Ivan Ramen

One of my friends lives in an apartment close to Ivan Ramen so he recommended me to go there and check out their delicious Shoyu Ramen. I was glad that I took his suggestion because it was a really great place to eat ramen at. I went Ivan Ramen located in the LES (Lower East Side) with a friend during a cloudy Friday afternoon. We had to wait 10-15 minutes to grab a table, but it was worth the wait.

We started with an appetizer of Pulled Pork Musubi which was around $6. This comes with two pieces and each has a small mound of rice, pulled pork, salted plum wasabi, and a roasted tomato atop all on a piece of toasted nori. Ideally you take this in one bite which I did. The salted plum wasabi and the texture from the tomato went well with the mildly seasoned pulled pork. The presentation was nice in the way that the nori was not already folded up and allowed the eater to fold it themselves to take the perfect bite.

I then tried what I came here for, the Tokyo Shoyu Ramn which was around $15. The broth The balance and depth of flavor of the broth was impressive, and the enoki mushrooms, roasted tomato, and assorted greens were perfectly tender and not too tough to chew in the broth. The char shu pork was rather standard in size and nothing out of the ordinary compared to other char shu pork I tasted before. And then there was the (optional) soft boiled egg , which leaked its runny yolk all up in the broth, and created a creamy and thick soupy substance that coated the noodles properly. I slurped up the contents of the bowl, and felt very satisfied in the end.

Just thinking about Ivan Ramen makes me want to go there again. Also what’s unique about this place is that it is owned by a man named Ivan who’s from Long Island. He used to own a ramen shop in Tokyo and moved back to New York City to open his own ramen shop here. His experience in Japan paid off since his ramen was very delicious.

With great service, a nice atmosphere and delicious ramen during a Friday afternoon what’s not to like about Ivan Ramen.

Location:
25 Clinton St, New York, NY 10002

More information at: http://www.ivanramen.com/en/new-york/