Browsing Tag

tonkotsu

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 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

Packaged Ramen

Ippudo Tonkotsu Ramen (bowl)

Posted on May 3, 2016

Ramen boy was in for another treat from 7-Eleven in Tokyo thanks to his dad’s business trip and carrying back four of these bowls for him. I wish we had more since he’s already eaten two and the other two will no doubt be finished by the end of this week. He could finish them all in one sitting but I told him to ration the last two so that he could savor the noodles. Fat chance that will happen. If you can’t read Japanese it could be a bit daunting when you open the package and see the various packets inside which included a dehydrated slice of chashu. His fate accompli was figuring out the instructions and making his own bowl of ramen. He was impressed with his effort stating that the instant ramen was absolutely delicious. Like the real deal. Uh oh watch out Shoki Ramen. I didn’t get a chance to taste it but by the looks of the broth and the noodles it looked really good. Unfortunately it is not available for purchase in the U.S. and unless we have it regularly shipped to us from Japan or have friends bring it back ramen boy is straight out of luck. Me too since he’s happy to make these noodles on his own without any help from ramen mom.

IMG_5813

Noodle Thoughts

Slurp!

Posted on January 14, 2016

Throwback Thursday. Living in Tokyo the noodle master is five years old and already serious about his ramen. It has to be Ippudo and it has to be for lunch on the weekend. He’s cranky without his noodle fix! Oishii!

Sacramento, CA

Raijin Ramen House

Posted on January 10, 2016

Must admit that we frequent Shoki Ramen House so much that we neglect to try any other ramen places in town and ramen boy is a loyal Shoki Ramen customer. He was hankering for some ramen after his soccer game and I did a short run in the morning warranting a bowl of noodles. I suggested trying a new place to avoid the noontime Saturday crowd. I had heard that Raijin Ramen House opened last July across the street from its sister restaurant Ryujin Ramen House and we hadn’t been. The concept is a different type of ramen at each shop with Raijin specializing in a more spicy version fitting with its name in Japanese mythology meaning the god of lightning, thunder and storms.

It was a full house when we arrived but they had space at the bar close to the kitchen. We quickly ordered and I had the kakuni ramen. Ramen boy had the tan tan men and hubby chose the shio tonkotsu ramen. Raijin offers many appetizers too so we decided to try their homemade gyoza. The deal breaker whether we would return or not.

The service was exceptional. Our waiter came to refill ramen boy’s lemonade and was very polite and cheerful that even ramen boy commented about the awesome service. That alone would bring us back.

The gyoza was very good too. Crispy the way we like it filled with cabbage and pork. Our only complaint was that we ate it too quickly and should have ordered more. My kakuni ramen came out steaming hot and nicely presented with red pepper threads that surprisingly look like saffron. Simple toppings of chopped scallions with two large pieces of fatty braised pork that had been slowly simmered. I prefer a more tender pork that is melt in the mouth but these pieces were meaty and still very tasty with a deep shoyu flavor. The tonkotsu broth seemed more shoyu based but still rich without being too heavy. I didn’t order an egg this time as a topping but for sure will return to try it out.

Ramen boy gave this place a thumbs up and hubby who prefers eating ramen in Japan and otherwise a super ramen critic said he will come back here too.

Raijin Ramen House
1901 S. Street
Sacramento, CA 95811
(916) 498-9968
ramenhouseraijin.com

New York City

Ippudo NY

Posted on April 17, 2015

Blurry eyed from a red eye flight ramen boy and I dropped off our bags, hopped on the subway and made our way to the East Village just in time for Ippudo NY to open. I was in town to run the More Fitness Shape Women’s Half Marathon in Central Park and ramen boy came to cheer me on, see the sights, visit with old friends and most importantly to eat ramen. We were frequent regulars of the Ippudo in Ebisu near our house when we lived in Tokyo but this was our first time to Ippudo in New York’s East Village. The other Ippudo is in Midtown and the only two restaurants in the United States. Now you can find Ippudo worldwide in Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, London, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Indonesia, Seoul, Taiwan and China. It is so internationally available I wondered if the quality would remain true to what we were accustomed to in Japan. The restaurant was already packed with the lunch crowd and buzzing with action. Waiters and waitresses rushing around taking orders and bringing food to the tables. Luckily we didn’t have to wait too long ramen boy was impatiently hungry.

We both ordered the Shiromaru Hakata Classic which is the original tonkotsu (pork broth) noodles topped with pork loin chashu, menma (seasoned bamboo shoots), sesame kikurage mushrooms, red pickled ginger and scallions. Ramen boy had his usual basic which is soup, noodles and extra chashu.

Mine came out and it was a sloppy mess not at all visually appealing. It was as if they quickly slapped it together and plopped it in front of me. The restaurant was busy after all but for a $14 bowl of noodles I expected it to at least look pretty. Looks aside the taste was pretty good and uniformally the same as in Tokyo. I prefer the sliced thin fatty version of chashu that melts in your mouth. This pork loin chashu is definitely a healthier meatier version which ramen boy approved. The noodles came out katame (harder) per request but not steaming hot where it fogs up your glasses as you slurp away.

With a tummy full of noodles ramen boy was pretty content. For the uninitiated Ippudo is definitely a great first time experience. Ramen mom on the other hand just felt Ippudo NY is a bit overrated. Sorry once you have it in Japan it’s just not the same.

Ippudo NY (East Village)
65 Fourth Avenue (Between 9th and 10th Street)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 388-0088
www.ippudony.com

Mountain View, CA

Ramen House Ryowa

Posted on April 3, 2015

Ryowa has a place in my heart. Hubby and I ate here when we lived in Palo Alto and my folks would drive from Sacramento to meet us for lunch. I am convinced ramen boy developed a taste for Ryowa in utero. It is his favorite place in Silicon Valley and he’s tried many in the area. It’s a tiny shop reminiscent of a small ramen-ya you would find in Japan with a U-shaped counter and a few tables that seat two people. The television is always on with a recorded Japanese show similar to the game Wipeout kind of mesmerizes you as you slurp away. Unlimited free kimchi and cold barley tea gives it a thumbs up from me. I always order the house ramen set which is a pork based broth topped with chopped scallions, dried seaweed, 1/2 soft boiled egg and two thin slices of chashu. I like the simplicity of the noodles with their delicious fried rice (it tastes so umami I’m afraid to ask if it has MSG in it) and really good homemade gyoza.

Hubby is no longer a Ryowa fan but my parents remain loyal fans driving 2+ hours each way to go there when they are in the area for their Japanese grocery shopping. Ramen boy’s favorite place too. Longevity in the restaurant biz speaks for itself and so I am comforted that Ryowa is still around.

Ramen House Ryowa
859 Villa St
Mountain View, CA 94041
(650) 965-8829