New York, USA
Ippudo is a ramen restaurant with two locations in New York, one in Sydney, lots around Asia and one opening in London. I went to their East Village branch for dinner, hoping that the waiting time for a table wouldn't be too long. My friend and I entered just behind a large group of well dressed Japanese girls, and were told the queue would be an hour. Fortunately they let us leave our phone number, so we could walk around until it was our turn. We managed to move a bit too far away, so when they called after only 45 minutes we had to make a run for it and jump in a taxi. Although we were a bit late, the helpful staff had kept the table for us, and we sat down after ordering delicious cocktails at the bar. Since we were going to a second dinner later on at Buddakan we skipped the starters and only had a bowl of ramen each. We had the Shiromaru Hakata Classic and the Karaka Men, both with pork and kikurage mushrooms. We couldn't miss out on adding a poached egg as an additional topping, which provided an amazing texture and lots of flavour. The pork belly was perfect and the mushrooms were super tasty. All of these flavours boiled together in the broth created a hearty, but not too heavy taste. I couldn't ask for anything more from a ramen broth. We finished our bowls to the point of lifting them and drinking out the very last drops. To end this delicious meal, I had a glass of sake, generously poured to the brim and served in a small wooden box. Dinner at Ippudo was a pleasant and yummy experience, eaten within a cool and stylish atmosphere without any pretentiousness. We are very excited for their opening in London!
Update: Read the review of the London branch here (we were slightly disappointed)
Update: Read the review of the London branch here (we were slightly disappointed)
