Searching for the best ramen on Earth (Episode 1)

Having lived in NYC for over 1.5 years now, you would think that I would have begun my search for the best ramen in the city ages ago.... but no. I was stubborn, and I made a habit of going to Men Kui Tei... over and over and over again. However, as my last days in New York approach (I'm leaving to go live at home with my parents in Philly...), I find myself needing to satisfy my taste buds one last time.

"Isn't the food in Philly good?", you ask. Yes, food is Philly is awesome. There are plenty of good restaurants in Philly, and it's not just the cheesesteaks and pretzels. But when I have a hankering for a hot bowl of deep pork bone broth with chewy noodles... Philly can't deliver.

Let me start off first by saying, I love Men Kui Tei. I like the variety of ramen and other dishes there. But sadly Men Kui Tei, as piping hot and full of flavor your broth sometimes is... you can be really inconsistent in the flavor of your broth....and I know, just know, that somewhere, out there (and outside of Japan), there exists mind blowing ramen.

Method: Look for highly rated ramen shop. Try the usual shio, shoyu, or tonkotsu shoyu ramen at every ramen shop visited (to make a fair comparison!)

Rai Rai Ken

On a snowy January Sunday, I made the trip to Rai Rai Ken, even though I was sick. After looking it up on Yelp, I thought it'd be interesting to give it a try (that and the wait at Ippudo was 40 mins). It was only when I was right outside the door to Rai Rai Ken, that I noticed how small it was. The restaurant seats about 15 people at a stool bar. It was full when we got there, so we (the bf and I) waited for 10-15 mins, trying not to get in the way of people slurping and gulping down gyoza.

In the middle of waiting for seats, the bf and I noticed it at the same time. The chefs weren't Japanese. They were in fact Shanghainese. This caught our attention as we typically don't like to go to ramen places with people who weren't "familiar" with the food...Anyway......

When there were finally two spots open next to each other, we ran to grab it, as a short line was starting to form outside the restaurant. We were promptly given glasses of water, but not a word was exchanged between us and the chefs/servers. The menu had the traditional ramen broths--shoyu, shio, and miso. In addition, on the menu, there were the typical Japanese sides--fried rice, gyoza, etc. The bf and I stuck to our favorite broths (shoyu and shio) and had nothing else. I mean, we were there for the ramen, not the fried rice...

While we waited for our ramen, the bf took the chance to speak to the chef (in Shanghainese) and ask about his background. Seems the chefs lived and cooked in Japan for a while (confidence and anticipation in the ramen came back). It didn't too long after to get our bowls of ramen, but we were starving by then anyway.

The first thing I did was dip my spoon in and take a sip of the broth. Mine, the shoyu ramen, was okay, not too salty, not too bland, but lacking a bit of depth. Maybe it was just because it wasn't tonkotsu shoyu ramen....Anyhoo, when I tried shio ramen, I swear I could not taste anything. The bf said it was because I was sick and my tastebuds were off, but I'm pretty sure it was just not up to par.

Back to my bowl...The noodles had a good texture and the toppings were the normal (pork, scallions, bamboo, egg, seaweed, and corn that I added). The pork could have been a bit more tender, but the eggs, which looked like it had been marinated or cooked in soy, was enough to make up for it. Overall, the (shoyu) ramen was good but not memorable.

Rating (1-5 scale)

Rai Rai Ken Shoyu Ramen: 3.6

Broth (flavor, color, consistency): 4

Noodes (consistency): 4

Yakibuta/Nibuta (pork flavor, consistency): 2.5

Toppings, other: 4 (5 for the egg, 3 for everything else)

Hangry Index (1-5 scale, 1 being not hangry, 5 being hangriest!)

2 --Didn't have to wait long for the ramen, just had to wait long to decide on where to eat.