Every holiday season gives a chance to catch up with family and friends and have that much awaited conversations of reminiscential events. I'm talking about yesterday's happening with the Wamsley's (Stefanie, Maria aka Baby, and Christopher) who graciously invited us for dinner at that much talked about Ippudo restaurant in the lower east side of New York.
When Mike and I arrived at the place, there was already a queue of around 50 people. The receptionist informed us of a two hour wait for the next table but it did not hamper us from devouring that sumptuous “Ramen” New Yorkers crave about. In the meantime, we just walked around and talked some more, killing the time for when we would be seated.
Finally, after more than 2 1/2 hours wait, we got our seats at the far end of the room. It was a cozy nook but the ambience was lively and our servers were dynamic even amidst the chaos of serving a full house.
The appetizers of pork bun (an envelope of a single meat slice with chile sauce) was delish. Then we had the shishito which was like some kind of roasted peppers that was fried in very thin batter and accompanied by a lemon salt was extremely smooth and not at all spicy. And finally we had a kind of cut up raw baby octopus with grated wasabi on a lemon slice. The slimy but crunchy texture made an interplay of tastes as I was grinding it in my mouth. Yumm is another word.
Not long after, our ramens came in conical colored bowls. Maria and Stefanie had ordered the ' Akamaru Modern' which came in a red bowl. This was the restos original tonkatsu broth with pork belly , miso paste and some tiny vegetables. Christopher and I had the 'Karaka Kogashi Miso' whose broth was made from charred miso and came in a white bowl. Mike had a similar one but was spicy and therefore came in a black bowl.
Amidst the slurping, the laughs, the conversations and whatever in betweens we had, it was indeed worth the wait. We left the place light in spirit, heavy in stomach and best of all just a fulfilling sense of love permeating the vibes among us. It was indeed an evening to remember. Thanks, Maria, Stephanie and Christoper. We love you all.
Mike's order of the spicy roasted miso ramen
How do you eat Ramen? sip, slurp and top... the final key to enjoying ramen is sound. One should inhale the noodles, creating a distinct noise that the Japanese describe as zuzutto
No comments:
Post a Comment