Ippudo Ramen, New York

This is a meal from July, but I’m writing the post now because last night I had plans to go out for ramen at an Oahu institution that I’ve never been to before, Goma Ichi Ramen. Afterwards, we were going to see Benedict Cumberbatch’s new film at the Hawaii International Film Festival.

Unfortunately, it was not to be, because I got called in to substitute teach a yoga class just an hour before dinner. I was sad to miss the movie but I was actually more disappointed to miss the ramen, because I’d been looking forward to it all day! So, I decided to write about ramen after the yoga class, since I couldn’t eat it. (Side note: the class was great and I was very happy with how my night turned out).

Kiyo and I ate at Ippudo Ramen on my last night in NYC before I left for yoga teacher training in Rhode Island / Connecticut. Not only had I seen Ippudo on friends’ and media’s Instagram feeds, it has four stars on Yelp with over 6,500 reviews. I’ve never seen ANY restaurant reviewed even close to over 1,000 times. It had to be amazing, life-changing even… right?

We began with an appetizer (the “Hirata Buns”) to share, since we were starving by the time we sat down. Ippudo doesn’t take reservations and there is always a wait, it seems, no matter how early or late you go (we’d tried multiple times before). The soft bao were filled with pork, mayonnaise and lettuce. They were delicious, in the standard way that bao tend to be. It’s not a dish that easily disappoints.

I believe I ordered the Shiromaru Hakata Classic, just their standard ramen (there are five to choose from). I ordered it with “nitamago,” a soft-boiled, seasoned egg. The noodles were very thin, which is traditional for Japanese ramen, but they were a bit too al dente for my taste, especially since they were so thin (I prefer a chewier, thicker noodle). The egg was delicious, but not super seasoned as you might expect from its description on the menu. I loved the meat and vegetables, but the bamboo shoots were dark, limp and tasteless. I know some of you might be thinking, “but bamboo shoots never taste like anything!” but I disagree. I love bamboo shoots and I think they have their own, albeit mild, flavor.

With the nitamago, this ramen was $17! In Honolulu (which has a comparable cost of living with New York) you can get good, classic ramen for as little as $8. If Ippudo was doing something groundbreaking with their ramen, maybe, MAYBE I could understand charging so much. But, for just serving good, classic Japanese ramen, in a saturated market, by the way, in a city where you can get anything, at any time, I don’t understand how they are able to get away with charging so much.

I only had one bite of Kiyo’s ramen (to be honest I can’t remember which he ordered), but this sums it up: I don’t really remember what it tasted like, and it’s only four months later. I remember thinking, “Yeah, good. Not amazing, not bad.” Sometimes I write posts over a year after a I enjoy meal, and I can still recall the exact taste and emotion that bite evoked.

One thing I did enjoy about Ippudo was its chic, very “New York” atmosphere. It was dark and noisy, like most trendy NYC establishments. The design was simple with attention to detail, had some Asian flair incorporated, and some larger, more gaudy elements. However, what I really disliked about the atmosphere was that every so often, all the staff (the cooks, hosts, waiters, EVERYBODY) would shout in unison in Japanese. Obviously they were trying to create a Japanese atmosphere by using the language, but is that something the staff in restaurants actually do in Japan? I’m not sure, but authentic or not, it was very loud and annoying, especially while trying to enjoy a nice dinner with my boyfriend before a long separation. Not to mention, I’m sure most of us diners do not understand Japanese, so whatever they were calling attention to was lost on us. It definitely brought the chic ambiance down a level, reminding me of Hibachi or a cheesy, themed chain restaurant.

I’m not saying that Ippudo Ramen is not good, but I don’t understand why people are so in love with it. For the price and the wait, and the yelling, I just don’t think it lives up to the hype. Anyone care to weigh in?

Ippudo Ramen

Address: 65 4th Ave, New York, NY 10003 Phone: (212) 388-0088