Mr. Taka
It’s officially the first day of summer here in NYC and it’s been raining for about 4 straight days now. Usually, Memorial Day is synonymous to the sunshine and warm weather, but this year brings the opposite. There’s not much room to complain about anything nowadays specially after the shutdowns that we just got out of.
I always try to look at the brighter side of things and to me when it’s rainy and a bit chilly then it’s time for some hot ramen. Here in the lower east side, I have Mr. Taka my favorite spot on 170 Allen Street that I’ve been frequenting since I moved back to New York in 2018.
This place has been my go-to place during wintertime and for lunches in between meetings. I’ve been coming here at least once a month for the past 3 years and have my favorite items on the menu already. I believe that I have tried all ramen bowls here and my favorite would still be the Spicy Cheese Chashu Tonkotsu which is a bit on the heavier side but very rich umami flavors though. The Spicy Tonkotsu would be my 2nd most ordered bowl here if I am looking for something a bit lighter and easier to finish.
For today though I start my meal with the purple sweet potato tempura which come with 3 different sauces, wasabi, yuzu and sesame. This is also how I start every meal here for quite some time now. I make easy work of the appetizer as always and the Japanese sweet potato always reminds me of ube.
I opted for the yuzu shoyu ramen for today as I felt the white soy sauce and fish broth was appropriate for the weather. I choose pork belly as my protein and added an order of egg which is my preferred way of eating ramen.
Every time I’m enjoying a bowl of ramen here it reminds me of my time in Japan where we served as food scholars for Genuine Education Network at the UNESCO Heritage site in Tsuruoka, Yamagata prefecture.
No matter what kind of cuisine you’ve tried and where you’ve been, Japanese cuisine will always have a special place in my heart and a bowl of ramen from Mr. Taka will always make me feel like I’m back home in Japan ☺.
Next up will be a visit to Harlem for some soul food. Red Rooster here we come…