Tony Johor Kaki Travels for Food · Heritage · Culture · History

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Minca Ramen Factory in NYC New York

After trying the midnight ramen at Takashi, I suddenly wanted to try other famous ramen joints in New York ;-p

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The name Minca ramen kept coming up in discussions among locals in the know about the City's best and value for money ramen.

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Inside Minca, the space was very small with the hectic open kitchen on one side and the seats arranged around it. Seating was elbow to elbow and limited, much like a typical downtown Tokyo ramen-ya. Furnishings were basic and bare walls bones.

The wait was long during lunch, so it is best to come during off peak hours, if possible.

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My preferred options were to sit at the bar to watch the chefs at work or the window ledge to watch the world outside along quiet E 5th Street.

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The chef was very focused at work (lots of customers were waiting). He was all smiles and very friendly when I said hello ;-D  Indeed, all the busy staff at Minca were very friendly.

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Sitting at the bar, gets served by the chef himself ;-D

Minca's simple menu offers mainly ramen and gyoza, but I don't care - I am here for their famed ramen ;-D

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ai yo yo My much anticipated, big bowl of "basic pork ramen" at USD10.50 (before tax and tips).

The noodles and broth were topped with char siu (roast pork slices), half hard boiled egg, chopped scallions, bamboo shoot slices, sliced wood ear mushroom, and a sheet of seaweed.

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The two large slices of savoury sweet char siu were tender though not mushy soft. It was juicy with a nice strip of fat at the edges.

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The half egg was braised (not my preferred ajitsuke tamago which is soft boiled and flavoured).

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The full bodied, rich pork broth was almost like a syrup in viscosity. The smooth, cloudy, slightly greasy broth was robustly savoury, slightly sweet and garlicky. Some may find the flavours a little too intense but it was just right for me.

Love it, and I drank slurped it all up to the very last drop.

I did not detect any MSG thirst at all afterwards, so there was very little or no MSG used.

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The ramen strands were quite thick, dense and heavy.

I love it. The ramen were springy like strips of crunchy sea weed but more tender and tasted subtly of wheat.

I enjoyed the crunch and bounce of the lively ramen which were perfectly cooked.

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After the delicious meal, I stepped back into the cold of the New York winter along 5th Street. The sub zero temperature quickly penetrated right through to the bone. But, at the tummy area, there was still a glowing warmth, fuzzy warm feeling that brought a warm smile that stayed on my face for the next hour ;-D

When I got home two hours later, I was still burping garlic.

Minca has the type of ramen I liked.

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Restaurant name: Minca Ramen Factory

Address: 536 East 5th Street, NYC New York (between Ave A and Ave B in East Village)
Maphttp://bit.ly/MincaRamen
Hours: 12:00 pm (noon) – 12:00 am (midnight)

Date visited: 30 Dec 2014


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