Browsing Tag

chashu

New York City

Nakamura NYC

Posted on June 19, 2018

This Lower East Side ramen shop is obscurely located next to the entrance of the Williamsburg Bridge reminiscent of the ramen-ya’s you would find in Japan. I walked the stretch of Delancey Street from my hotel to work up an appetite for the noodles to come and to explore the gentrified neighborhood – a blast from the past when I lived in the East Village in the late 80’s. The day before my visit I had run the the United New York Half Marathon with the course starting in Brooklyn and taking me over the very same bridge into Manhattan. Good ramen shops usually have a queue and I like to avoid this by arriving early just before they open. I was the first one in and quickly perused the menu. Everything looked good to me and I was surprisingly pleased that they served a lunch-size smaller portion of noodles reminding me of the lunch specials you’d find in Japan. Although I debated getting the Torigara (Chef’s Signature) ramen I knew that I had to try the Yuzu Dashi ramen. Afuri serves a mean bowl of this and I wanted to compare it. Well, it did not disappoint. The shio based yuzu seasoned chicken broth simply adorned with a lean piece of chashu pork that had been nicely grilled, scallions, spinach, menma and nori with springy thin noodles. Very light tasting and delicious and I had no problem finishing every bit to the very last drop. Hands down the best ramen I had on my New York trip. Looking forward to another visit in a couple of weeks with ramen boy!

Nakamura NYC
172 Delancey Street
New York, NY 10002
(212) 614-1810

Sacramento, CA

Takumi Izakaya Bar

Posted on March 15, 2017

Jury duty and an extra long lunch break has given me the opportunity to check out nearby restaurants. I had heard Takumi serves a $50 bowl of lobster ramen and I admit it turned me off from trying the place. The most expensive ramen I have had in the U.S. has been either at Ippudo in New York or Ramen Shop in Oakland. All under $20 still. The thought of spending $50 for a bowl of ramen in my opinion is gimmicky. Ramen is just not fancy food. Go ahead and dress it up all you want but the most important elements are simply the noodles and the broth.

I ordered the miso ramen. The chashu was delicious with just the right amount of fat. I prefer a  soft yolk to the point of runny but these were pretty darn close and very tasty. Unfortunately the broth lacked depth and was a tad too oily. The menma (bamboo) tasted off as well. Even though the ramen was underwhelming the service was above and beyond excellent.

My six week jury duty stint has really made me one tough customer. I have come back another time and ordered the bento lunch with mixed tempura and gyoza. Once again the food didn’t wow me but thumbs up to the service. I kept thinking maybe I ordered the wrong dishes judging from the happy diners around me thoroughly enjoying their food. Keeping an open mind I should try their happy hour and will have to try their yakitori dishes and sushi another time. Ramen boy can try their tantanmen. That will be the true test.

Third time lucky.

Takumi Izakaya Bar
826 J. Street
Sacramento, CA
(916) 228-4095
@TakumiSacramento

Sacramento, CA

Shoki Ramen Shamrock Ready

Posted on March 6, 2017

Bonding time with ramen boy over some noodles after his soccer training. We can be creatures of habit and order the same thing. I thought I’d change it up and order the curry ramen but the Matcha soy milk ramen caught my eye. I like drinking green tea but having it in a ramen broth I was a bit skeptical. The broth was subtle with a green tea flavor but matcha has a slight chalky bitterness to it which is hard to mask. I was impressed that the flavor was smooth and coated the noodles with each bite. Simply adorned with chashu, bean sprouts, fresh spinach and seaweed.

I think the chef created this ramen when Shoki Ramen was featured at The Ramen Lab in New York during the summer. Timely with St. Patrick’s Day coming up and I am glad that I tried it.

Going to stick with the usual in the future though. After all, Shoki Ramen makes a mean bowl of tantanmen.