Any ramen lovers here? Today I’ll be discussing about a very popular ramen joint originated from Japan called Ichiran Ramen. They recently opened 3 stores in the US, all in New York, and I had to see what the hype was about.
Ichiran Ramen specializes and only serves tonkatsu broth, a rich and creamy pork base soup. When you enter the restaurant, you are brought to the famous solo ramen dining booth, which I thought was super fun and allowed me to fully concentrate on my meal. You are then presented with a sheet full of options allowing to have a fully customization dining experience.
The pork flavored broth was rich and full of umami flavor. The Noodles were very thin, spaghetti like, but not overly thick so that the broth can still be the highlight of your meal. The chasu pork was tender, but nothing special. I also ordered a marinated soft boiled egg on the side (not included: $3).
Would I come again? For $25 a bowl? Eh, most likely not. We noticed the waiters passing out Kae-Dama coupons which allowed for a free noodle refill. Maybe a promotion to bring in more people? For such a popular ramen joint, there was strangely not much of a wait when we entered. I was surprised how empty it was in New York, a city with millions of people. I feel it would definitely be more packed if they matched the prices in Japan ($8-10 a bowl) But nonetheless, it was an amazing experience and I thank my bb Calvin for taking me there. Hopefully you will see an updated review from me on my take on the one in Japan!
Wonderful review and great picture. I’m hungry just looking at the bowl of delicious noodles but the price is a stickler.