If you’re searching for a place with excitement, noise, and maybe a bit of a taste of the Japanese hustle and bustle, Ippudo is undoubtely the place to go in New York. From the moment you walk through the door, the bar is filled with hungry people waiting to be seated. As with most places in New York, good food does not come without a wait (often waits up to an hour at this place).
Lucky for you if you decide to ever step foot into this place, the bar serves not only drinks (a selection of Japanese beers, sake, and my personal favorite Yuzu sake on the rocks), they also serve a limited selection of food (including what I like to call “fluffy buns of love”) while you wait. These are probably the most deliciously fluffy pork belly buns you’ll find in town. It’s very much the perfect balance of spice and savoury flavours, the crunch of fresh lettuce and unexpected tenderness of the pork belly melting in your mouth. As tempting as it will be to fill up on these, don’t forget to leave room for the rest of the goodness to come.
After you’ve been overwhelmed by the tenderness and flavour of the pork belly buns, and finally come back to reality realize that someone is calling your name to be seated, you walk through the restaurant with the sound of numerous wait staff greeting you in Japanese and cooks putting out steaming bowls of ramen. It’s time to fill our hungry bellies!
Although not for everyone, I enjoyed the nasal clearing spice of wasabi in this dish (baby octopus sashimi).
Who can resist a juicy, deep fried chicken wing? The fall off the bone wings were everything but disappointing. Tender, juicy, perfectly spiced.
Generally speaking, I’m not a fan when it comes to cooked fish. But miso black cod is definitely a whole other story. The salty, light soy flavour of miso, the fattiness of the fish, a slight touch of acidity, paired with the sweetness and mild heat of the ginger, it’s hard to enjoy cooked fish again once you’ve tried this.
Then came the steaming bowls of ramen. One spicy, the other was a clear broth. There is no better way to warm up on a cold winter day then a steaming bowl of ramen. Perfectly cooked (what Italians would refer to as “Al dente”) noodles with a bite to it, miso broth, with a perfect blend of spices, soft-boiled eggs with a bright orange soft yolk, tender slices of pork belly, and marinated bamboo. It makes the hour long wait seem worthwhile! After slurping up the noodles true Japanese styles, we were ready to head out and brave the cold again.
On a side note, the fluffy buns of love were so good that we couldn’t resist making a return trip in between the countless meals at Michelin rated restaurants that we had lined up the next 2 days.
No comments:
Post a Comment