OMS/B
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156 East 45th St., NY,NY 10017
Mon-Fri 8:00-19:30
Sat 11:00-17:30
Sun Closed

Ah, Japanese rice balls.  Even if you have never seen a rice ball in real life, I’m sure you’ve seen them in Japanese animations, that is if you watch anime.  What are rice balls?  Well, in the cartoons, they’re usually depicted as a triangular wad of rice that’s wrapped in seaweed.  Sort of like the ones shown on the left.

Known as Omusubi, or Onigiri, the rice ball originated in and is found all over Japan.  They are also popular in Taiwan and Korea.  A traditional rice ball is either triangular or oval in shape, and contains a filling inside the center, usually of cooked fish or vegetables.  They are popular due to their size for portability and for convenience.  For a history of omusubi, head over to the wiki here.

I discovered a store in New York City that specializes in omusubi.  It carries a vast selection of rice balls and the prices are rather decent.  You have the option of buying the rice balls separately or ordering a set, which contains 3 rice balls of your choosing, and a soup.  Some items are excluded from the set though.  A set costs $8.50.

The shop is small, and only has about 6 or so small tables.  By the time I got there, which was about 3pm on Saturday, the selection was rather limited.  It looks like once a certain item is sold out, it’s not replenished.  I would recommend going early on Saturday.

Items are selected through the see-through glass, and you get your food and you pay at the register, so there really isn’t any waiting service.

I ordered the eel rice ball, the wasabi wrapped rice ball, and the cod roe rice ball.

The mayo lobster rice ball, the shrimp tempura rice ball, and the football rice ball.

Final Thoughts:

In all, I thought the rice balls were good.  While they didn’t blow me out of the water, I like how the presentation adds an extra touch to the food.  It didn’t exactly fill me up, but a set of 3 rice balls and soup is perfect for a snack.  Especially when you’ve been walking around the city and need an energy boost.  Recommended (Just barely)

Food: 3.5/5

Service: 3/5

Ambiance: 3/5

I wrote this while I was dining at Ippudo NY on Saturday between 5:30pm and 6:30pm.

It’s hard to imagine a ramen lover like me took so long to finally come to the much heralded Ippudo NY. Well, here I am, waiting for my food to come. This place is where the ramen is supposed to end all ramens. I’ll be the judge of that.

As I was brought to my seat by the hostess, one of the waitresses went ahead and pulled out one of the bar stools to seat me. Seeing as I came alone, I was seated in one of the six seats located in front of the open kitchen. I get to watch the Japanese cooks prepare the hot food.

It’s dimly lit in here, as expected. I can hear Guns and Rose’s November Rain being played in the background. The music is actually quite loud. What quickly caught my attention was how the kitchen and waiting staff all say good bye to leaving customers in unison.   They’re loud, but that makes it fun.   And in Japanese no less. I thought that was awesome. I can’t wait until I leave.

My first dish, the avocado and tofu tartar has arrived.

It tasted very clean and refreshing. It comes with a pair of sauces. One looks to be a simple syrup made of brown sugar, and the other one is a sesame sauce. One of the waitresses asked which sauce I preferred. I was digging the sesame sauce over the brown sugar syrup.

Here comes the Akamaru Modern Ramen. It’s pictured in the banner above.

So I just finished the ramen. I was not disappointed, nor was I blown away. The broth was unique and tasty. It was fragrant, not too oily, and was not overpowering. There wasn’t anything special about the ramen noodles, even though they are made in-house. For $13.00, they could’ve thrown in a bit more fatty pork.

It looks like it’s still raining cats and dogs outside. I knew that I should have brought the umbrella out with me.  I guess I’ll wait it out with dessert.

I ordered the mochi dessert.  It was dusted heavily with matcha powder and served with a powdered soy dust and with the brown sugar simple syrup.  It was pretty good, but I think 4 pieces were enough.  I struggled to finish the rest.

Right after my plates were removed, one of the waitresses came up to me to converse for a few minutes.  She told me how the entire kitchen staff and chefs are from Japan.  She was also proud to tell me that the broth and ramen were all made in house.  This prompted me to ask about how business was doing and she said they were doing so well in fact there are plans to open one up in midtown.  She then asked me if I’ve been to Ra Ra Ken for ramen and asked which one I preferred.  I told her Ippudo, of course.  Ra Ra Ken is still good, but Ippudo so far leaves a far better impression on me.

I just received the bill, and the total is approximately $30.00 including tax.

I don’t often say this, but I plan on returning.  Part of the reason is the little things they did.  They were proactive in serving me what I needed.  It also wasn’t that busy when I got there, so I guess they were able to give some additional attention to their customers.  Another reason?  Well, some of the hostesses and waitresses are pretty cute.  Haha.

Quick Rating
Food – 4 out of 5
Service – 4.5 out of 5
Price – 3.0 out of 5
Ambience – 4.0 out of 5

Well, so ends my experience at Ippudo.  I can’t wait for the group goodbye!

~ Kin

Wasabi Shu-Mei

I’m not sure what type of mussels these were, I think they were New Zealand Green Lip Mussels. Tasty.

Crispy. Crunchy. Tempura is the best.

~ Kin

After going through the freezer, refrigerator, and the cupboards, I noticed I had the perfect ingredients for making a meat-free Japanese lunch. The hardest items to make were the avocado hand rolls. I was never good at making them, but I think I’m starting to get the hang of it after so many failed attempts.

I made three dishes today:

• Harusame noodles w/ edamame

• Soba noodles in dashi stock

• Avocado hand rolls topped with tobiko

I only wish I had some sake lying around the apartment.

~ Kin