March 14, 2012 | 1 Comment

Hide Chan: Good Ramen Without the Long Wait

Hide Chan

248 E 52nd St [52nd btw 2nd & 3rd]

New York, NY

Should you try? Worth a try

Hide Chan's Zen-nose Deluxe Ramen

Ramen noodle shops are still incredibly popular in the city. And I’m not talking about the $1 packages of ramen, but large bowls of noodles, vegetables, tasty pork, and delicious rich and fatty broth. The thing is these places have become so popular you have to wait nearly an hour for places like Ippudo and Totto. I have to admit I’ve waited over an hour multiple times for ramen, but if you’re looking for a solid option in Midtown East void an hour wait, come to Hide Chan.

It’s brought to you by the owner of Totto Ramen in Midtown West, and you can usually grab a table within 5-10 minutes. I still prefer the intimate setting of Totto, especially being able to sit at the bar and see them cooking your ramen right in front of you, but Hide Chan offers good ramen and customizable options. Unlike other places, you can pick the noodle type (straight or wavy), noodle firmness (soft, medium, firm, very firm) and broth richness (medium or rich).

They now offer a Hakata Chicken Ramen ($9.50), a chicken-based broth which I would think is similar to Totto Ramen. I usually go with the Zen-nose Deluxe Ramen ($15), a pork-based broth loaded with noodles, extra char shiu pork, seasoned egg, pollack roe, spinach, bamboo shoot, beansprouts, onion, scallion & nori seaweed. The tasty broth is filled with vegetables, noodles cooked just to my liking, and pork spiraled between meat and fat.

Hide Chan's Zen-nose Deluxe Ramen

Hide Chan Pork Spiral Between Meat and Fat

If you’re a garlic lover, the Hakata Kuro Ramen ($9.75) comes with the standard broth infused with a black roasted garlic oil. The first time I ordered this, the garlic was so overpowering I couldn’t finish it, but I had it recently and the garlic was not nearly as strong and provided a nice smokey flavor.

Hide Chan's Hakata Kuro Ramen

The pork buns ($6 for 2 buns) come on a nice and fluffy bun, but the pieces of pork are pretty small (two 1″x1″ pieces). The pan-fried homemade pork dumplings (5 for $5) were pretty good and had a nice crispy exterior.

They do charge for green tea and for chili pepper, which is not ideal, but come here for good food without a ridiculous wait.