Address: | 248 E 52nd St, New York, NY 10022, USA |
Phone: | +1 212-813-1800 |
Site: | hidechanramen.nyc |
Rating: | 4.2 |
Working: | 11:30AM–11PM 11:30AM–11PM 11:30AM–11PM 11:30AM–11PM 11:30AM–4AM 12–11PM 12–10PM |
A
A Private User
IMPORTANT NOTE: The #1 Rated Hide-Chan Has CHANGED -- Do Not Be Fooled! As weve all read, recently respected food blog "Serious Eats" rated Hide-Chan the #1 Ramen spot in NYC. Well, as someone who has eaten at the other 9 places on their list, I can make your choice of Ramen today very easy... DO NOT BOTHER. I should have read the fine print -- which explains the huge discordance between Serious Eats exceptionally high praise and the reality of Hide-Chans remarkably poor Ramen -- which has something to do with the fact that they have recently changed their menu. Its hard for me to imagine how something goes from HOT to NOT so quickly, but hey, I guess it happens. The bottom-line: The ramen is WAY sub-par. Salty. Too much green onions. Broth does not have the rich taste everyone once seemed to rave about. The service, as many others have noted, is not just OK, its down-right bad if not obnoxiously rude. All in all, its just simply not worth your money, your time, and your taste buds. I am only writing this because I wish someone else had clearly warned me, as I am trying to do for you. Seriously, if you are in NYC and absolutely love Ramen, take it from someone that is passionate about this stuff, Ippudo is hands down a must. This doesnt mean there might not be a better Ramen out there, and I will certainly keep hunting for it, but until then, take my word (and the word of thousands of others), Ippudo KILLS IT. However, if you cant stand the standard 15-20 minute wait (for small parties), try your luck at the others. Either way, they are easily ALL way better than Hide-Chan. In fact, Hide-Chan should not even be on the same list as most of these places. BTW, here is the complete list from the Serious Eats blog. 1. Hide-Chan Ramens Hakata Ramen ($9) 2. Ippudos Shriomaru Hakata Classic Ramen ($14) 3. Kuidourakus Shio Ramen ($8.50) 4. Menchanko Teis Hakata Ramen ($8.50) 5. Menkui Teis Tonkotsu Ramen ($7.50) 6. Mincas Basic Pork Broth Ramen ($9.50) 7. Momofuku Noodle Bars Momofuku Bowl ($14) 8. Rai Rai Kens Shio Ramen ($8.50) 9. Setagayas Gyulou Ramen ($11) 10. Totto Ramens Chicken Paitan Ramen ($9.25)
TA
Taylor Yi
Food (4/5) Decor (3/5) Service (3/5) Hide-Chan is an excellent ramen shop that gives the likes of Ippudo and Totto a run for their money. It is a smaller restaurant that reminds me a bit of the setup of Totto, but given the substantially reduced hype, the wait is only about 15-20 minutes even on a Saturday evening. The tonkatsu broth here was quite delicious, flavorful, and rich and the noodles were cooked to a nice consistency (you can actually choose the richness of the broth and the doneness of the noodles--I chose medium richness for the broth and extra firm for the noodles). I tried both the shoyu tonkotsu ramen and the Zen-Nose Deluxe ramen and both had really nice flavors and condiment pairings. My main complaint about the ramen here is that the broth is too salty. One reviewer wrote that the saltiness was probably due to picking "rich" for the broth instead of "medium," however I am debunking that theory since I had the medium and it was quite salty. The noodles and condiments are fine and tasty, but the saltiness makes the soup a bit hard to drink... and thats a real pity b/c its so good otherwise. Had the salt not been an issue, I would say this place could compete pretty well with Ippudo, but for the saltiness, I had to knock it down one star. Also, given that the restaurant is pretty small, dont expect to be welcome to sit and chat after youre done with your meal. If there is a line at the door, the waiter will come and ask you to leave (albeit politely). Not a big deal for me, but could be a dealbreaker for others. Overall, I had a good experience here and would return if I were in the area. If I am traveling for ramen anyways, one of the two Ippudos would still be my ramen destination of choice.
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Stephen Lyman
This is a ramen shop, folks. You dont go for great service or nice ambiance or side dishes. You go to slurp a bowl of amazingly delicious soup. You can select the firmness of your noodles for crying out loud. Review accordingly. That said, the 2nd floor layout is unique among NYC ramen shops. The staff is all Japanese (a key sign to high quality Japanese food in NYC). And if you sit at the bar, the wait-tender is super efficient and helpful. This is also one of the only ramen shops Ive found in NYC that has a selection of multiple shochus including a very tasty imo (sweet potato). Most have beer only or perhaps a nip of sake available. But lets get to the food. Or rather one particular dish after which there is no need to explore the rest of their menu. The Scallion Ramen with buta kakuni (braised pork belly, hold the sliced pork) is simply the best ramen Ive ever had and Ive had ramen in Tokyo, Osaka, Taiwan (a Japanese colony for decades), SF, LA, and NYC. The broth is rich and flavorful. The noodles are the right amount of al dente. But what makes this so unique is that the fresh scallions shaved on top are flash fried table side by pouring hot oil over the bowl. The resulting flavor with the decadent pork belly and luscious fried scallions in a rich broth is a revelation. I never knew ramen could taste like this. And thats why it gets my vote for the best ramen in NYC. At $15 it ought to be ($11 for the scallion ramen +$4 for the buta kakuni add). The pork belly is not on their menupages menu, but its on their in-house menu. Try it.
FO
Foodlover Girl
I have been to Hide-Chan a couple of years ago, and had a ramen there. I remember it was good, not sure if it was memorable...This time, we wanted Japanese food, but not really in the mood for ramen that day, and we did not realize they dont offer other main dish other than ramen... We decided to order few small plates. We ordered Regular Gyoza, Pork Buns, and Fried Chicken. We got our food almost as soon as we put in the order, that led me to believe they were NOT made to order. I rather wait for the food to be prepared fresh, instead of being just sitting around there under the hot heat lamps. Fried Chickens were ok, but not great. Looked a little too fried (charred). I certainly had much better ones elsewhere... The pork buns had a bit too much sauce which was a bit too salty. The gyoza was too sticky, they were completely attached to each other. They came falling apart as we tried to separate them. Overall, we were disappointed with food and service - especially with the service. We did not get refill on water or hot tea. None of the waitress/staff came to check on us, not once, until we finished eating and it was time to pay. We felt like we were not important customers to them, maybe because we didnt order the main dish (ramen)? I believe every customer is as important, regardless of how much food and drink they order. Read my full review of this restaurant and food on my food blog, foodlovergirl.
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Armin Lahiji
This is my go to Ramen place. It is actually owned by the same person as Toto Ramen on the westside. It is amazingly good. However, I still like Toto and Ippudo better. What I like about this place is how rich you can make the broth (which is pork based by the way). You can also choose the firmness of your noodle. My favorite has been the Hakata Kuro Ramen, which is a the spicy black sauce with a hint of garlic. I always get it a bit more spicy. However I have pretty much have had all the different Ramens and they have all been great. They have happy hours everyday (including weekends) from 5pm to 7pm where appetizers and drinks (including Sake) is half price. Get there early as the line get fairly long. the dining area is pretty small but, they also have bar seating.