[紐約拉麵] Ippudo -- Japanese Ramen Noodle

Address: 65 4th Ave, New York, NY
Website: http://ippudony.com

This is one of the most popular Japanese Ramen places in NYC. You probably will have to wait whenever you come for a bit. RCSIII and I came here together a week before he left for Taiwan, and he loved it.



We arrived hungry, so besides our individual ramen bowls, we ordered the "Hirata Buns" (see bicture above). It was steamed buns filled with your choice of pork or chicken, served with ippudo original spicy buns sauce. Of course we went for pork (if you are Asian, you'll know that you should always order port with this). It was petite (smaller and more expensive than what I'll get back in Asia) but still very delicious. We both loved it and were so excited to have their ramen.

This is what RCSIII ordered, Shiromaru Hakata Classic, the original "tonkotsu" noodle soup topped with pork loin chashu, kikurage, menma, red pickled ginger, sesame, and scallions. I had this one before and remember loving it. However, Ippudo's chashu is really not my favorite kind (but I'll still eat it, just that I'll never put in extra order for it). However, RCSIII seemed to like everything about it.

Since I've been here couple times (and finally writing up this review), I decided to order their relative new addition on the menu, Wasabi Shoyu Ramen, which is soy sauce and vegetable based noodle soup, topped with bean curd, wasabi, menma, spinach, naruto, nori, scallions, and wasabi infused oil.
To be honest, I was not too crazy about it. The wasabi flavor was too mild and it was meatless. The toppings were okay but the I was not a fan of the semi-sweet bean curd. Overall, I don't think I'll order this again. I think I'm still a big fan of meatier ramen. But I guess if you are vegetarian, this could be a good one for you.
By the way, their "Yamitsuki Goma Kyuri" (japanese cucumber mixed with sesame oil dressing) is also a very fresh and delicious appetizer. It goes really well with rich ramen broth.


View Larger Map