Ajisen Ramen: Ramen, Manhattan, NY

Address of the Restaurant: 136 W 28th St, New York, NY 10001
Restaurant Website: https://www.ajisenramennyc.com/locations/

Background:

          After getting up at 5am, a long day of work, traveling 2hrs and starting work at 730, working until 5 and not getting out at 6, I just want to eat some comfort food. Nothing speaks more comfort to me than a bowl of warm noodles: chewy noodles that grab on and cling to the flavorful broth bed, with toppings acting as flavorful sheets, blankets, and pillows. Flavors and textures, mixing and mingling in whirlwinds of colors and visions of sunsets, warmth, and love. Yes; this is the what a good bowl of noodles means to me. 

          Now truth be told, my original plan was to film a YouTube video on a different ramen restaurant, the famous Ichiran Ramen (don’t worry, I’ll definitely do that in the near future), but while setting up my camera equipment, I suffered technical difficulties and could not use my camera. I resorted to using my phone as back up and started walking as it started to rain (and I left my umbrella at home GAAAAAH!!!!); when I finally arrived, there was a line out the door with about a 30-minute wait. While waiting, the external microphone I was using dropped down the subway grate (cue Mr. Krabs playing the world’s smallest violin). This almost left me in tears. I left about 5 minutes later with my head down and belly grumbling, but I still wanted noodles.

          I remembered a place that I had been to before, where I had gotten my first ever bowl of Japanese ramen, Ajisen, and how much I enjoyed it the first time and thought it would be the next best thing. After walking about another 3 city blocks in the pouring rain, I finally arrived at the restaurant.

Atmosphere and Ambience:

          Walking in, the slightly dim lighting gives the place a warm and inviting atmosphere, despite the air conditioner being on as it the temperature outside was rather warm. The painting and tables, combined with the pop music playing on the radio gave the restaurant a rustic and homey, yet modern feeling. At each table is a set of seasonings that comprise of spicy chili oil, soy sauce, black pepper, chili, and black pepper seasoning mixture, and spicy ramen chili pepper.

          I ordered the “Gyoza” for an appetizer ($7), and for my entrée, I ordered the “Spicy Ajisen” ($10) with miso broth base ($1) and extra noodles ($2.5). After Tax, my bill came to $24.50

Appetizer(s):

          The Gyoza came with 6 total and were served with a side of soy sauce and shreds of carrots. Before I ate one, I could smell the sweetness of the vegetables mixing with the fragrance of the soy sauce. As I bit into one, the crispy skin gave way to the pork and scallion filling. My only complaint is the Taste of scallions and veggies overpower the taste of the pork. The Soy sauce gives the dumplings a nice acidity, which, for me, is always welcome, and actually brings some balance to the flavors. A few squirts of chili oil gives the dish a nice little quick, but, unfortunately, does not add much flavor. As someone who grew up eating lots of dumplings, both store-bought and homemade; the gyoza were left a little to be desired in terms of flavor, as on their own, they were a little balance, and the chili oil did not have much flavor.

                                

Entrée:

          The ramen I ordered was a spicy pork broth, with added miso paste, topped with ground pork, 3 slices of chao shao pork (or chaoshu… I’m Chinese so I say chao shao), bean sprouts, boiled diced cabbage, and a soft-boiled egg.

          My ramen came with the spicy paste already mixed into the broth, while I am indifferent towards this, I know others prefer to mix the spice themselves, so just something to keep in mind. Tasting the broth, it had a very creamy texture, with a very powerful heat, and the flavor of the ground up peppercorn was very pronounced; that was all I tasted, and I couldn’t further appreciate the flavor of just the pork. Again, I personally don’t mind this, but I feel this is worth mentioning. The noodles were of medium to wide thickness, which is what I prefer, as I feel they are a happy medium between thin noodles, which cling to the broth, and thicker noodles, which are slurped more easily. I couldn’t wait to dig in so I slurped a big mouthful of noodles…and immediately regretted it; is was so hot that it singed my tongue.          

          The pieces of chao shao pork were very lean, but still very tender, a sign of good pork. When biting into a piece, the texture was like that of pot roast and it was clear the chefs wanted the pork flavors to be very pronounced, as I couldn’t really taste much else because my tongue was still burned. The egg had a very creamy yolk with distinct savory flavor to it. The ground pork was bar far my favorite topping as the sweet bean paste and black bean sauce used gave the pork a nice sweet umami. It combined with the bean sprouts provided a nice change of texture and change of flavor from the spicy broth and noodles.

Service:

          The service was top notch. My waitress, Karlene, was very friendly and exuded a warm and bubbly personality. She was also very attentive and knowledgeable about the menu.

Recap: The ambiance and décor give the restaurant a rustic yet modern feel that is warm and inviting. The gyoza were a tad bit on the bland side with the scallions having a very prominent flavor but is toned down and the pork is heightened when dipped in the soy sauce. If you want extra heat with the dumplings, you can add the spicy chili oil, but it does not provide much flavor, only heat. The ramen was very good, but I felt I could have enjoyed it more if I had slowed down and let it cool a bit first (my fault, not the restaurants’). The service was quick, warm, and friendly.

Final thoughts: This experience, I rate a 4/5. I recommend this restaurant and I will definitely be coming back to do a video for my YouTube channel in the future. I might also try some different items on their menu, such as different ramen options and possibly their rice bowls.

—Thank you for reading my review on Ajisen. Comment below what you think of this review and if you’re considering giving this restaurant a try, and comment other restaurants/events you’d like me to review because I’m always looking for new places to eat and experiences to try.

Until next time,

Jeff