I love ramen so when I was in New York with Trine, I decided it was time to introduce her to the joys of the noodles too. The big ramen wave hit New York some 10 years ago and today, you can find really good ramen places all over Manhattan. As a matter of fact, I think New York is one of the best cities to get tasty, authentic ramen outside of Japan, and Hide-Chan is one of my all-time favorites.
There are several kinds of ramen broth, and at Hide-Chan it’s the Hakata Tonkotsu that rules. The Tonkotsu broth is made from pork bones and fat, which have been boiled down for a very long time, and the broth is creamy, hearty and highly addictive. At Hide-Chan you can choose whether you want your ramen straight or wavy, as well as how firm they should be.
I always order their Deluxe Ramen, which is an impressive, fully loaded bowl with 2 half eggs, 3 slices of pork and a dollop of cod roe. To accompany the ramen, we also had a selection of sides including homemade gyoza (fried dumplings) with pork and takoyaki, which are octopus balls, t topped with Japanese mayonnaise and thin flakes of dried fish. We also had Hide-Chan’s Agedashi tofu, which is fried tofu in a delicious, soy-based soup. The menu didn’t mention if the tofu was homemade, so I guess it wasn’t, but it tasted really good.
Nothing rhymes better than bao and ramen, so I suggested that we also ordered some of the steamed buns with pork, which came in a spicy and a non-spicy version. Though Trine was skeptical and convinced that she wouldn’t like it AT ALL. Of course she was wrong, and we ended up ordering several rounds.
Hide-Chan is a Japanese, family run ramen chain, and the original Hide-Chan restaurant opened in Hakata, Japan back in 1993. Today there are 13 Hide-Chan restaurants in Japan and 2 in New York (the other one is in Hell’s Kitchen).
Happy Hour is Mon-Fri 4:30pm- 6:30pm with half price on side dishes and alcohol, and Sapporo draft beer for $2.
Hide-Chan, 248 E 52nd Street 2F (between 3rd Ave & 2nd Ave, Midtown East, New York