Continuing on my quest for great ramen,  I went to Setagaya Ramen at University Place for dinner.  There are two other Setagayas in the city, but this one was the closest at the time.

It was around 6pm on Saturday and there was only one other person in the place.  By the time I left, half of the restaurant was filled with customers.  The setup is comprised of large communal tables and stools, and I was seated towards the door, right in front of the TV that was airing incomprehensible but intriguing Japanese commercials.  The weather was amazing that day and the door was open.  The amount of light and breeze that came in made the meal more enjoyable.  There’s nothing better than sunlight and fresh air while you’re eating.

I ordered the large Shio Ramen, which comes with noodles, seaweed, half of an hard-boiled egg, and four slices of fatty pork.  When the bowl came out, I immediately noticed the presentation.  The noodles could hardly be seen and the fixings were floating close to the surface.  Gorgeous.  Perhaps what I liked the most was that the hard-boiled egg wasn’t completely hard boiled, the yolk was left runny, which I thought was a rather nice touch because I dislike fully cooked egg yolks.  Win.

A great bowl of ramen in my opinion has three important components, the broth, the noodles, and the pork.  The broth I can say is average, nothing really to right home about.  The noodles on the other hand, outperformed the rest of the ingredients.  Perfectly cooked, chewy and bouncy, I loved it so much that I ate all of the ramen before I ate anything else!  Also maybe the lighting at the place was good, the noodles just glistened underneath the light.  Dare I say the noodles are better than those of Ippudo?  I do.  The slices of braised fatty pork were also well prepared.  The meat was tender and the fat just melts when it hits your mouth.  I also enjoyed that there was no wait.

Final Thoughts
When you get the ramen crave, you want it fast!  I would’ve given the ramen a higher rating, but the broth just wasn’t up to par with the rest.  I would definitely come again, and I look forward to visiting the other two sometime soon, but I heard the quality amongst the stores isn’t too consistent.  Recommended.

Food: 4 out of 5

Service: 3 out of 5

Ambiance: 3.5 out of 5

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.

Food: 3/5
Service: 4/5
Decor/Ambience: 3.5/5

Sure, New York City is home to a number of decent ramen places.  Ra Ra Ken and Ippudo always come to mind, but living on the other side of the GW Bridge, driving to the city and circling the neighborhood to find a half-decent parking spot just for ramen is too much of a headache.  If I’m already out in the city for other matters, then yes, a ramen stop will most likely make it on the itenary.

I live close to Fort Lee and Edgewater in New Jersey, and ramen can be found in either city.  However, I am partial to the small ramen stand inside of the Japanese supermarket Mitsuwa, which is located in Edgewater, NJ.

At Santoka, long lines are the norm, but the wait is worth it.  Although the ramen isn’t made in-house like those at Ippudo, it’s secondary to the broth.  I can’t resist drinking the broth after the meat and noodles are gone.  It’s good-to-the-last-drop-lip-smacking goodness.

I usually order the ‘B Set.’  It’s made up of a regular bowl of salt ramen topped with fatty pork, a bowl of rice topped with salmon roe, and a hard boiled egg on the side.  For $11.00, it’s not the cheapest meal, but when has Japanese food ever been cheap?  At least the price for ramen is lower in Jersey.

The ‘B Set’

Santoka @ Mitsuwa Marketplace
595 River Road
Edgewater, NJ 07020

This time around, I ordered the salad and the original ramen. While it’s very good, I prefer the akamaru modern flavor. If I was really hungry, I think I would have ordered two bowls. My ramen cravings have been satisfied…for now.

So I’m watching this new HK drama, “Speech of Silence” and I was blown away by the size of the ramen bowls in this scene.   The combined diameter of the bowls are longer than the length of the table! The story goes, if they can finish their ramen in seven minutes or less, they eat for free.  The next scene didn’t show if they finished the ramen in time.  Seriously, if there was something like this in the states, I am up to the challenge!  Six minutes is all I need.

~ Kin

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

There are times when I just don’t feel like cooking anything that takes more than five minutes of preparation work. I can get pretty busy sometimes and cooking is the last thing on my mind. That’s when I reach for one of my favorite foods, ramen. There’s something about it. It’s simple, it’s tasty, it’s trustworthy, it has no nutritional value. It blows my mind away.

I’m not talking about the dried ramen that takes three minutes to cook in a pot of boiling water. I’m addicted to the raw ramen noodles that I purchase from the Japanese store. They come prepackaged and take less than two minutes to cook.

It’s simplicity at it’s best.

~ Kin