Hide-Chan Ramen

Why Come Here? NYC’s richest ramen broth, solid option for Midtown Easters

best ramen nyc, tonkotsu, hide-chan, midtown east

Hakata Kuro Ramen

In researching New York ramen bars for my ramen quest, the three names that kept coming up as if to form a holy triumvirate are Ippudo, Totto and Hide-Chan (which is owned by the same people at Totto). As the first two represent my best ramen experiences in town, I happily set out to complete the Triple Crown despite the hot-bowl-of-soup unfriendly 90 degree heat.

Hide-Chan is hidden up a flight of stairs on a side street in Midtown East. Not surprisingly, it’s a popular lunch spot for the many workers in the area, although if I were an employer I’d be docking pay from anyone returning after a bowl of the rich pork fat laden broth. With its second-level space Hide-Chan is larger, brighter and more restaurant-y feeling than many of the ramen dungeons around town. It’s also more group friendly with many tables in front that can be put together. They do maintain the traditional counter seating as well although it’s around a bar instead of an open kitchen. As for the decor, well, it’s interesting. The most noteworthy element is a collection of Japanese cartoon masks that range from Spiderman to a child with an extra eye on his head. So at least you have something to talk about while you wait.

The menu offers three categories of ramen: tonkotsu (pork) broth, tonkotsu with burnt soy sauce and vegetarian broth. But the decisions don’t stop there as Hide-Chan offers two other unique ways to choose your own adventure – you get to select both the firmness of the noodles and thickness of the broth. I tried one from both tonkotsu based sections with different broths and noodles. Both broths were tasty but lacked the complexity of Ippudo or Totto and the noodles, while well prepared, were lacking in flavor. The pork in both was sliced medium-thin and tasty, although I still prefer the big hunks of belly. Maybe the heat was factor, but I just didn’t find either to be on par with Ippudo or Totto. More on both bowls in the dish section below.

The rest of the menu consists of typical ramen apps like pork buns and gyoza with some Okonomyaki (Octopus balls) thrown in. Service is the typical ramen bar quick with our food arriving about 5 minutes after we ordered it. Here’s what I ate:

Hakata Kuro Ramen The broth in this one includes their signature “ma-yu” garlic oil. While this unsurprisingly puts it on the garlicky side, the bowl is well balanced overall. I ordered it with the rich broth, although it was still lighter than the traditional used in the much more pork-forward Kogashi. I also took the firm noodles option which may have been the wrong decision given the lighter broth and stringy noodles used. Their texture was quite good though, even if they didn’t have much flavor.

best ramen nyc, pork, hide-chan, midtown east

Kogashi Shoyu Tonkotsu Ramen

Kogashi Shoyu Tonkotsu Ramen If you like your broths almost milk like, this is the ramen for you. I only ordered it medium rich (NY style), but still got my pork fat intake for the next week. It comes with thicker, wavy noodles which are better for supporting the hefty liquid. Don’t order this one at lunch unless your boss allows nap time.