Tabata Ramen — Restaurant in New York

My review is a little story about my time here. (skip to paragraph 5 for review)

My friend had been bugging me all day about going to a ramen shop after we finished watching black panther, but I was a bit reluctant, why you ask? 1. I was afraid of stepping out of my comfort zone (which consists of chicken tenders and seasoned fries), 2. I highly dislike instant ramen (it makes me ill) 3. and most importantly I’m a broke a** high school student with no job.

I caved in and agreed to go, But Only because I explained my situation to my aunt, that had agreed to send me emergency food cash.

We arrived at the place, opened the door and was blasted by a wonderful aroma and warm air. We were quickly greeted and given a menu to look at, and for the first time in the three years I’ve known my friend she said “Wow Jessica these prices aren’t so bad, let’s sit down and actually get something”. In a state of shock I followed the waitress through the packed room towards the back.

I order a curry chicken ramen with sprite while my friend orders some other ramen with milk or cream in it (idk) and a coke. A couple minutes go past and our drinks come out but it’s two sprites instead of one and a coke. My friend is about to create a whole scene about the mishap, but I tell her to try the sprite first and see if it’s watered down. Thankfully she said it wasn’t watered down, and decided to keep the drink.

About 6 minuets after that our food came out (props to that lady that carried our food out with her bare hands, I could barely touch the bowl when it was on the table). I was hesitant to eat because 1. I was worried if it was going to taste similar to instant ramen, 2. I have the tongue of a cat (I can’t eat hot food, unless I have a death wish), and 3. I HAD NO FLIPPIN IDEA HOW TO USE CHOPSTICKS. In a state of defeat I picked up the broth spoon and drank some broth and OH MY GOD, I have no idea if they were trying to snatch my non existent wig but they succeeded in doing so. It felt as if I had been teleported into the anime food wars and was experiencing a food induced orgasm (if you’ve watched the show you know exactly what I’m talking about), I then stabbed the chicken with the chop sticks and bit into it. I wanted to shed a tear because it was hot but so damn gooooooooooood. I was avoiding all the green bits in the food because I was picky, but boy that was a mistake, the green bits added the final touch and crunch to the broth that I didn’t know I was missing out on. Gordon Ramsay would probably approve of this food.

A few minuets of pure joy and happiness pass and then the Selena Gomez Music stops playing, I wonder what’s going on, then this cheesy happy birthday song starts playing. The staff go to the birthday man and start singing to him, and outta nowhere everybody in that joint starts to sing too. After we finish singing for him we all clap and continue our meal. 20 minuets after that me and my friend split the bill, said our goodbyes to the wonderful staff, and were all ready to set off on our long journey back to Queens.

In conclusion this is one of the most friendliest restaurants that I’ve visited that actually have food I enjoyed and I would drop everything right now and go enjoy another meal, even though it’s an hour and thirty minutes away, and...

Me and my sister were craving ramen before taking the LIRR so we saw this spot and decided to give it a try. The service in the beginning was pleasant. We were seated placed our orders which were two “Sutamina Ramen ” which contains thinly sliced pork belly. When we received our ramen there was chicken in the ramen. So my sister tells the waiter that the order was incorrect and that it was suppose to be pork belly not chicken within the ramen. He immediately starts raising his voice at my sister and says “that’s what you ordered” all while pointing his finger in her face. I was so shocked at how it escalated so quickly to him raising his voice. My sister shows him the menu and what she had picked. He then tells my sister “it’s your fault you got it wrong, I ordered it right for you”. He now begins to yell at my sister and starts coming closer to her face. Another employee realizes that he is becoming hostile and begins to push him out the way so he can handle the situation. He was polite enough to change the ramen for us and apologized for waiters behavior. We were so upset at the situation and how it played out that we were silent for the rest of the outing. I would never go back to a restaurant that allows their staff to speak to customers in that manner it was disrespectful and...

Tabata Ramen is a small, modest noodle shop that I had high hopes for given its consistently high rating on "NYC best ramen" lists on the internet. The restaurant itself has very limited decor, though this isn't really a complaint for me since I don't go to ramen restaurants for the atmosphere. The fried wings to start were delicious--incredibly crisp and flavorful on the outside and very moist and juicy on the inside. This got me excited for my bowl of Tonkotsu ramen, but that turned out to be a huge let down. Nothing about the bowl of noodles and condiments was that good. The soup did not have the intense richness that I have come to expect of tonkotsu. The pork charsiu was fine but not particularly flavorful. The scallions were a little bit overpowering. Overall, I was just left wanting more of my bowl of noodles. It wasn't particularly bad, but it most certainly was not particularly good. Perhaps I am judging too quickly and I would not be opposed to going back to try a different type of ramen if I'm in the area, but if you're really looking for a good bowl of noodle soup, try Ippudo Westside or Totto Ramen, both which are just 10 streets farther north (though unfortunately probably a...