Hinata Ramen, Midtown East

After the “Life of Cats” exhibit at the Japan Society, we were starting to get pretty hungry and decided to continue the Japanese theme of the evening. Ramen it is!

We stopped by Totto Ramen, but there was huge crowd of people outside… not a good sign. Hide Chan Ramen, which is right next door, had a 15-20 minute wait. We walked over to Hinata Ramen to see if that would be any better, and as it turns out, they had many open tables!

I visited Hinata earlier this year during lunchtime. It was packed at lunchtime, and I was surprised to them so empty during prime dinner hours on a Friday evening. John got the Orion beer ($11), which was a good deal given the large bottle size. I ordered the plum wine ($6).

John ordered the shishito peppers ($4.50) and 10-pieces of vegetable gyoza ($11). I had tried the veggie gyoza on my previous visit, and this time, it looks like they held together much better.

I, of course, had to get ramen! Vegan Yasai Ramen ($14.50) with vegan noodles, grilled corn, nori, kikurage mushrooms, greens, scallions, and agedashi tofu. Just as delicious as I had remembered. Those vegan noodles are seriously spectacular. Bouncy, wavy goodness!