Ippudo

I found out about Ippudo from Chopsticks, Japanese magazine in NY. Ippudo has 34 branches in Japan. Its founder is Shigemi Kawahara, who won Ramen King in ramen competition in 2005. NY branch is the first Ippudo branch outside Japan.


We arrived after 1 pm, the place was still packed. We waited for 20 minutes.The atmosphere of this place is fun and unique. The bar table in the reception area is filled with packaged ramen noodles and the wall is decorated with ramen bowls.


The dining room is divided into 2 areas. The first area has a spawling bamboo tree sculpture. It has 3 communal tables: a long rectangular table, a round tree trunk shape table, and a bar-like seating. There are also 3 booths in this area for a group of 5 or more. The second area is kind of hidden in the back room with tables.


We were escorted to the bar-like communal table. I believe communal table are for party of two. The seats at the bar-like communal table are interesting, every two seats are designed to make up a love couch.


We started with Kakuni $8.00. It came with 2 pieces of tender and flavorful braised pork belly, 2 halves eggs , bok choy and wasabi sauces. It was pricey for 2 pieces of pork belly. We didn't order Gyoza this time because they don't have Gyoza in the menu hee..


Their popular ramen are Shiromaru (white) and Akamaru (red) both are $13, which is overpriced for a bowl of ramen. Extra ball of noodle is available for $2 exta.

Shiromaru broth is original tonkatsu broth. It is rich, flavorful and milky tonkatsu broth garnishes with chasu, seaweed, cabbage and scallion.


Akamaru uses the same broth as Shiromaru but enhanced with chili and secret black sauce, which I think is a mixed of garlic and black sesame oil. Akamaru broth is richer and more flavorful than Shiromaru. At my first sip of the broth, I knew I have found not only the best ramen in NY, but the best ramen I have ever eaten. It has serious broth, porky, flavorful with milky complexion. It was quite spicy I didn't have to add chili powder.


I like the oversized round-bottom spoon for ramen broth. I could put the noodle in the spoon and still scoop enough broth. The round bottom was design to avoid splattering.


The housemade noodles are firm and springy, it was cooked perfectly. Most Japanese noodles are made with kansui, a type of alkaline water, which resulted in firm noodle to avoid turning soggy.


The broth was so tasty I drained dry my bowl.


This sequin painting is unique. Air from AC must be blowing on it, it made the characters seem moving.


The second time we visited Ippudo, they were 3 of us and we were seated at the back area, we had our own table. It was long weekend, and to my surprise, there was no waiting. I think most people must have traveled out of NY.

We tried Harata bun, 2 buns for an order, it is available in chicken and pork. We order both chicken and pork. Inside the buns were lettuce, Japanese mayonaise and chicken/pork. We prefer pork bun which has a big slab of juicy, tender bbq pork and to-die-for sauce, omg, it was soooo good. I shared 1 pork bun with Jon, hence, both of us were not satisfied and ordered another pork Harata. In total we ordered 3 serves of Harata, $8 per order, so we spent $24 for buns. Definetely the most expensive buns we have ever eaten.


This time I tried miso ramen, I regretted ordering it, should have selected Akamaru. The broth was a bit sweet which i don't like. The noodles were also thicker than noodles in Akamaru or Shiromaru noodle. Oh yeah, I added a lot of chili powder in my ramen.


We had Annin Tofu and Matcha Brulee for dessert. Annin tofu was nice, clean and firm, but not my favorite. I love brulee, especially matcha brulee, crust sugar topping, creamy texture with a hint of bitterness from the matcha. It came with strawberries, a cherry and a matcha mochi. The price is $8 for each dessert.


This is the room underground where they made the noodles.


I had been delaying posting about ramen because everytime I see ramen photos, I crave for more ramen. It's happening to me now, looks like I have to make another trip to Ippudo tomorrow.


Ippudo
65 4th Ave
(between 9th & 10th St)
New York, NY 10003
Tel: (212) 388 -0088