Jin Ramen, Morningside Heights

After the event at Cheri, Sanne and I walked over to Jin Ramen for a late night snack. It’s been a while since my last visit, and I was thrilled to see that there are now four broths available for the vegetable ramen: mushroom, shio, shoyu, and miso. The shio, unfortunately, contains fish flakes. You can also ask for less salty versions of every ramen on the menu.

I ordered the Vegetable Ramen ($11) with the mushroom broth. The noodles was nice, and toppings included tofu, corn, bok choy, bean sprouts, leeks, scallions, and kikurage mushrooms. All the veggies were fresh and nicely cooked. I was expecting a richer mushroom flavor from the broth, but it was very light. It was an okay veggie broth, but I added a lot Japanese chili flakes to spruce it up. When our check came, I noticed that my ramen was listed as vegan. It’s great to discover another vegan ramen option!

Sanne ordered the Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen ($13), which combines Jin’s creamy 6-hour pork broth with a spicy mayu sauce made of soybeans and roasted garlic and a spicy sesame oil. I’ve had the Spicy Tonkotsu in the past, but don’t remember it being such a vivid red color. I gave in to temptation and had a little taste of the broth. Tasty and rich, but not overwhelming and with the right amount of heat. Sanne mentioned that this was as good as the ramen she’s had in Japan. Well done, Jin!