Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'Ramen'.
-
House salad with soy and ume vinaigrette. I'm so glad it's something other than the ubiquitous carrot-ginger dressing that seems to be universally shared at other Japanese restaurants elsewhere in this country. Japanese-style fried chicken, served with lemon and hot mustard. Greaseless and expertly fried, but you can get better elsewhere in San Francisco. Chicken ramen with paitan broth, chicken chashu, soft-boiled egg, negi, kikurage mushrooms and bean sprouts. In a word: awesome. Hakata tonkotsu (Hakata-style ramen with rich pork broth, simmered pork belly, soft-boiled egg, negi, kikurage mushrooms and bean sprouts). Marufuku 1581 Webster Street (Geary Blvd.) Japantown
-
From Wednesdays through Saturdays until May 2, from 6-10, Mike Isabell's G sandwich place is Yona, a Japanese-Korean noodle and small plates pop-up that is the precursor to Yona's brick and mortar opening in Arlington later this year. We recently went and enjoyed it. The menu is comprised of three kinds or ramen, a miso ("Miso Porky") that lives up to its name, a tonkotsu-style heavily shoyu ramen, and a vegetarian ramen, and then a larger selection of 8-10 small plate/appetizers. There is a decent drink menu featuring house-made cocktails, Japanese beers, and whiskey. I had the Hak cocktail to start - a shochu, Asian pear vermouth, lime and shiso leaf concoction that was very refreshing. The herby taste of the shiso actually worked well with the sweet and sour elements of this drink. For apps, we had the Brussels sprouts - deep-fried Brussels sprout flowerettes that were slightly charred and crispy on the outer parts and tender within, dressed with a chili-mayonnaise and these little crunchy pearls of I don't know what, but the overall flavors reminded me of Japanese okonomiyaki. Really delicious. We also had the dry-fried wings (4 per order). They were crispy on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside, medium spicy with flecks of chili, and finished with a vinegar sauce. Simple, yet flavorful and finger-licking good. We ordered one of each of the ramens, and the best is the miso. Decent-sized portion served with two giant pieces of chashu pork, bamboo sprouts, a soft-cooked egg (still runny, such that it dissolved into the broth), kimchi and topped with shredded seaweed. Really good, with the strong, earthy flavor of the miso dominating. The noodles were good, cooked just right, and the toppings did not overwhelm the main ingredients. The tonkotsu ramen had a really dark broth that also rendered the noodles darker. The broth was very different from other tonkotsu broths I have tried, less porky and fatty, and predominantly tasting more of soy sauce and some fish. The tonkotsu also comes with chashu and soft egg, but also had red pickled ginger slivers which may be an unwelcome surprise for those who aren't fans of ginger in ramen. The vegetarian was the least interesting, and the broth tasted predominantly of edamame and snow peas, which is great if you like these flavors, but I don't usually associate them with ramen. At least there was a vegetarian version. Overall, an enjoyable experience, and wish we had had the appetites to try more of the small plates, especially the Korean style tartare and some of the fish. The chef, Jonah Kim, could be seen working away in the open kitchen, and he definitely has some skills mixing things up and giving the Korean/Japanese spin to the dishes we tried. Interestingly, two of the featured special sandwiches on G's sandwich menu this month are also Chef Kim creations, the Kim-Fil-A, which sounds like a Korean spin on the breaded chicken sandwich, and the Bangkok, a pork curry sandwich. Kudos to Mike Isabella for sharing the G space for an up and coming new chef. This is what I love about DC and America-- that a Korean American chef can open a Japanese Pan Asian noodle place in a Greek-Italian American sandwich shop serving a multicultural crowd on a previously devastated strip of 14th Street, with a hip hop soundtrack as inspiration. -
The space housing the failed DC branch of Mandalay has become "a 1920's themed Japanese Restaurant and Cocktail Bar" called Chaplin's. It offers an assortment of appetizers (gyoza, fried chicken, "adult dumpling shooters") and seven types of ramen, and a very long list of cocktails, wines, and beers. The place is dynamic; it was hopping on a Monday night, lots of young people drinking (some of them were eating, too), loud music, friendly servers bustling about. It seems like the kind of place you'd go to hang out for awhile after work, and maybe get a bite to eat, too, while you're at it. The ramen was perfectly acceptable but nothing to rush back for. The Chaplin ("sesame paste and tonkatsu flavour") was actually quite a tasty broth, the noodles slightly overcooked and lacking the springiness of truly great ramen. I had tastes of two other broths and liked them, but can't really describe them usefully. I'm not inspired to write more about the food. This is the kind of restaurant I'd go to if I lived nearby, if I was tired and hungry and didn't feel like cooking and just wanted a bowl of soup for dinner. Perfectly acceptable, but not a destination. Sorry for the vagueness, just wanted people to know it's here. -
Chef Morimoto's Momosan (ramen plus other dishes) opened on April 8, 2016, at 342 Lexington Ave (between 38 and 39th St). I've eaten there 4 times, and I really like it. My favorite is the lunch set. A small don (rice bowl) and small ramen for $16. The zuke don, which is raw tuna with soy, sesame, nori, scallion, over rice, is my absolute favorite. Chunks of very fresh raw tuna with a soy sesame seasoning over rice. I've had the tonkatsu pork ramen as well as the tan tan - coconut curry ramen - and enjoyed both. The broths are rich. The ramen noodles are good but aren't as springy as the noodles at Daikaya. I've also enjoyed the chashu salad - lettuce, cucumber, slices of pork. The dinner menu has a larger selection of appetizers. I didn't care for the duck in crispy wonton skin (like a little taco), but that was because the sauce was sweeter than I like. The buta kimchi -- sauteed pork jowl and kimchi - was flavorful and delicious. The $2 side of rice was on the smaller side, however. I could have gotten 2 sides of rice. -
Tsujita is where I plan to eat when I land there on Monday afternoon.- 1 reply
-
- 1
-
-
- Japan Chain
- Sawtelle
- (and 4 more)
-
Never been, but Chuko gets some positive words from the NY Times ... and anything from Jamison Blankenship has to be noteworthy, right? -
Hi all- Thank you for your advice and suggestions! I apologize for the delay in the write up.. parent/teacher conference week is a killer. So.. the blizzard kept our wanderings to Manhattan but I have one new place to put on the radar for DRers... Totto Ramen on 51st between 8th and 9th. We were looking for a hot dinner and found it on urbanspoon.. it was really great. A basement 20 seater where everyone who works there communicates in Japanese. 10 seats at tables, 10 at the bar next to 3 giant pots of broth and 3 large Japanese men assembling the bowls for all. We both had the chicken broth with chicken and minimal add-ons but I would go with pork next time after watching them crisp a tray of the pork meticulously with a blow-torch. The broth was incredibly flavorful and the house-made noodles still had a nice bite. Some notes- cash only (ramen about $10) and enter the covered basement steps and put your name on the unattended clip-board and DO NOT LEAVE. If you leave, they move on. The line moves fairly quickly as it doesn't take that long to eat/drink a bowl of ramen. I will visit this place again on my next trip, even if I am not staying in midtown/hells kitchen. http://tottoramen.com/- 2 replies
-
- 1
-
-
- Hells Kitchen
- Japanese
- (and 3 more)
-
So what are you doing now? Making dinner? Throw it away. Grandmother's funeral? She liked your sister more than you. Getting married? You know half of those end in divorce, right? In Fairfax and feeling hungry? There we go. If you like Ramen, you should check this place out. It looks like it is an old pizza hut. I went at 7:00 on a Friday and had to wait 10 minutes for a table. It was worth it. According to their website, they spend 12 hours making their stock. Verdict? It's good - damned good. I had the Shio Ramen with the recommended extras of marinated egg and pork belly. Holy crap that was good. In fact, when I go back, I will order the same thing and have them hold the ramen, the pork belly was that good. Hell, my 7 year old son proposed a toast to the pig that died to make us that pork belly. Normally for Ramen I go to Tanpopo in Annandale. Always solid, always steady. I am not sure if I will go back now that this place is around. It was really that good. Now it was Friday and the place was mobbed, so service was a little slow but seriously, that soup was so good. I'm looking forward to whatever excuse I can come up with to get out there again. -
Curious if anyone here has tried this restaurant in Tysons? It is in the same space where Konami used to be, right on Rt. 7 very close to a BP gas station, down a block from the Olive Garden. You don't see too many Ramen places in Northern VA. Feedback from some other sites is generally mixed and wondering if anyone here has thoughts. Thanks! -
Took little man up for a two day jaunt to Manhattan; thought it was time he explore the wonders of the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty, and of course, take in a Broadway show. Needing sustenance before the show, a quick interweb search yielded this gem: City Kitchen. Like Chelsea or Gotham markets, but more conveniently located at 700 8th Avenue at 44th Street, its front was very unobtrusive, a small wooden sign hung above regular glass door. Once upstairs, though, you find masses of people, trying to plan out their meal from appetizers to dessert, fighting to find precious cubic footage to park and enjoy the triumphant eats. Ippudo Ramen opened a small outpost here called Kuro Obi; we split a Shiro-obi Classic ($12) and Pork Buns ($9). I find I am consistently disappointed by Ippudo in NYC--either the flavor is off or the ramen lacked that familiar bounce that its Japanese cousins try so hard to bring out. Little man liked the ramen, happily slurping his way, so all was not lost. As for the pork buns, I find that I prefer Momofuko's, as the fat melts a bit, with the meat looser, falling apart, whereas, here, the meat was slapped on, much like a burger at a fast food chain. If only it could share its feelings... Dough was a nice find, as I wanted little man to try a good doughnut, which I just haven't been able to find here in DC (haven't tried a few of the new places, but I don't like Astro or GBD ones). But I still prefer Doughnut Plant's.... Finally, the star for us was finding fluff ice or snow ice, where they freeze the flavors into the ice and shave that as your ice foundation. Wooly was definitely worth the relief from the humid heat New York offered this past weekend. You choose a 12oz or 16oz bowl, pick your foundation (ours was root bear float), pick 3 toppings (strawberries, mochi, & pocky), and then, finally the finish (chocolate drizzle). -
Lunch here last Saturday... The wife and I split the Tokyo shoyu and a cold ramen with a lemon/shio broth and poached shrimp. Top notch bowls of ramen. The broth on the shoyu was nicely porky, but not overly so. I think broth-wise, I may prefer Daikaya by a hair, but it would be close. Ivan really shines when it comes to noodles, though. The skinny, rye noodles in both bowls really took the noodle game to a whole new level. Wonderfully chewy in both hot and cold versions. The cold ramen was super-refreshing. Compared favorably to the cold citrus tsukemen I had the other day at Toki in DC. The broth at Ivan was a bit subtler, with less of a heavy citrus presence. Thinking on it now, I might have loved it even more if it came as tsukemen rather than a bowl of soup. Strangely enough, the real showstopper was the appetizer of shredded daikon radish topped with XO sauce. I could have eaten 4 more plates of that. The daikon was lightly pickled...the acidity of the pickle paired with the funk of the dried seafood in the XO sauce was fantastic, as was the interplay of 2 levels of crunch (daikon vs. dried shrimp/scallop). There are a ton of great ramen options available to you in NYC, but the rye noodles alone make Ivan worth a stop if you're in town. -
Adams Morgan seems to be becoming the noodle center of the district, as Taan has joined Sakuramen in serving ramen, and Pho 14's opening is imminent. Located smack between Cashion's and Mintwood, Taan opened its doors just last week, and we gave it a try tonight. A wonderful greeting by the hostess (and all the servers are super nice as well) and we were led to our "table." I use the term "table" loosely, because it's all high tops or bar seats, none of which have backs and therefore, none of which are comfortable in any way, shape or form - at least not once you reach a certain age; sadly, mine. A full bar exists, and there's an upstairs lounge which will be used as, well, a lounge area on Friday and Saturday nights as business picks up. Service will be until 2 AM. Anyway, the food. A bit more ambitious, at least as far as the apps go, than your usual ramen joint Fried green tomatoes were a starter that I enjoyed; good frying technique and little tidbits of fried pork accompanied the 4 or 5 slices of green tomato. The duck breast over dashi risotto is an interesting concept, but I no love. Oh, the duck breast slices were nice and rare and fatty and tasty, but the risotto was a little gummy for my taste and needed salt. And I don't think the accompanying pickled daikon radish added much to the dish - nice that they're trying something different however. On to the ramen...there are 4 or 5 ramens on the menu; 1 duck confit, 1 vegetarian, and 2 or 3 with pork...in a rare case, we both ordered the duck, since neither of us really wanted pork belly tonight. Vegetarian - well, what's the point? I don't really know how to rate ramen, but the broth was rich and tasty. The half egg was nicely cooked; the white just set and the yolk all oozy. My portion was skimpy on the duck, while my wife's had a whole leg in it, so we shared. I don't know if the duck was confit or not, since it apparently had surrendered much of its flavor to the soup. The noodles were okay, if slightly overcooked to my taste. On a scale of 1 to 10, I'd give this ramen a 5.5 - there's room for improvement, and there's room to expand the ramen offerings as well. I don't know if Taan will move into a regular rotation, especially with the other noodle possibilities in the neighborhood. And if it turns into a bit of a zoo, with the lounge and full bar, I'll be heading to Sakuramen instead. And who knew Adams Morgan would become a neighborhood with a multiplicity of noodle offerings - keep 'em coming, I say! -
I'm nervous to write about ramen, but we need to start the conversation because you can slurp bowls here in Howard County. Ramen is a Japanese noodle soup that has had a long-standing spot with chefs and food writers who champion favorite places and talk up both tradition and innovation. Chicken or pork broth. Vegetarian versions. Add-in ingredients like pork belly or poached eggs or . . . intestine. Ramen is something more than a meal and less than a craze. The New York Times wrote about ramen. Artifact Coffee in Baltimore did a six-day special celebration. David Chang talked it up on his PBS series Mind of a Chef and even offers his recipe in the Momofuku cookbook. Now, you can get in on the movement closer to home. We've eaten ramen at two local restaurants -- Ichiban Cafe in Columbia and Manna in Ellicott City. Again, I'm scared to write too much because I can't claim much knowledge. On the one hand, it's a humble dish -- noodles, vegetables, maybe some meat or other special items, all in a warm broth. On the other hand, people get crazy about ramen. A few weeks ago, a friend met me for dinner in Manhattan, and we met at 5 pm. She and her daughter were in line even earlier because Ippudo NY is so hot that it fills shortly after it opens and stays full all night. I can't claim that our ramen matches one of the places that the New York Times calls one of the 10 best in the city. Ippudo's broth was exquisite, and the fresh noodles were even better. But I'll talk up both our local options -- and welcome other people to join in with observations. Manna and Ichiban Cafe are both casual places -- one a Korean counter-service in the Lotte food court, the other a Japanese-Chinese place with a sushi menu near Target. In both places, we ordered without expertise. Manna has one broth and options for "add-ins" like dumplings. Ichiban had two broths, and I somehow lost the notes that I typed as we ate. In both places, you get a great dinner for $10-15. Bowls of salty, spicy broth with warm noodles and toppings. As I remember, Manna's looked like packaged ramen that I ate in college while Ichiban's seemed a bit more unusual. But I enjoyed both -- especially I alternated between spoons of soup, slurps of noodles, and little treats like sliced pork or mushrooms -- without knowing how to judge them against anything else. Give them a try in the next few months so you'll be ready when the specialists arrive. Emily Kim emailed me last week to talk about her plans for a ramen-and-grilled-chicken restaurant that will replace the Jerry's Subs on Rte 40. Emily is a University of Baltimore business student who is building a business from an obsession: Back in 2009, I stumbled upon a Japanese ramen shop in New York during my spring break. From the first sip of Tonkotsu ramen broth and noodles, I found my new addiction. I found myself getting Mega Bus ticket every week to get ramen. So from beginning of 2013, I started a business plan to open a restaurant in Ellicott City. That business will be Uma Uma -- a restaurant that Emily plans to open to serve both the noodle soup and the Japanese grilled chicken called yakatori. The current plan is for construction to start June 1 and the restaurant to open in late summer. So ramen has arrived in Howard County. Newbies can have a great time just reading link after link about the dish's variations. But some experienced folks could tell us what they think about these two local kitchens -- and anywhere else that I have missed so far.
-
I finally had the opportunity to have lunch at Ippudo last weekend while I was in the city. As expected, the place was packed and luckily I could get right in since I was dining alone on this particular occasion. I was seated at a communal table and ordered their Hirata Pork Buns and the Akamaru Modern ramen. The buns were on the thicker side and had that nice fluffy gooey consistency that reminded me of the siaopao I used to eat as a little kid. The pork had that rich fatty flavor that you would expect but I was thrown off a bit by the lettuce in the buns. I don't know if I've ever had lettuce in buns and it was just a foreign taste to me when associated with these. I added a soft boiled egg and some pork belly to the ramen. The egg was a good choice and provided some extra richness. The pork belly was surprisingly flavorless and didn't have a ton of fat. The pork chashu that came with the ramen, however, more than made up for it as it seemed to have ample time to soak up the broth. The noodles were tasty enough but I think I prefer them to be a touch on the thicker side. The broth had a great depth of flavor and, at least to me, tasted a bit lighter than the ramen I've had in the past since I think they used considerably less pork fat in this broth. I'm glad that I finally got to try out Ippudo since it had been recommended to me by one of the owners of Sakuramen way back when they opened. I don't know if I prefer it over Momofuku Noodle Bar but I'm glad to know that it's out there in case I want another option. -
From today's NY Times--- for all of you debating how many restaurants David Chang has...... MOMOFUKU David Chang’s expanded noodle bar opens today with 53 seats, including five tables. The kitchen is “so enormous we’re all giddy,” he said. The menu is pretty much the same as in the original, which is being turned into a small restaurant for prix fixe dinners: 171 First Avenue (11th Street), (212) 777-7773. -
From Thrillist, a new ramen joint opening on 18th Street, up near Columbia Road... If this place turns out to be any good, it's fairly exciting news (imo) for the cheaper dining options in the neighborhood. I think I'll be able to try it next week, but if anyone else does before then, please report back.
-
The wait for good ramen in D.C. and environs has finally ended: Ren's Ramen has opened inside of Daruma Japanese Market in Bethesda, serving up steaming hot bowls of Hokkaido style goodness. Ren's has taken over Daruma's seating area and, it looks like, part of its kitchen. The wife, Japanese, had the miso ramen, which she declared very good. I tried the pork shio ramen, including extra pork, which had a very good, rich broth. The pork was a little disappointing, though -- not too tender. They also have vegetable shio ramen and shoyu ramen, as well as gyoza. The noodles are fresh -- frozen or refrigerated, not sure which -- and imported from Hokkaido. Prices are on the high side -- $10.00 for a bowl of miso or shio ramen ain't exactly cheap. Plus, my extra pork set me back another $3.50. Don't plan to order that again. Egg and corn are extra. But the ramen here, while not quite as good as some places in NYC and NJ, beats the hell out of the slop served at other places around D.C., including Temari Cafe in Rockville. My wife and I will surely be regulars.
