Souen Organic Ramen Review

9 March 2009 No Comment posted by Kin

Souen Organic Ramen
326 East 6th Street
New York, NY 10003

Souen Organic Ramen is the third Souen location in New York City, and as you might have guessed, it focuses on all natural, organic ramen.

Don’t expect to find any fatty pork or any kind of meat on the menu. The only thing that’s as close to meat is the organic chicken broth,seafood broth, and the steamed ‘meat’ dumplings.

The Decor/Ambiance

Yes, it’s really that dim inside.

The decor wasn’t anything extraordinary. The place is dimly lit, and I counted 10 tables total, laid out in a row rather close to each other. It’s easy to share your conversation with your neighbors, even if you keep your volume on to a minimum. With the calm music playing in the background and with the low lighting, I felt like I had to keep my voice down. Maybe it’s because there were only a few occupied tables when I walked in.

The Service
Since only a few of the tables were filled while I was dining there,the waiting staff was attentive and friendly. I even managed to exchange a few laughs with the waitress.

The Food

The Steamed Greens

….which turned out to be kale. I ordered the steamed greens because I
like having vegetables with my meal. It was light, crunchy, and went well with the carrot dressing.

The Steamed ‘Meat’ Dumplings
The dumplings came out in a small bamboo steamer and with dipping sauce. Since the filling wasn’t exactly meat, the texture was soft. The dumpling skin dried out rather quickly once the lid was removed, but it held it’s integrity during it’s travel from the steamer to my mouth.

The Ramen
This is what I came for. Will the broth and the ramen standup to the other local competitors? Unfortunately, the broth was too light for my taste. It was good, but not great. The noodles tasted fresh, but didn’t have that elastic bite to it. It was missing…what’s that word, bounciness. The ramen was accompanied by crunchy lotus roots, nori,burdock, and other plant-based fixings. I don’t know, maybe I’ve come to associate ramen with slices off fatty pork. While I felt a tad guilty for drinking the broth at Ippudo and other shops, the broth at Souen Organic Ramen was so light and crisp that it felt like it cleansed my palette after I ate the noodles. The broth seemed to be more akin of those made for udon and soba.

The Fruit Kanteen
It’s a berry-based fruit gelatin dessert made with tofu cream. It’s naturally sweet as the waitress told me no sugar was used in making the dessert. I wasn’t too keen on the texture though. And I can’t quite describe it. Maybe something akin to hard gelatin slush?

Final Thoughts
If you’re expecting something heavy and filling to warm you up on a cold winter day, keep moving, but I can see this place being a hit once the weather gets warmer, especially in the Summer. An order of ramen will run from $11.00 to about $14.00. The place is cash only, and if you plan on bringing friends, keep it to a small group to minimize wait time. Keep in mind that the Souen mini-chain of restaurants caters to consumers who follow a macrobiotic diet, so it’s only natural that the food is light and healthy. In the end, if you’re looking for the lighter side of ramen, Souen Organic Ramen will appeal to you.