Surprise trip to NYC, Central Park - Been there and done it

Made a surprise trip to New York City last weekend, surprising my girlfriend at her door for our 10 year anniversary together. I created a mosaic pictorial using shots taken over the past 10 years onto Moo cards. Centerpiece obviously was my "masterpiece drawing" and contained nicely in a mahogany frame. At least she likes it and did not trash it into the recycling bin outside the apartment :0)

Even though it was the middle of New York winter, I had to complete my plan to run round Central park. The morning of the run was bone chilling freezing temperature and I was so wrong to think that my new Adidas long sleeve Climacool top was to protect me from the elements. 10km into my run, I was still freezing like crazy, not a drip of sweat, and hands felt like they have been chilled in a freezer for the past 40min. It had started to feel quite awkward that I ended up altering my return route and head towards "Pick-A-Bagel" along 77-78th St by Lex. Nothing beats an "everything bagel" after a good morning run, especially after I just managed to do a loop round (almost) Central Park, something that I have almost wanted to do since I first visited NYC 3 years back.

Following up on my Ramen trail

It has been a excellent day out for me, making a journey to Brooklyn for the famous Di Fara pizza (Will follow up with a review of this and Grimaldi pizza, 2 of the best in NY) followed by coffee at the Red Horse Cafe near Prospect Park. After which was a first to a NBA match where the New York Knicks against Detroit Pistons. Unfortunately it started to go wrong from there. First came the rain instead of the predicted snow, and followed by my worst ramen experience in NYC.

Sapporo restaurant, been recommended by a friend, we decided to check it out as it was my last night in New York and really want to a good ramen to finish off this trip. Situated at midtown (Map), it was a short distance from Madison Square Garden where we attended the match. We ordered Gyoza, Miso Ramen and Shoyu Ramen and we were surprised that all 3 dishes came in less than 2 min after our orders.

Gyoza - Link to flickr orginal

Miso Ramen - Link to flickr original

Shoyu Ramen - Link to flickr original

Unfortunately everything kinda went from bad to worse from there. Gyoza was still acceptable, better than Wagamama in London, ramen was worse than the instant noodles that I cook, and the soup taste awfully of MSG! We hardly finish 1/3 of what was in our bowls and left in extreme disappointment. If you have read my previous reviews of the other Ramen places, I rate Sappora as completely off the list. Avoid at all costs unless you are lost in midtown and have nowhere else to go (Sorry Tommy, they probably had an off day or maybe you went to a different place!).

Current rankings:
1. Ramen Segataya
2. Rai Rai Ken
3. Momofuku

Unranked:
1. Sapporo Restaurant

On a Ramen Trail in Manhattan

I always like coming to New York for many reasons. The hustle and bustle, the shopping, the pretty Williamsburg/Brooklyn area, Central Park, and most of all, the 24hrs food that you can get regardless of where you are staying. One of my favorites in the city has to be the taste of ramen, something that I do not get in London.

From my last trips, I discovered a new place that opened in June last year called Ramen Segataya (Map) serving very authentic Shio Ramen. The broth is always delicious and the cha shiu (sliced pork) is tasty, both crunchy on the outside but soft and tender once you bite into it. Watching the chefs cooking behind the counter is always fascinating and prep you up before the waitress brings your bowl of ramen to you. The texture of the noodles is still the best that I have tasted and the runny egg is another personal favorite. Some might find the broth to be too salty, but I will argue that this is what Shio Ramen is all about, although I suspect they might change the taste slightly to accommodate to the local taste-buds over time. Costing slightly more than $10, it has remained the top of my list whenever I am back in the city.

Recently, I decided to check out the other recommended ramen stores in this city, with Rai Rai Ken and Momofuku highly recommended by friends. I stopped by Rai Rai Ken (Map) last night and peeped into the outlet. It was tiny, looked just like those Japanese ramen outlets that I see on TV back in Singapore. I was impressed and prompted found a seat by the counter and ordered a Shio ramen. Unfortunately I was unable to take any pictures this time round as it was quite crowded and I felt slightly embarrassed to be snapping my food whilst the rest are busy slurping down their ramen. First taste was a slight disappointment; the ramen was nowhere the same feel as what I had at Segataya. The broth was reasonable, but the pork was also disappointing as it does not have the same slightly "charred" taste which I like. Clearly it was just left in the broth and cut up to be served. Price wise, it was the cheapest of the 3 outlets. Not the best, but I still have Momofuku to taste to complete my test.

So off to Momofuku (Map) this afternoon, only to find out that they have moved to a bigger outlet few steps from their previous. It was the biggest store as compared to the other 2, so it might be a better option if you are planning to lunch out with a few mates. I heard their pork buns were the specialty, but this been a ramen test, I had to go with their Momofuku ramen instead. Looking across the kitchen where the food was cooked, I did not get a good feel of the food to come as I hardly see a Japanese looking person in it (I like to associate good Japanese food follows authentic Japanese chefs). When my ramen arrived, it looks like a "mix-mash" in my opinion! There was the ramen, a poached egg (what is a poached egg doing in a ramen???), some sour vegetables, few slices of pork belly, separate pork shreds and chopped spring onion. First taste of the noodles seems to give the same texture as the ones I had at Rai Rai Ken, but still nowhere close to Segataya. The taste did not have any shio or miso taste, but that might be due to the house specialty that they have, although it was not to my liking. Charging $14 a bowl was slightly on the high side for me as well, although one might argue the amount of ingredients in the bowl justify for that.

Overall, after 3 ramen for 3 days, this is my personal recommendations if you want to have a good ramen in Manhattan:

1. Ramen Segataya

2. Rai Rai Ken

3. Momofuku (You might want to try the pork buns appetizer instead)

Do you a Ramen place to recommend?

More pics of pending iPhone launch...

The queue snaking round the 5th Ave building behind Apple store.














A power nap before the big rush...

3 hours to iPhone...

The excitement is getting to me. I can't help but wander over to the Apple store over at 5th Ave after doing a take away from a chinese shop from the 1st. If you want to be seen holding a brand new iPhone, this is the outlet to be. Screaming with journalists and broadcasters, this landmark 24hr Apple shop is always the highlight for new product launches. The queue was amazing, snaking round the entire building (More pics to follow). I am still skeptical about how Apple can pull this off, considering that they have not launch a mobile before, and will be eagerly awaiting for the first "real" user's review in the coming days. And I can't help but wonder how many of them will end up on eBay after they get their hands on it?