In this trip, I was really interested in visiting at least one Japanese ramen restaurant, since I hear ramen scene is so hot in NYC right now. Many friends suggested I should go to Momofuku Noodle Bar, but my priority was a real Japanese ramen restaurant (straight from Japan) this time. When I have more time next time, I would love to go to Momofuku.
The Japanese friend I had lunch with yesterday said the very famous Hakata-style (from Fukuoka of Kyushu Island, Japan) ramen house, Hide-chan opened recently and it’s his current favorite ramen restaurant. So I went there before noon, but they were not open for lunch yet (they open at 12pm), and I didn't want to wait for 15 minutes to be the first customer to come in (I felt a little too shy for that).
So, I switched to my plan B and went down to East Village to Ippudo NY. Ippudo is also known for Fukuoka's "tonkotsu" (pork broth) style ramen and opened its first US location in Manhattan a couple of years ago. Ippudo has so many locations all over in Japan and is still growing.
Unlike what we have in Japan, Ippudo NYC has the very modern/ hip ambience. There are even nicely-dressed hostesses at the reception. I came in just around 12pm and the large dining area was already packed and I had to wait. Later on, the wait became so much bigger. The dining area is so lively and fun.
The menu prices are much more expensive than Japanese original, but they are still very affordable. I had their signature Shiromaru Hakata Classic with the side of Bakudan (homemade spicy paste). The taste was really nice and very much the same as what they do in Japan, except that I heard they shortened the noodle length for this location to cater the American audience. Japanese people are used to slurp long noodles, but American people tend to have more difficult time with the very long noodles.
The audience was mostly local American people as well as Japanese people. I was so impressed that they made this restaurant very New York style without compromising the quality of the food they serve. And it has blended in the local food culture.
