Ramen Quest - Ise Menkui-tei in Midtown, Manhattan

Ise Menkui-tei
58 West 56th Street New York, NY 10019
212.707.8702

Will and I are normally don't find ourselves in Midtown, but not too long ago a dear friend of mine that works in Midtown, had invited me out to have dinner with him and to bring Will along too.

The three of us had dinner at Ise Menkui-tei. It's quite spacious inside especially for a ramen spot. I like that it's warm and bright inside, felt so cozy inside. The wait staff were very friendly and attentive.

So we started off with two appetizers -

Pork Gyoza

We started off with the Pork Gyozas which seemed quite small compared to it's average size that I have had at other ramen/Japanese restaurants. It was moist and cooked just right. I kind of wished there was a slight crunch to the bottom part of the gyozas.

Grilled Squid

I was craving for a Grilled Squid for a long time and coincidentally this was on the menu so I ordered it. First of all, love the presentation because it's so simple yet pleasantly appealing. The grilled squid was cooked just right and had a slight crunch and sweetness to it.

Curry Rice

Draven ordered the Curry Rice which had pork cutlets, carrots, onions and rice. That's a heck of a lot of curry sauce just smothered everywhere, but it's great! This was like totally curry heaven and man it smelled so hearty and delicious.There was absolutely no skimping on this dish. 

Will actually ordered a side order of the curry rice too and I tried a bit of it. The curry sauce had a slight kick to it, but it was bearable. I liked it very much. I mean the sauce had the right consistency and it was warm, thick, and just yumazing! 

Canton Ramen

Will ordered the Canton Ramen which is very different compared to the ramen we're used to having. His ramen had an assortment of vegetables and fish cake, as well as pork.

It was a very generous bowl. The broth  was rich and thicker than we expected, not that it's a negative thing, but it's just something new and different. Will enjoyed his ramen, but he enjoyed mine a lot more.

Hakata Ramen

I ordered the Hakata Ramen which is a rich pork bone broth with two piece of pork, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, scallions, pickled ginger, and sesame seeds. This was definitely one of the best, most savory, and delicious ramen. I've had so far. I'm serious. 

The broth was fantastic and rich with flavors of pork bone. It had a slight garlic-like aroma and taste to it, but I liked it! The noodles were slightly al dente which I also liked and they were thin too. I like that the pork wasn't fatty. I really and truly enjoyed the Hakata ramen because the flavors and the texture were above and beyond what I had imagined and it really hit the spot. 

I'm so happy that our friend Draven introduced us to Ise Menkui-tei because everything from the food and service was beyond what we had anticipated. I was even surprised at how inexpensive and reasonable the pricing was especially for a restaurant in Midtown. I am definitely considering to return to Ise Menkui-tei in the near future to try their other ramen and foods as well. 

Ise Menkui-tei really wow'ed us, especially me. Everything was just delightful!

Service: 4/5

Atmosphere: 5/5

Taste: 5/5

Likelihood to return: 100%