NYC: Kin Ramen – Nice ramen shop in Midtown

Kin Ramen popped up on my radar, when I was browsing GoogleMaps, looking for a good place for ramen on a Friday night. In New York, most ramen shops are walk in only, but I wouldn’t risk having to wait for hours to get seated, so I called in and asked what the wait would usually be like on a Friday night. The lady on the phone told me that Fridays were busy, but she would be surprised if the wait was more than 20 minutes, which was good enough for me.

Turned out we were able to walk right in when we arrived, as the restaurant was still filling up, and we got a nice table near the bar. Kin Ramen is known for their sides, which includes the usual suspects such as bao, Japanese fried chicken and takoyaki (octopus balls), but also Sweet Corn Cheese, which is sweet corn with melted mozzarella cheese served in a hot plate. I think it started out as an American-Korean fusion dish, mostly found at KBBQ restaurants, but nowadays, you’ll find this modern classic at many Asian restaurants.

The crispy squid that we ended up ordering last minute came with spicy mayo and was a nice, crunchy appetizer. Glad we shared. For one person it would almost have been enough as a main.

We also had agedashi tofu which was served with bonito flakes dancing on the top. It’s always a fascinating sight, don’t you think? My friend AC finds it super creepy. The tofu itself was a bit disappointing. The cubes were too big for my liking, and the tofu a little too firm, so I didn’t really enjoy it, even though the sauce was good.

I had the Kin Ramen with homemade spicy oil+paste, and it was a nice bowl with a rich, pork-based broth. When it comes to ramen, I’m an egg snob, and the egg at Kin was rather ugly. Too bad, considering it came at an extra charge, if I remember correctly. The noodles were nice and bouncy and perfectly cooked and the serving was generous. Kin Ramen also offers Kaedama (an extra serving of noodles) for a small charge, which I really like, as I sometimes run out of noodles while I still have a lot of broth left. Though at Kin, I couldn’t even finish the first serving, so I didn’t make use of that.

A good place for a casual night out. The cocktail menu was tempting too, but I wasn’t in the mood.

Kin Ramen, 129 W 56th St, New York, NY 10019, United States