When I was a kid, ramen soup was one of my favorite foods. It tasted great and was fun to eat, but a bowlful of ramen could double as a swamp for my R2D2 action figure to get stuck in. (Poor guy...he turned from white to beige after just a few dunking sessions. If only I had foreseen, all those years ago, the rise of eBay...) Why this trip down memory lane? Because Jon and I had the most delicious ramen soup for dinner at Ippudo Friday night.
I've got to thank In-Young and Pam for pointing out this place to me. First up: Spicy pork buns and spicy chicken buns. These mini-sandwiches, with their spicy/sweet sauce and super-light, steamed rice-flour buns, make perfect starters. They might look like huge hamburgers in this picture, but they're really about the size of finger sandwiches.
We got the pork belly ramen, which also had hard-boiled egg, sesame seeds, mushrooms, and spicy mustard leaves. There are a few different varieties of ramen and a menu of add-ins you can add to your soup. Save room to re-up on the noodles. If you have enough broth left in your bowl, the waitress will offer you a second plate of noodles. The open kitchen and communal tables make a trip to Ippudo the full ramen experience.
This made me smile...I remember those days!! I also remember how you would eat those ramen noodles right out of the package without cooking them! I'm making a list of all these great places to eat so when I go to the Big Apple for Thanksgiving I can sample the goodies for myself. Who needs turkey?
Posted by: Mumma | October 19, 2008 at 02:48 PM
Truth be told, I still do eat the noodles straight from the package. (In my younger days, I would eat the stuff in the seasoning envelope as well.)
Awesome! Eggplant parm for T-day dinner...and Ippudo for "leftovers"!
Posted by: Oatmeal Cookie Guy | October 21, 2008 at 02:27 PM
I wish the pork buns really were that big!
Posted by: Brownie | October 26, 2008 at 11:22 PM
Hey, Pam. Me too!!
Posted by: Oatmeal Cookie Guy | October 27, 2008 at 04:27 PM