Harlem has some DAMN GOOD Ramen!
Last Sunday, I headed to Jin Ramen (http://www.jinramen.com/menu with Lilian and Megan. It was a bit of a trek (took about 30 minutes door to door) but certainly worth it! We saw Jin on a "10 Best Ramen in New York" list and knew we had to check it out! http://www.tastingtable.com/entry_detail/nyc/16860/10_Best_Ramens_in_New_York.htm
As an appetizer, we ordered the steamed pork buns, stuffed with chashu pork, iceberg lettuce and spicy mayo!
Look at that pork goodness!
The pork buns were absolutely delicious and not too fatty; this may have been a function of the slices of pork we got though. I love the buns at Ippudo and Totto slightly more. I'd be happy to eat any of these at this moment though :)
For my Ramen, I ordered the type that was praised on the list: the Spicy Tonkotsu (pork bone) Ramen. According to the site, "Tonkotsu ramen is the richest and most complex of our ramen broths, and has its roots in Fukuoka. The creamy white soup comes from boiling pork bones, over high heat for hours on end, releasing the rich, hearty flavors of the marrow into the broth." Can you say YUM? The spicy version is blended with the house special spicy mayu sauce (spicy soybean and roasted garlic paste) & rayu (spicy sesame oil). I wasn't sure how spicy it would be, so I ordered the spicy part on the side and mixed it on my own.
Just the Tonkotsu
Magical spicy sauce!
Happy together :)
I ended up dumping all of the spicy sauce into it. This was absolutely heavenly! I loved the soup spoon it was served with as well - it made it easier to deal with the noodles. Also, I added corn (get more veggies) and added more chashu, because I love that pork goodness!
Although this place is located in a neighborhood I'm not that familiar with (Harlem), it has motivated me to come up here and explore more! The train ride is fairly simple (Jin is RIGHT under the 1 train stop!) and the food is fairly incredible.
Cheers,
Liz