Batten Ramen

Rating: ★★★★☆ 12024 Center Ave, Fort Lee, NJ 07024 (201) 461-5465 Price: $$ Hours: Mon-Sun 11:30 am – 10 pm Foursquare

Nothing spectacular, decent ramen and good katsu curry

Batten Ramen is an authentic Japanese ramen house that has been around for while. It is located in the Oaktree Center and has the small and cozy feeling you would come to expect from a ramen house in Japan. There’s a shelf of mangas (Japanese graphic novels) and Japanese magazines for you to read while you wait or eat. Both the chef and waiting staff are very attentive and you are always greeted when you enter and leave the restaurant.

The food was not the best I’ve ever had, but it’s decent. The gyoza was crispy on the bottom with a good balance between filling and skin. The tonkatsu (pork) ramen, which they call the Batten Ramen has a decent soup-base – not as flavorful as Santoka, but acceptable. Batten’s ramens are generously portioned and they have that chewy/springy bounce that you expect in a fresh bowl of ramen. Their Hiyashi Chuka (cold ramen) was also not on par with Santoka. I’m not a fan of seasoned pork cutlet in my cold ramen, I would have much preferred crab meat. What shines at Batten Ramen is their curry, the katsu curry is my go to dish and is one of the best you’ll find in New Jersey.

Batten Ramen offers combination sets that allow you to add a half portion of curry rice or fried rice to you ramen order for an additional $3. They have daily deals that offer a combination of items on their menu for one low price. Remember to bring cash, they don’t accept the plastic. There’s metered street parking in the front and a large muni-meter lot in the back.

Batten Ramen Combination (add half curry or half riced rice for an additional $3)- $11.50

Batten Ramen (ramen in tonkatsu broth)

Gyoza – $3.50

Batten Ramen – $8.50

Katsu Curry with Rice – $9.00

Hiyashi Chuka (cold ramen) – $9.99 (seasonal – only available during the summer)

Champon Ramen – $8.50

Pulmuone Hamhung Naeng Myun – Extruded Buckwheat Noodle

Naeng Myun, which literally means cold noodles in Korean, is an extremely popular dish throughout Korea during the summer. There are two varieties of naeng myun: mul (물 냉면), and bibim (비빔 냉면). Mul naeng myun is served with noodles contained in a cold broth, while bibim is served dry with gochujang (red chili paste) over the noodles. I’ve had both many times in Korean restaurants and absolutely love the taste, so when I came across an instant naeng myun at the local H-Mart, I had to give it a try.

I bought the Pulmuone brand Hamhung naeng myun. It’s bibim style and comes with two servings for $5USD. In the package there are two bags of fresh buckwheat noodles and gochujang. It takes less than 10 minutes to prepare, you begin by cooking the noodles for about 30-40 seconds in boiling water. Next, you immediately rinse the cooked noodles in cold water. This is important, if you don’t rinse it immediately, you risk the noodles dissolving into a pile of goo. Once the noodles have chilled, transfer the noodles into a bowl, mix in the package of gochujang, add a boil egg to make it more authentic and you’ve got a bowl of delicious naeng myn at your disposal.

The Pulmuone brand Hamhung naeng myun is acceptable, but not comparable to what you can get at the restaurant. The buckwheat noodles is chewy and flavorless. The gochujang taste is over powering and is the only flavor I can make out of the entire dish. Overall, this a good instant hunger fix on a hot summer day, but is not a solution for a refreshing authentic neang myun craving.

Contents of the package

Making it cold

The finished product – it tastes better than it looks

Sapporo

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆ 152 W 49th St (btwn Avenue Of The Americas & 7th Ave), New York, NY 10019 (212) 869-8972 Price: $ Nearest Transit: 49 St (N, Q, R) 50 St (1, 2) 47 – 50 Sts – Rockefeller Ctr (B, D, F, M) Facebook // Foursquare

Sapporo is a “has been” in the ramen market, they’re no longer what they use to be. I came here last saturday hoping to have some decent ramen, but instead I was greeted with watery ill flavored broth, overcooked noodles that taste like cardboard and toppings that were bland. The waiter also forgot to put in my order of gyoza, but I’m glad she forgot. It saved me $5 on flavorless dumplings that I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed anyway, this coming from my friend who previously ate at Sapporo and had the dumplings. In addition to their tasteless ramen, they also enforce a 18.4% service charge on your bill regardless of party size. I can understand enforcing a service charge on large parties, but for a party of two where the waiter does not take my order properly they’re not deserving of a 18.4% tip regardless of the actual amount. Now I’m a fair tipper and I tend to leave a larger than average percentage, but this is just wrong. One can only image why Sapporo started enforcing a service charge, perhaps many left low or no tip because their food/service is so awful. Needless to say, I won’t be dining here again.

Menma Ramen – $7.50

Shio Ramen – $7.50

Baoguette Cafe

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 37 St. Mark’s Pl (btwn 2nd Ave & 1st Ave), New York, NY 10003 Website (347) 892-2614 Price: $ Hours: Mon-Thu, Sun 11 am – 12 am Fri-Sat 11 am – 2 am Nearest Transit: Astor Place (6) 8th St-Broadway (R, W) 1st Ave-14th St (L) Facebook // Foursquare

Baoguette Cafe is a small Vietnamese sandwich and noodle house that looks like your average modern Southeast Asian street cafe. Their store front is retractable and on nice days they leave the complete front wall open. The majority of their customers takeout but they do have seats, either at the bar or on communal tables. Customers also have the option to order online and either pickup or have it delivered. They don’t accept credit cards, CASH only.

In terms of food, their sandwiches are decent, but everything else is very disappointing. Their bread is moderately fresh and they’re generous with the ingredients, but you can get a better Vietnamese sandwich at Paris Bakery or Bahn Mi Saigon for a fraction of the cost. Their Noodles and Rice dishes are to be avoided at all cost. They over season their meats leaving it extremely salty and unbearable to eat. If you want some real Vietnamese noodles (Pho or B’UN) or rices dishes head over to Pho Bang on Mott Street where it’s more authentic and cost effective.

Baoguette (Classic Banh Mi) – $5

B’UN BO – $9