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Ippudo (West Side, New York, New York)

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I had just flown into New York and was really craving a good bowl of ramen. My last trip to NY I went to Ippudo on the East Side, but heard that Ippudo in Korea town was a bit different and I couldn’t wait to try it!

This location is way homier and more welcoming than the more modern Ippudo East Village location. There’s a large central bar for small groups and singles. I came alone that day so it was perfect!

 

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Yamitsu Goma Kyuri. Japanese Cucumber. Ippudo’s Sesame Garlic Oil.

Brooklyn Kaedama Ale Draft.  Ippudo NY Exclusive Beer.

 

 

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Ramen Toppings. Soft-boiled egg. Pickled Mustard Leaves. Bamboo Shoots. Pulled Chashu Pork.

 

 

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Akamaru Modern. Original pork broth. Ippudo’s secret Umami Dama paste. Pork Chashu. Cabbage. Sesame Kikurage Mushrooms. Scallions. Fragrant Garlic Oil.

 

It was just a little before noon but when you’re a New Orleanian and on vacation, it’s never too early for a beer. Considering Ipppudo has their own exclusive brew called Brooklyn Kaedama Draft. It was warm and pretty strong to start the day with, but I loved it! I started the meal with the Japanese cucumber appetizer (Yamitsu Goma Kyuri). It was refreshing, light, and perfect to snack on in between bites of ramen. The Akamaru Modern ramen was delicious. A simple broth filled with delicious, perfectly textured noodles. These noodles are a bit different from other ramen shops. They’re thinner and more al dente in texture. Love it!

I love this location and the more chill and laid back vibe. It’s more welcoming, but the more modern Ippudo on the East Side is good for a night out with friends. The food is great at both! Check out my review of the other location here: Ippudo East Village . With so many ramen shops scattered all throughout New York City, it’s very hard to choose from, but I’d say that Ippudo is one of my favorites so far!

 

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Rating: 5/5 spoons

Ippudo Westside Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato



Lady M (Upper East Side, New York, New York)

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I first found out about this cake/dessert place when I had a great feast of food at Ippudo (click for review) in East Village. It was one of favorites of all the desserts at Ippudo and I had to try it from the original location. Lady M is a tiny cake boutique, but has such a high demand that there’s a line out of the door. One line is for to-go orders and one line is for dining in. If you’re ordering a whole cake, I would call and order in advance because you can just skip the line.  If you’d rather take your cake somewhere else, this is the perfect location because Bryant Park is right across the street. My sister-in-law and I waited no longer than 10 minutes in the dine-in line, but I won’t guarantee that will be the same for everyone.

 

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Entrance. 

 

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Green Tea Mille Crepe Cake and Jasmine Tea.

We ordered the Jasmine tea and the Green Tea Crepe Cake. The Jasmine tea complimented the creamy and delicate crepiness of the cake so well. I don’t know how they do it all so perfectly, but it’s impeccable! I love it. If you’re in the area and looking for dessert, you have to try their Mille Crepe Cakes. There are different flavors too!

 

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Rating: 5/5 spoons
Lady M Cake Boutique Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Ippudo (East Village, New York, NY)

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One of the top 2 recommended ramen joints in New York is Ippudo. There are two locations, but we went to the East Village location. When you enter, Ippudo hostesses, waiters, and chefs greet you energetically in Japanese and immediately set the mood for a fun night. Apparently, Ippudo is an internationally recognized Japanese restaurants that even accommodates to Japanese internationals. Most servers are Japanese speaking. Our dinner guests were Japanese and spoke to our waiter in Japanese all night. Very legit!

There was six of us, but we definitely ordered for 12! Heck, my motto is to go all out especially when traveling and trying new foods in other states.

 

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Yamitsuki Goma Kyuri. Cucumber marinated in Ippudo’s original sesame oil sauce.

 

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Ippudo Salad. Mixed Greens. Wasabi Goma Shoyu Dressing. Daikon. Shredded Nori. Crispy Fried Sardines.

 

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Tako Spicy Grill. Grilled Spanish Octopus. Potatoes. Ippudo Chili Sauce and Aioli.

 

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Hirata Buns. Pork.

 

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Shishito Peppers. Flash-fried peppers. Yuzu salt.

 

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Akamaru Modern. Spicy Tonkotsu pork soup noodles. Umami Dama miso paste. Pork Chashu. Cabbage. Sesame Kikurage mushrooms. Scallions.

 

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Shiromaru Hakata Classic. Tonkotsu pork soup  noodles. Pork loin chashu. Sesame Kikurage mushrooms. Menma. Red-pickled ginger. Scallions.

 

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Left to right:

Hirata Milk. Green tea gelato parfait with red bean. Shiratama mochi. Matcha jelly. Almond Coconut Milk.

Lady M Mille Crepe. Layered crepe cake. Pastry cream filling. House cranberry cream.

Green tea brûlée. Topped with Green Tea gelato.

 

We ordered so much that I’ll have to break it down.

Our first wave of appetizers:

1. Yamitsuki Goma Kyuri. This is a cucumber salad dish. It’s very refreshing it makes a great appetizer/salad or even a palate cleanser in between dishes.

2. Ippudo Salad. Like any other Japanese salad except the dressing is better and evenly spread.

3. Tako Spicy Grill. This octopus dish is Grade 3/5 spicy. It has a really good kick. If you’re not used to eating spicy, eat cautiously.

3. Hirata Buns. The Hirata Pork buns were awesome. The aioli and spicy sauce really set off this bun.

4. Shishito Peppers. From what I hear, 1/10 shishito peppers are extremely spicy. It was thrilling not knowing whether one of us at the table would get the spicy one. Luckily, no one did and they were all very delicious.

The Ramens:

1. Akamaru Modern. Well seasoned chashu. What I loved is that the chashu aren’t fatty like at some restaurants. The noodles are thinner and more “al dente” than your typical ramen noodles. It’s very similar to the skinny Chinese egg noodles.

2. Shiromaru Hakata Classic. I didn’t find an extreme difference between these two ramen dishes except this one had ginger and a different cut for the chashu. The meat was even leaner.

3. Cold Ramen noodles. I’m not sure of the exact name of this dish, but I do know we ate it towards the end of our meal and were all pretty stuffed. If it was delicious, it was hard to tell. We were so gluttonous!

Onto the desserts…

1. Hirata Milk. Green tea gelato parfait with red bean with Almond Coconut Milk. This was creamy, light, and delicious!

2. Lady M Mille Crepe. Layered crepe cake. Pastry cream filling. House strawberry cream. This one had to be my FAVORITE. The pastry crepe layers were so delicate and when you cut your spoon, it cuts right through for the perfect bite BUT still retains it’s crispiness. How?! I don’t know but it was  one of my favorite dishes of the night.

3. Green tea brûlée. Topped with Green Tea gelato. Creamy, dense green tea sweetness. My 2nd fav!

We definitely had the full on Ippudo experience. Everything was delicious. What’s unique here is the fact that Ippudo is a more modern experience as opposed to your “homey bowl of soup noodles” kind of feel. Also, everything seems to be quite authentic. The noodles are a little different for the soup ramen, but the cold ramen dish had what seemed to be your typical ramen noodle. If I had to do anything different, I would add an egg to my ramen. Our friend ordered for us so we didn’t get the option. Regardless, it was still very good and I’d definitely come back for the fine service and food.

 

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Rating: 5/5 spoons
Click to add a blog post for Ippudo on Zomato

The Bao (East Village, New York City, NY)

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When I hear “soup dumplings” (aka xiaolongbao), I think of the first time I ate at Joe Shanghai in Chinatown, New York City. It’s been years since I’ve been there, but my first bite of soup dumplings was a memorable one. Now, I’m sure there are many variations and even better ones, but the initial discovery of the xiaolongbao is always memorable. When I didn’t know better, I would poke a hole and let some of the soup drain out to let it cool. Then I’d dap a little red vinegar onto it and some ginger then slurp slowly. Nowadays, I’ll top it off with some ginger with red vinegar and devour it wholly (just be sure it’s warm and not boiling hot before doing so).

In case you haven’t had this deliciousness yet, soup dumplings are a delicate wonton-like pouch filled with a nice, hot broth and a savory meatball. If you’re wondering how they get the soup inside, wonder no more. First, they create a gelatinous stock that’s then combined with a meatball. Next, it’s sealed and steamed. Out of the steamers comes perfect little pouches of soup-filled dumplings. Sounds easy enough, but it’s definitely a lot more intensive than that and that’s why I’m thankful for soup dumpling restaurants.

Most people head straight to Joe Shanghai for soup dumplings, but a New York local mentioned  another option and it was The Bao. It doesn’t have the same authentic asian feel inside as Joe Shanghai, but it’s much cleaner and more friendly.

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Seating. Empty house, but at an off hour (5:00ish on Sunday)

 

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Kung Fu Steamed Pork Xiao Long Baos. 

 

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Spicy Pork Xiao Long Bao. 

 

IMG_4550eChocolate Xiao Long Bao. Nutella. Banana.

 

I love the variety that The Bao offers. Actually, I haven’t even seen variety at any other soup dumpling restaurants that I’ve been to. We ordered the regular Kung Fu Baos, Spicy Baos (not the super spicy one), and the Chocolate Baos. The Kung Fu Baos were the perfect warm-hot temperature, which allows you to eat the whole bao in one bite without caution. Some restaurants, you have to be extra careful or even punch a hole to let the soup out first in order to let it cool. Here, you can easily devour the whole thing and just let it melt in your mouth! Next, we ate the Spicy Baos, which had a good kick. I can’t imagine ordering the Super Spicy Baos since the regular Spicy was perfect. I enjoy spicy, but I can’t imagine ordering the Super Spicy especially since spice is usually intensified with hot broth. Lastly, we had the Chocolate Baos, which I find really interesting. It’s like a bite of Nutella crepe! The bao has a slight chew like crepes and it’s stuffed with Nutella and banana. A perfect end to our Bao meal.

The service was good and the baos were delicious. My favorite part is the variety of baos. Usually, at a soup dumpling restaurant, we’ll order trays of the same baos. There’s nothing wrong with that, but a variety of flavors adds a lot of excitement to the meal. Honestly, I’ve never really seen different flavors at any other soup dumpling restaurants and that’s what will bring me back!

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Rating: 4/5 spoons

 

Click to add a blog post for The Bao on Zomato

Num Pang (Meatpacking District, New York, NY)

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Chelsea’s Market is filled with goodies! Not too far from the delicious Los Tacos No. 1 (click here for review) Num Pang is an Asian sandwich shop very much like the Vietnamese banh mi. What makes them unique is their smaller-sized breads…

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Watermelon juice. 

 

 

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Five-Spice Glazed Pork Belly. Pickled Asian Pear.

 

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Inside: Five-Spice Pork Belly. Pickled Asian Pear.

 

I’d never thought I’d say that I’d pay over $4 for a banh mi sandwich. If you’ve ever been to any Vietnamese banh mi shop, the most it’ll cost you is $3.50 a sandwich. This sandwich is $8.75 and to really blow your mind, it’s roughly 2/3 the size of a normal banh mi…but it is AMAZING. The bread is slightly buttery and lightly crisped. The 5-spice pork belly was so tender and flavorful. I usually scoff when I see a banh mi over $4, but Num Pang has proved me wrong! 

If you happen to be strolling through Chelsea’s Market and can’t decide which delectable goodness you’d like to fill your tummy with, I highly suggest Num Pang’s Five-Spice Pork Belly as one of them. Add a Watermelon Juice to your order. It’s fresh, pure, and I love the chunky pulp.

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Rating: 5/5 spoons

 

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Los Tacos No. 1 (Meatpacking District, New York, NY)

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I’ve done a little traveling from coast to coast, north to south and have an experienced tongue for tacos. Los Tacos No. 1 is definitely highly ranked in my book. There’s a pretty long line on this Sunday at 2 o’clock. The line extends way past a neighboring booth, but moves super quickly…

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Menu. 

 

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Taco station. 

 

 

 

IMG_4511eAdobado. Marinated Pork Taco on Corn Tortilla.

 

Once you’re done with ordering, the cashier hands you a ticket that you had to one of the taco artisans and your tacos are promptly made. We ordered the Adobado (Marinated Pork) on Corn Tortilla. The corn tortillas are made in house and are so fresh! Who would’ve thought that one of the best and freshest tacos could be in NYC? The taco came already topped, but there are sides that you could dress with: pico de gallo, verde, dried chili peppers, lime, etc. The tacos are fairly small so be sure to order an extra taco more than you normally would eat. The meat was so moist and flavorful and I loved the sauce that came with the Adobado. So good…

My one regret is not ordering more…
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