65 4th Ave, East Village; 212-388-0088
http://ippudo.com/ny/
Ramen lovers rejoice! We went here for lunch on a weekend and we expected to wait a long time for a table. The previous reviews on the restaurant mentioned a 45 minute wait. However we arrived a little before noon and we were immediately seated at a communal table. The table was wide and long enough to fit 10 people comfortably, however we had to sit forward to speak to the person across the table. The decor of the restaurant was very elegant and almost unexpected for, quite simply, a ramen noodle shop.
We've eaten at other Japanese noodle chains but what stood Ippudo apart was the rich broth. Don't expect to be full from the ramen bowls, the serving size is quite small. In fact, ask for extra noodles (kae-dama). We ordered the two ramen bowls that are most famous at Ippudo: Shiromaru Moto-aji and Akamaru Shin-aji. The main difference is the broth. The shiromaru was served in a white bowl and came in a milky pork broth. I preferred the akamaru bowl which had a red circle paste that made the broth simply de-licious! Both ramen bowls contained exactly two slices of pork, some cabbage and perfectly tender ramen noodles.
If you love ramen, the broth alone is a good enough reason to try this restaurant. However if you're looking to eat other types of food, then you will be disappointed. The ippudo rolls were simply pieces of cooked pork rolled with rice and drizzed under a warm sauce - not appetizing at all. But the overall ambience of the restaurant, ramen noodles and good service makes it a worthwhile for us to come back again.
Momofuku is next!
1 comment:
I agree! Akamaru ramen was yummy~. Just like the one I had in Gotanda (Tokyo). But the shop in NYC was a lot bigger than I imagined. Let's definitely go there again, Peffy! And Momofuku - here we come~
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