Uploads from nicknamemiket, tagged lomeinnoodles

Misoya - Tonkotsu Ramen

nobody@flickr.com (nicknamemiket) — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 21:02:06 -0700

TOKYO MISO TONKOTSU RAMEN *** 東京味噌とんこつラーメン ***
Silky pork based broth mixed w/ homemade white miso,,
with downtown Tokyo topping; extra char-siu

Although Misoya takes pride in their miso-based broths, I couldn't resist the new menu item - tonkotsu broth with home-made Tokyo style miso, no less.
The broth itself was nicely made - it was not at all greasy, perhaps a bit on the milder side and had an appetizing milky consistency ( that whitish-yellow color is difficult to achieve, actually); it was also well-emulsified and balanced. The umami in the broth came from the miso itself, as well as dried scallop and squid, most likely; that said, there was no MSG, as far as I could tell.
The noodles were of the medium thickness variety - those were cooked just right. I am not certain where Misoya sources their ramen, but their noodles appeared to be a touch more sophisticated than their mainstream counterparts used in most ramen restaurants in NYC.
Toppings were quite good, although I did get a small piece of a clam shell in my bowl. Noteworthy: I can not think of another ramenaya in the City that serves ramen of any kind with fresh clams, which were rather enjoyable for my palate. The bowl came with some ground pork, albeit not char siu (I ordered two pieces on the side) - pork was unremarkable, but quite pleasant nonetheless. The bowl was also garnished with an egg, wood ear mushrooms, fish cake, nori, bean sprouts and Napa cabbage - none were overwhelming, but again, it was a good addition to the broth and the noodles.
I couldn't help but notice the broth to noodle ration in my bowl - I would've loved a touch more broth in a slightly bigger bowl; that said, the serving size was just right for how hungry I was at the time.
Overall, Tonkotsu Ramen at Misoya was pleasant, satisfying and comforting, just like good ramen is meant to be.

Misoya - Tonkotsu Ramen (close-up)

nobody@flickr.com (nicknamemiket) — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 21:02:06 -0700

nicknamemiket posted a photo:

Minca Ramen - Pork Broth Ramen

nobody@flickr.com (nicknamemiket) — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 18:19:21 -0700

nicknamemiket posted a photo:

Pork Broth Ramen 豚肉スープラーメン
- Shoyu and Roasted Garlic Flavor, thick noodles

This was a pretty decent bowl of noodles, if I may. Pork broth was somewhere between thin pork soup and tonkotsu, although not nearly as full-bodied as I would like it or make it. Still, it was reasonably flavorful.
Toppings were good, especially char siu; the egg was a little too hard for my liking, although it was nicely pickled in soy sauce. Speaking of pickled toppings: bamboo shoots were of the mass-produced and as such MSG laden variety, not my first choice to be perfectly frank.
It was not the best bowl of ramen I've had, but it was an enjoyable way to start a new week.

Minca Ramen Factory - Menu

nobody@flickr.com (nicknamemiket) — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 18:19:22 -0700

nicknamemiket posted a photo:

Minca ramen Factory menu is available online.

Minca Ramen Factory - Shrimp Dumplings

nobody@flickr.com (nicknamemiket) — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 18:19:22 -0700

nicknamemiket posted a photo:

Shrimp Gyoza

Decent, but unremarkable tastewise. Notice the shrimp tail in the foreground - they literally have a whole shrimp in the gyoza skin, but not much else.

Minca Ramen - Pork Broth Ramen (close-up)

nobody@flickr.com (nicknamemiket) — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 18:19:20 -0700

nicknamemiket posted a photo:

Kuboya - Spicy Miso Ramen (small)

nobody@flickr.com (nicknamemiket) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 19:27:55 -0700

nicknamemiket posted a photo:

Spicy Miso Ramen

辛味噌

And now we are at the "Wow!" part of the menu: Spicy Miso Ramen was simply superb!

Made with the Kuboya Triple Blend Soup - original thrice blended
broth (chicken, pork and seafood), topped with Char Siu pork, bamboo shoot, seaweed, flavored
boiled egg and scallion it was some of the the best, if not the best broth in New York.

Kuboya - Char Siu Buns

nobody@flickr.com (nicknamemiket) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 19:27:57 -0700

nicknamemiket posted a photo:

Char Siu Pork Buns
- char siu pork wrapped in steamed buns

チャーシュー包みまん

Quite good, but not exactly original; yet again - quite good.

I wonder where the steamed bun shells sold to NY restaurants come from - they appear to be made by the same supplier, but I could be wrong.

Kuboya - Miso Ramen (large)

nobody@flickr.com (nicknamemiket) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 19:27:52 -0700

nicknamemiket posted a photo:

Miso Ramen

味噌

This bowl was also based on Kuboya Triple Blend Soup - original thrice blended
broth (chicken, pork and seafood), topped with Char Siu pork, bamboo shoot, seaweed, flavored
boiled egg and scallion.

I was extremely intrigued by WAFU Seafood-based Soup
traditional Japanese ramen noodle in seafood-based soup, topped with Char Siu pork, bamboo shoot, seaweed, flavored boiled egg and scallion, but the miso ramen was just too hard to miss.

Kuboya does not offer tonkotsu broth, although there is a vegetarian ramen option available - still, I was craving miso-flavored soup. Indeed, it was comforting, satisfying and full of rich flavor. Absolutely, without a doubt, it was spot-on!

Kuboya - Rock Shrimp Tempura

nobody@flickr.com (nicknamemiket) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 19:27:56 -0700

nicknamemiket posted a photo:

Rock Shrimp
- deep-fried shrimp with spicy mayonnaise sauce

揚げエビのチリマヨネーズ和え

Good, albeit not quite as crispy as made at Morimoto*. It was very flavorful, however.

* - Morimoto was my first ever food photography experience

Ivan Orkin's Ramen @ Momofuku Noodle Bar - Classic Shio

nobody@flickr.com (nicknamemiket) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 19:37:57 -0700

nicknamemiket posted a photo:

Ivan Ramen Classic Shio
- rye noodle, pork belly, egg, hosaki menma

This was the only one of the three noodle bowls that was served hot. I had just a tiny taste of the broth - it was very full-flavored and rich, however the latter came not from the meat (pork and may be a little chicken in this case, I think) but rather from something else - roasted garlic and carrot would be my first guess. I am absolutely puzzled about the umami in this bowl - seaweed? May be shoyu (soy)? Traditionally shio broth is flavored with salt, which was most likely the case here - but what kind of salt??? By the way, they ran out of the Shio broth in 45 minutes.
I also noticed that noodles for the shio broth were made with a visible amount of rye - a very unusual flavor choice for ramen in New York.
Many thanks to the unknown diner next to me for their kind permission to take pictures of their ramen choice - your comments to this and other pictures would be much appreciated.

Please find the links to Ivan Ramen/Ivan RamenPlus website and Ivan Orkin's blog.

Ivan Orkin's Ramen @ Momofuku Noodle Bar - Ago Dashi

nobody@flickr.com (nicknamemiket) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 19:37:59 -0700

nicknamemiket posted a photo:

Ago Dashi Hiyashi Shio
- chilled flying fish dashi, roasted tomato

This was my first taste of Ago Dashi - dried flying fish broth. Although I have neither tasted nor prepared that particular kind of dashi before , let alone the broth - I am somewhat familiar with how it is made. This particular soup was made with flying fish, dried scallop and dried shrimp, or at least so I think (the predominant flavor was lemon and salt, however). Pleasantly refreshing on a very hot day (and in the filled to the brim restaurant!) Ivan's Ago Dashi Ramen was nicely balanced; citrus acidity and aroma countered the briny taste and smell of the dried fish. Notice the roasted tomato - a unique way to introduce extra umami to the chilled dashi broth ( "chilled" in Japanese is known as "hiyashi"/冷やし, by the way).

Please find the links to Ivan Ramen/Ivan RamenPlus website and Ivan Orkin's blog.

Ivan Orkin's Ramen @ Momofuku Noodle Bar - Dining Room (five minutes after opening)

nobody@flickr.com (nicknamemiket) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 19:37:55 -0700

nicknamemiket posted a photo:

Momofuku Noodle bar is often busy, but this was extraordinary by any measure:
the interest for Ivan Orkin's Ramen was absolutely overwhelming.

Please find the links to Ivan Ramen/Ivan RamenPlus website and Ivan Orkin's blog.

Kuboya - Gyoza

nobody@flickr.com (nicknamemiket) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 19:27:51 -0700

nicknamemiket posted a photo:

Gyoza
- Kuboya's original fried pork dumpling

焼き餃子

This was part of the ramen lunch set - dumplings were well made and nicely seasoned. Not necessarily an original dish, but well above average.

Kuboya - Front Door

nobody@flickr.com (nicknamemiket) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 19:27:58 -0700

nicknamemiket posted a photo:

I did wonder what the Kuboya real estate had been in the past - the entire place clearly has an interesting history.

Kuboya - Matcha

nobody@flickr.com (nicknamemiket) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 19:27:53 -0700

nicknamemiket posted a photo:

Compliments of the house - it was a touch of Japanese hospitality.

Kuboya - Menus

nobody@flickr.com (nicknamemiket) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 19:27:59 -0700

nicknamemiket posted a photo:

Kuboya offers quite a few menu choices - the menus are available online, of course.

Kuboya - Street Flag

nobody@flickr.com (nicknamemiket) — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 19:28:00 -0700

nicknamemiket posted a photo:

Kuboya is located on the eastern outskirts of the East Village; once one of the worst parts of the City had gone through a remarkable and positive transformation - it is now very similar to the rest of the youthful, albeit original and peculiar East Village neighborhood.
Speaking about peculiar: Kuboya is adjacent to another ramenaya - Minca Ramen Factory ( two places share the same wall!); I understand the two places are rivals.

Ivan Orkin's Ramen @ Momofuku Noodle Bar - Sign

nobody@flickr.com (nicknamemiket) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 19:38:00 -0700

nicknamemiket posted a photo:

This is what the crowd has been waiting for - one night walk-in ramen dinner prepared by Ivan Orkin of the Ivan Ramen fame.

Please find the links to Ivan Ramen/Ivan RamenPlus website and Ivan Orkin's blog.

Ivan Orkin's Ramen @ Momofuku Noodle Bar - Line

nobody@flickr.com (nicknamemiket) — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 19:37:50 -0700

nicknamemiket posted a photo:

I couldn't quite believe my eyes: thirty minutes before the scheduled engagement and the line was already half-a-block long (it would go around the corner in another 30 minutes). The pictures do not tell the entire story though - it was an extremely hot and humid day and temperature was still hovering around 100F when this picture was taken, yet I spotted a few strollers, people holding toddlers and expectant mothers waiting to get in. What can I say? New Yorkers love ramen!

Please find the links to Ivan Ramen/Ivan RamenPlus website and Ivan Orkin's blog.