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

Adventurous Culinary Traveler's Blog with 65 million+ reads 📧 johorkaki@gmail.com

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

Minca-Ramen-Factory-NYC-New-York

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

Minca-Ramen-Factory-NYC-New-York

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.

Minca-Ramen-Factory-NYC-New-York

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.

Minca-Ramen-Factory-NYC-New-York

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.

Minca-Ramen-Factory-NYC-New-York

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

Minca-Ramen-Factory-NYC-New-York

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.

Minca-Ramen-Factory-NYC-New-York

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.

Minca-Ramen-Factory-NYC-New-York

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

Minca-Ramen-Factory-NYC-New-York

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.

Minca-Ramen-Factory-NYC-New-York

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.

Minca-Ramen-Factory-NYC-New-York

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.

Minca-Ramen-Factory-NYC-New-York

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


Return to Johor Kaki homepage.

No comments:

Post a Comment

All comments submitted with genuine identities are published