Last weekend, we visited Kuboya with a $25 Groupon for a dinner for two. (Early dinner date right after I got a haircut and highlights!) As expected, the portions were small, but that allowed us to try a bunch of different things.The Cold Spicy Tofu was teensy tiny. I only had 1 spicy bite, while John didn’t taste any spiciness at all. The Marinated Bean Sprouts weren’t bad and had some ground sesame mixed in. The Garlic Potatoes were served nice and warm. Garlicky and oily, needed salt!
The Vegetable Fried Rice included onions, carrots, and pickled vegetables, which were, unfortunately, pretty tasteless. At least the rice filled us up a bit.
The Vegetable Miso Ramen was definitely the highlight of the meal. The half bowls (normally $7.50) were quite filling. Noodles were properly cooked – not too al dente or mushy. Very garlicky, but not too salty. Fairly thick mushroom based broth. Miso flavor was subtle, but it was a good broth overall. The Vegetable Spicy Miso Ramen was too spicy for me, but John enjoyed it.
Compared to most ramen-ya in NYC, Kuboya’s food is just barely above average. I wouldn’t pay the full $59 value for those dishes. The vegetarian ramen on its own was pretty good, while the other dishes were not so great. I might come back just for the veggie ramen, no appetizers.
Kuboya seriously needs to step up its game, especially as Minca is right next door. Or else, they’ll just be that place that no one can remember the name of, but everyone goes to when Minca is busy.
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