had a classic tonkotsu bowl with extra noodles along with some bite-size pan fried gyoza which were delicious.

The finishing touch to our meal was the kakigori. We shared the Tokyo strawberry milk shaved ice with strawberries and honey cream sauce. I could eat this for days.

Tokyo strawberry shaved ice

TONCHIN NEW YORK
13 W 36th Street
New York City, NY 10018
(646) 692-9912

New York City

Ramen Hood

Posted on May 4, 2019

My first time trying vegan ramen at the Chef’s Club pop-up shop in SoHo was a delicious surprise. I wasn’t expecting to be wowed since I was really skeptical of a boneless and meatless broth. Even the bold sign #RICHASSBROTH in front of me as I ordered wasn’t enough to convince me. Sunflower seed broth – yeah right! The Los Angeles based ramen shop proved me wrong. I ordered the ramen that came with king oyster mushrooms, bean sprouts, scallions, nori, chili threads and side order of the vegan egg. The egg was just too weird for me and could have done without. I love the real thing so there just isn’t a comparison. The noodles were thick and springy and the broth was creamy with a lot of depth for stock made from sunflower seeds. Seriously some RICH ASS BROTH!

Ramen Hood
62 Spring Street
Chef’s Club Counter
New York, NY 10012
(646) 438-9172

New York City

Ippudo Westside

Posted on November 19, 2018

I was in town for the New York Marathon. By the time I finished spending way too much money at the Expo and attending the course strategy session at the New York Road Runners (NYRR) headquarters I was famished. My plans were to uber to Ramen Shack in Long Island City but having arrived on a red-eye flight with very little sleep I didn’t have the energy to venture out there. Ippudo was a safe bet and just a couple of blocks away. I was lucky – it was early and I was seated immediately at the bar. I prefer this over a table since I like to eat and run when it comes to ramen. To me it just isn’t a meal to linger over.

Thanks to ramen boy I have already eaten my fair share of Ippudo Ramen in Tokyo. When we lived in Japan he was such a picky eater that ramen was always the favorite go to meal and we ate there more often than I’d like to admit. We have slurped all kinds of ramen – we were in Tokyo for years – but he is a creature of habit and loves his Ippudo.

The two things I like about Ippudo Ramen are their thin noodles which taste perfect al dente (katame) and that it usually comes out steaming hot. So steamy that it’s impossible to take a good picture of your bowl of noodles. Which is just as well since in my opinion Ippudo Ramen isn’t very Instagram pretty. My advice – forgo taking a picture and just spend time slurping.

Gochisosama deshita.

Ippudo Westside
321 West 51st Street, (Between 8th and 9th Avenue)
New York, NY 10019
(212) 974-2500

New York City

Nakamura NYC – second time around

Posted on August 19, 2018

I had been looking forward to my return visit – this time with Ramen Boy. Normally we’d walk here but even for me it was just too hot and humid to bear that we took an Uber. I wanted him to experience the neighborhood with the grit, hustle and bustle of the melange of people around him that you get from walking around. We got to Nakamura’s as soon as it opened and quickly ordered our noodles. We are firm believers that you slurp your noodles and then you leave. In and out. Nakamura’s doesn’t have that vibe. You kind of want to stick around. It’s off the beaten path so you may have a queue of people at a certain time or you’ll have the place to yourself like we did. I was going to order the signature torigara ramen but with the heat the cold noodles special was calling my name – seafood tomato tom yum with fried soft shell crab and squid. Ramen boy will attest that when I am enjoying my food I make embarrassing “mmmm” sounds. This bowl of noodles was beyond delicious. The soft crunch of the soft shell crab and the tomato based tom yum broth with the noodles and grated yuzu was just genius. If I lived in New York I’d be here often just for this. It could very well be my favorite summer food addiction – right up there with where have you been all my life Mother’s peach and burrata salad. Hope Nakamura keeps it a summer dish mainstay.

Nakamura NYC
172 Delancey Street
New York, NY 10002
212-614-1810

New York City

Wagamama

Posted on August 16, 2018

Ramen Boy’s request for Ippudo as his first meal in New York comes as no surprise. You have to be prepared to wait in a long line in Berkeley and San Francisco. Going to Ippudo in New York is much easier with three to choose from. We like going to the Ippudo in the East Village and so I suggested we shop around and then walk there for some noodles. We didn’t anticipate how how hot and muggy it would be in New York and it quickly sapped all our energy. Kind of a rookie move considering we lived in tropical Singapore and spent many humid summers in Tokyo. By the time we got to Ippudo not only were we starving but also disappointed that it was temporarily closed for renovations. At this point we weren’t too picky about our lunch destination but luckily Yelp pointed us to Wagamama and we headed that way. Ramen boy’s dad has gone to the Wagamama in London and raves about the duck gyoza. Of course we had to try it and it was tasty. We both ordered the shirodashi pork ramen with pork belly in a chicken broth and topped with menma, micro greens, scallions, wakame and a soft boiled egg. Ramen boy slurped away happy with his bowl of noodles. I wish I could say the ramen was memorable but truthfully for me it was all about the beverage. Diet coke with lime hit the spot.

Wagamama
55 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10003
(917) 636-6030

New York City

Nakamura NYC

Posted on June 19, 2018

This Lower East Side ramen shop is obscurely located next to the entrance of the Williamsburg Bridge reminiscent of the ramen-ya’s you would find in Japan. I walked the stretch of Delancey Street from my hotel to work up an appetite for the noodles to come and to explore the gentrified neighborhood – a blast from the past when I lived in the East Village in the late 80’s. The day before my visit I had run the the United New York Half Marathon with the course starting in Brooklyn and taking me over the very same bridge into Manhattan. Good ramen shops usually have a queue and I like to avoid this by arriving early just before they open. I was the first one in and quickly perused the menu. Everything looked good to me and I was surprisingly pleased that they served a lunch-size smaller portion of noodles reminding me of the lunch specials you’d find in Japan. Although I debated getting the Torigara (Chef’s Signature) ramen I knew that I had to try the Yuzu Dashi ramen. Afuri serves a mean bowl of this and I wanted to compare it. Well, it did not disappoint. The shio based yuzu seasoned chicken broth simply adorned with a lean piece of chashu pork that had been nicely grilled, scallions, spinach, menma and nori with springy thin noodles. Very light tasting and delicious and I had no problem finishing every bit to the very last drop. Hands down the best ramen I had on my New York trip. Looking forward to another visit in a couple of weeks with ramen boy!

Nakamura NYC
172 Delancey Street
New York, NY 10002
(212) 614-1810

New York City

Ramen Lab

Posted on April 16, 2018

My favorite place to stay when I’m in New York is just down the street from the Ramen Lab. My red-eye flight got me into JFK early morning giving me ample time to drop off my luggage at my hotel in SoHo, nourish myself with a complimentary latte, Balthazar toast and a soft-boiled egg with truffle salt thanks to Eduardo at The Broome Hotel’s sweet little cafe. Then off I went to the United New York Half Marathon Expo to pick up my bib for the race. I knew that Ramen Lab’s door opened at 5 pm and I wanted to get there around 4:45 to ensure that I would haven’t to wait too long to get in. There are only ten spots – no chairs. It’s serious noodle business when you have to stand to eat and expectations are high when you have to do so. The ramen very well better be worth it. This is my second time at Ramen Lab and once again impressed me with their manner of ordering before entering the restaurant to putting a delicious bowl of noodles in front of me without any fanfare. I like the concept of the rotating kitchen featuring ramen from ramen shops throughout the U.S. and the world and especially pleased that SacRAMENto has debuted not one but two ramen chefs: Yasushi Ueyama’s Shoki Ramen and ramen blogger David Chan. All of my walking worked up an appetite for the featured Sakekasu Tonkotsu Ramen from Brooklyn Kura. Sake kasu are the lees left over from making sake often used as a pickling agent in Japanese cooking. The lees foam was not overpowering and added a touch of umami to the creamy pork broth. The usual suspects included a fatty but meaty piece of pork belly, slices of fish cake, scallions, seaweed and pickled ginger. The drizzle of anchovy oil and the two slices of tamogayaki (egg omelette) pulled it all together and went well with the thicker Okinawa soba noodles. The ramen truly hit the spot that I quickly devoured it. It was so good I would have ordered another but a line had formed outside the restaurant. Ramen etiquette prevailed so I quickly paid my bill so that next group of customers could come in. I will be noodle slurping with ramen boy this summer so looking forward to the third time around surprise ramen at Ramen Lab.

Ramen Lab
70 Kenmare Street
New York, NY 10012
(646) 613-7522
www.ramen-lab.com

New York City

Naruto Ramen

Posted on April 4, 2016

Naruto Ramen on the Upper East Side wasn’t on my noodle radar while I was in New York. In fact it didn’t even make my top 10 list but my friend suggested that we give it a try since it was on the way back from her class at the 92nd Street Y. I was California bound that evening so a bowl of ramen would definitely sustain me for my trip back home and I felt good that I got to visit three ramen restaurants. Could have I tried more places? Most definitely but I would have had to run another half marathon to burn those extra calories. The outside of the shop reminded me of a typical ramen-ya in Japan with its tiny entrance and noren (doorway curtain) welcoming its customers. There was a long bar with hooks underneath reminiscent of Ramen Lab but thankfully there were seats. My friend and I were quickly ushered in and given menus as we watched the chefs in front of us prepare gyoza and ramen orders. I am a sucker for good gyoza but I am also a stickler when it comes to quality and taste of the gyoza and if it isn’t crisped just right or homemade. Well, forget it. We both ordered the lunch set which comes with an order of gyoza and your choice of ramen. I chose the signature Naruto ramen which is a shoyu stock using pork and chicken as the base. This was my first time trying the curly noodles from the ramen brand “Terakawa Ramen” created by RAMEN USA, INC. The gyoza did not disappoint and was pretty tasty. The filling inside was cooked just right with a crispy but not oily skin. The ramen came with traditional toppings of seaweed, kamaboko (rice cake), scallions, bean sprouts, menma (bamboo shoots), half of an egg and chashu. The oily layer on top of the soup nicely coated the noodles and although the flavor was pretty good I found the ramen to be a tad too heavy. Perhaps I had my fill of noodles on this trip and after my spectacular bowl of noodles at Ramen Lab it’s probably not too fair to make a comparison. This was my friend’s first bowl of ramen and she is a purveyor of fine food. She said it was good but I know she wasn’t overwhelmed. Naruto Ramen has four other locations in the city and a pretty cool website. Their lunch set is a good deal but with all of the other ramen joints in NYC I’d be hard pressed to try all of them first before coming back to Naruto. Gomen!

Naruto Ramen
1596 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10128
(Btwn 89th & 90th St)
(212) 289-7803
narutoramenex.com

New York City

Ramen Lab

Posted on March 28, 2016

This was my second bowl of ramen in one day and most definitely the noodle highlight of my trip to New York. This ramen was the bomb! I had heard about Ramen Lab and couldn’t wait to try it. I arrived just as it opened at 5 pm and put my name on the waiting list. I was already third on the list and since it’s a no reservation restaurant standing room only for 10 people I felt pretty darn lucky. When I say standing room let’s just say be prepared to stand. There aren’t any seats so don’t expect to relax and stay for long. The long bar has a hook underneath to hang your purse and that’s about it. Be prepared to cut the conversation and just slurp and enjoy the noodles. No idling if you know what I mean. This was fine for me since I came solo this evening but quickly met my neighbors a couple originally from Australia but living and working in the city. They serendipitously discovered the restaurant as they were wandering around Nolita and wanted to give it a try. Ramen Lab is kind of like a pop-up ramen shop showcasing monthly chefs from Japan and around the world presenting their versions of ramen. Machida Shoten, from Yokohama, Japan, was serving their signature tonkotsu broth served three ways either spicy miso, shoyu or shio which you then get to customize to your liking for noodle texture, soup flavor and fattiness. I chose shio, al dente noodles, light soup flavor and light fattiness. You then select three condiments served separately which included spicy soybean paste, sesame, grated garlic, fried onion, diced onion and black garlic oil. I picked the grated garlic and sesame and skipped the egg since I was still a bit full from my earlier ramen lunch. I chatted briefly with my neighbors until my piping hot bowl of noodles was placed in front of me. I really liked the simplicity of the bowl with just the seaweed, spinach and the fatty chashu. I took one slurp and knew that this was the real deal. So smooth and flavorful and light like requested. The thickness of the noodles was a nice surprise along with the single piece of fatty melt in the mouth chashu. Just the right amount of fat and meat. I added just a bit of the grated garlic and sesame but felt the broth and noodles didn’t really need anything added to it. It was special as is — unadorned. Since it was an open kitchen I got to talk to the waitress and also to the cook as I was curious if they served a similar type of noodle in Japan and he said that the noodle they were using is very similar but not exact. After all Ramen Lab is the product of the company Sun Noodle which provides most of the ramen noodles to restaurants and markets in the U.S. I wouldn’t be the wiser since it tasted delicious. The concept is rather exciting to have a revolving menu of ramen presented by different chefs. I highly recommend Ramen Lab and hope to make my way back here again.

Ramen Lab
70 Kenmare Street
New York, NY 10012
(646) 613-7522
www.ramen-lab.com

New York City

Ivan Ramen

Posted on March 18, 2016

Just off a redeye flight from California this time sans ramen boy. Here to run the UA NYC Half Marathon so eating many bowls of ramen felt justified and guaranteed that I should be able to burn off the calories. I had made a lunch reservation at Ivan Ramen weeks ago and had just bought Ivan Ramen: Love, Obsession, and Recipes from Tokyo’s Most Unlikely Noodle Joint to read in anticipation of my visit. I don’t know why we never tried his ramen in Tokyo while living there. Now that he has set shop in New York and I wanted to wander around the Lower East Side it was the perfect opportunity to slurp some of his noodles at his Clinton Street restaurant. I was one of the first customers so I was promptly seated at the bar facing the open kitchen. The servers were very friendly and helpful asking me if it was my first time and giving recommendations of what to order. I ordered the shoyu ramen and a roast pork musubi (rice ball) as an appetizer. The bite sized musubi with the pork and roasted tomato on top of the rice and sour notes from the salted plum wasabi was a tasty melding of flavors and texture. However, the juice from the roast pork made the rice a big soggy and hard to pick up with the seaweed and I felt $4 was a bit steep for a very tiny musubi. The shoyu ramen was outstanding. It came piping hot the way I like it and very simply dressed with roast pork, shredded scallions and two halves of an egg with a perfectly soft yolk. The chicken and fish stock was light but still rich in flavor. The rye noodles though were excellent. I hadn’t had rye ramen noodles before and it definitely didn’t disappoint.

My waiter Jonathan, a fellow noodle enthusiast, gave me a rundown of ramen joints in the city. Too many and not enough days to tackle them all. For sure I will bring ramen boy to try Ivan Ramen when we are in New York again.

Ivan Ramen
25 Clinton Street
New York, NY 10002
(646) 678-3859
www.ivanramen.com

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