When I first visited Tokyo, I stopped by AFURI Harajuku, a small ramen restaurant near Harajuku Station. Now, before coming to Japan, I’ve only had American-style ramen bowls, which are known for being heavier and having a thicker broth.
AFURI was such an eye-opening experience, and I imagine there are better restaurants than AFURI, but the broth was clear, the flavors were simple, and there a good level of oil on top of the broth. The noodles were perfectly chewy (ordered medium).
Actually, when I went to AFURI, I was sick that day with a sore throat, possibly due to dehydration during Japan’s hottest time of the year, so that ramen bowl hit extra hard. It was a comforting, warm meal.
Fast forward to a year later, I finally tried Ichiran Ramen in NYC. Ichiran is a well-known ramen shop chain, with locations across New York and of course, worldwide. Here’s the thing about Ichiran, it’s good, but it’s the bare-minimum. The pork was soft, but not melt-in-your-mouth. The broth had a nice fat layer, but it was significantly more cloudy, and there’s something about it that rubbed me the wrong way.
I did appreciate that you could adjust your noodle texture (which I went for “firm”).
However, Ichiran feels like the place that would taste great on a rainy day in New York City, the private booth, the warm broth, but when you compare it to actual ramen from Japan, there’s a large difference. If I had to give a rating, I’d say it’s a B-. It’s solid, reliable, but a bare-minimum, but they’re charging a fortune for it.
AFURI is a solid A-. It’s lighter, refined, but there are ramen spots that have Michelin starts that are also cheaper than AFURI, so there’s an improvement somewhere.
Would I go back to both, yes.
