Ippudo, New York (2nd entry!)

Couldn't resist blogging about Ippudo again. I was thinking whether I would give Momofuku ramen a try but better to stick with the tried and tested with Rach in town. This time, to ensure we did not have to wait, Rach and I were outside the door at 10.45am, getting in the way of the wait staff, trying to clock in before their shift time begins. Success! When they opened their doors at 11am, we were the very first customers and offered pride of place at the communal table round the hearth. Aside from the prerequisite pork buns, we had the Akamaru Modern ramen (my favorite ramen dish on their menu) plus the spicy one which was very good as well. For those that know me, you will know that I am also a big fan of dishware china so Ippudo's bar decor (pictured) certainly caught my eye. Lots of nice touches in the restaurant from the "I love ramen" t-shirts on the wait staff in the Star Spangled colors of red, white and blue to the downstairs window where you can see the ramen-making machine as you walk to the restrooms. Don't miss Ippudo next time you are in New York! Only their ramen broth is at the level that I enjoyed in Japan...no place in Boston comes close in my opinion. Other places in New York? I'm open to suggestions...

Sakagura, New York

By now, perhaps you have realized I am a big fan of Japanese food. 2nd stop on the NY culinary tour was Sakagura for dinner. 400 types of sake...sign me up. The decor was wonderful..like we had discovered a small sliver of Tokyo in the basement of a non-descript office building. The bathrooms were encased in barrels and they had the required Toto toilet with all the buttons. We ordered a selection of small dishes including their version of chawanmushi with a yuzu sauce, a cold onsen tamago dish and a homely mackerel wrapped onigiri. Ordered as a last dish, it was the very best of an interesting bunch. The food certainly enhanced the sake (or is it vice versa?) yet after a spectacular lunch at Aburiya at 2pm, perhaps it paled a little in comparison.

Aburiya Kinnosuke, New York

Fresh off the bus and heading to eat! Last month with Rach in town, we headed down to New York for a few days of culinary indulgence. You can call it plain gluttony if you like but quality is important to the Hungry Laws, not just quantity. Our chosen spot for a Midtown lunch was Aburiya Kinnosuke ( http://aburiyakinnosuke.com/) at 215 E45th Street. Perhaps it was my low expectations but this place blew them out the water. I was very very impressed. We went for two lunch sets - the most expensive one was $35 but it came with a boxed appetizer sampler, a dish of fried foods including a delicious crab claw enveloped in custard, then breaded and fried. There were also two pieces of cooked fish on shiso leaf and laver which were a great combination. The main entree was a beautifully-cooked just-done salmon fillet wrapped in sakura (cherry blossom) leaves and then cooked/baked under a salt crust. Magnificent. The server brought a wooden hammer to chisel away the salt, leaving salmon with a subtle taste of sakura which you can enhance with the surrounding salt, to your taste. Rice, pickles and miso soup was part of the course and the dessert was an incredibly fine slice of green tea mousse cake with green tea ice cream (which tasted store-bought). Rach was happy with her set which came with wagyu beef slices grilling on their own hot plate. We hustled a little for a private booth (which we got) and Rach spent a long time in the toilet. She told me she had to "press all the buttons".