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

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

Best Ramen in NYC New York

No not really the top 10 best ramen in New York City, just my personal favourites after trying numerous ramen shops during my 10 week stay in NYC ;-D

Best-Ramen-NYC-New-York

All these ramen shops are excellent though not in every department; so here I am just highlighting each shop's best points and let you read the full review by clicking on the links. The shops are not listed in any particular order or ranking.

Bassanova Ramen

Best-Ramen-NYC-New-York

Bassanova's tonkotsu broth was excellent but there was barely enough to go with the noodles. The full bodied broth was rich but not greasy. The deep savoury flavours were enhanced with fried shallot and shallot oil.

Bassanova is the top ramen choice in NYC's Manhattan Chinatown.

Restaurant name: Bassanova Ramen 
Address: 76 Mott Street, NYC New York 
Map: http://bit.ly/Bassanova 
Hours: 12:00pm - 3:30pm, 6:00pm - 10:00pm

Ippudo

Best-Ramen-NYC-New-York

Ippudo's tonkotsu broth was full bodied without being heavy. The pork's savouriness was complemented by salts which gave the broth layered flavours.


The house made noodles though slender had a nice bite which was soft outside but inside there was a slightly stiff inner core. I love Ippudo's noodles.

Restaurant name: Ippudo 
Address: 65, 4th Avenue, NYC New York 
Map: http://bit.ly/IppudoNYC 
Hours: 11:00 am – 3:30 pm, 5:00 – 11:30 pm

Ivan Ramen

Best-Ramen-NYC-New-York

I liked Ivan's soft poached flavoured eggs. None of the rest of the components left a deep impression but they all combined well together to produce a very satisfying bowl of ramen.

Restaurant name: Ivan Ramen 
Address: 25 Clinton Street, NYC New York (Lower East Side) Map: http://bit.ly/IvanRamenJK 
Hours: 12:00 to 3:30 pm, 5:30 pm to 12:00 am

Minca

Best-Ramen-NYC-New-York

Minca's tonkotsu broth was heavy like a thick undiluted syrup. The broth had an intense savouriness and roasted garlicky flavour balanced with porcine sweetness. Minca's broth was the heaviest among the ramen shops that I have tried. I like Minca's broth though some may find it a little too dense.

I also like Minca's fat ramen which though tender, it was dense, had a springy bounce and playful resistance to the bite. At USD11.50 (before tax and tip), Minca offers the biggest ramen bang for the dollar in NYC.

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

Takashi

Best-Ramen-NYC-New-York

Takashi's torched kobe beef chashu was melty soft and dissolved in the mouth into a flood of savoury sweet perfume, giving meaning to the phrase foodgasm.

Takashi's chili paste made with more than 20 different spices following the chef's grandma's recipe was also brilliant.

Restaurant name: Takashi 
Address: 456 Hudson Street, NYC, New York 
Map: http://bit.ly/TakashiNYC 
Hours: Ramen only at 12:00 midnight to 2:00 am on Friday and Saturday. Broth (and so the ramen) usually sold out by 1:00am.

Momofuku Noodle Bar

Best-Ramen-NYC-New-York

The medium bodied broth had layers of savouriness interlaced with saltiness. Breaking the perfectly poached egg added body as well as interesting egginess and sweetness to complete the broth.


On a side note, Momofuku's chashu bun is also to die for.

Restaurant name: Momofuku Noodle Bar 
Address: 171 1st Avenue, NYC New York 
Map: http://bit.ly/MoMofuku  
Hours:  12:00 – 4:30 pm, 5:30 pm – 1:00 am

Ramen-ya

Best-Ramen-NYC-New-York

Ramen-ya serves the best chashu of those that I've tasted in NYC. The lean meat was nearly mushy soft, while the fat was jiggly delicate and burst like a water balloon exploding porcine flavoured juices in the mouth. The slight char from torching added another layer of flavour to Ramen-ya's outstanding chashu.

Ramen-ya offers top value with chashu and soft poached flavoured egg topping included, all for USD12 (before tax and tip).

Restaurant: Ramen-Ya West Village 
Address: 181 West 4th Street, NYC New York 
Map: http://bit.ly/RamenYa 
Hours: 12:00 noon to 12:00 midnight

Totto Ramen

Best-Ramen-NYC-New-York

Totto Ramen serves only chicken broth and it was a very good broth. Smooth and creamy like full cream milk yet not too heavy, the broth was well balanced between savoury and sweet.

Small and dingy, I enjoyed the ambiance at Totto Ramen the most.

Restaurant name: Totto Ramen 
Address: 366 West 52nd Street, NYC New York 
Map: http://bit.ly/Totto 
Hours: 12:00 – 4:30 pm, 5:30 pm – 12:00 am

My Personal Favourites

Best-Ramen-NYC-New-York

Favourite tonkotsu broth - Minca

Best-Ramen-NYC-New-York

Favourite chicken broth - Totto Ramen

Best-Ramen-NYC-New York

Favourite chashu - Ramen-ya


Best-Ramen-NYC-New-York

Favourite noodles (thin) - Ippudo

Best-Ramen-NYC-New-York

Favourite noodles (thick) - Minca

Best-Ramen-NYC-New-York

Favourite spicy chili - Takashi

Best-Ramen-NYC-New-York

Favourite "hometown" ambiance - Totto Ramen

Best-Ramen-NYC-New-York

Favourite "hipster" ambiance - Ippudo

Dates visited: Nov 2014 to Jan 2015

Return to Johor Kaki homepage.

No comments:

Post a Comment

All comments submitted with genuine identities are published