Yuji Ramen Visited 6/21/2012 3.5 Forks

Yuji Ramen 90 Wythe Ave, Brookly, NY 11211

Secret Ramen!!  These pop-up shops are all the rage these days and Eater even did a whole article on these "secret" ramen joints around the city.  Jenn and I decided to check out Yuji Ramen, which is inside the Kinfolk Studios in Williamsburg from 7-12am Thursday-Sunday.   I was expecting to have to walk through some crazy maze to find the place, but the entire art space is literally transformed into an airy restaurant.   So it doesn't really look like a secret.  We walked in around 7:15 and there weren't a lot of people there (maybe because it was 900 degrees outside and this place doesn't have any A/C).  I would have never known that this place wasn't always a restaurant, it's a perfect restaurant set up with tables in the front, a decent bar to the right and several seats in the back. 

The menu is very limiting.  There are 2 appetizers (a fluke sashimi and I can't remember the other one), a few bun options (pork, chicken, veggie and shrimp) and 4 ramen options.  What's unique about the ramen here is that none of them come with broth.  They are all served "dry" - which on a day like this, I was totally fine with.  Jenn and I split the pork buns ($7), the summer crab ramen ($12) and the tomato and clam ramen ($11).  The service is really friendly and very quick.  The pork buns aren't like the other pork buns I've had at places like Ippudo or in other Asian joints.  They do still use the same soft, white, squishy bun but the filling was more like ground pork (not pork belly slices) and there wasn't the typical hoisin sauce and scallions but it was still very tasty.   The ramen came out and it looked like what I expected and not expected at the same time.  I tried the tomato and clams one first and after my first bite, I realized not only did it not have broth but the noodles were served pretty cold.  The noodles were thick and chewy and the tomatoes came in cubes and crushed versions (they looked like heirloom tomatoes which I love).  On this hot and unbearable day, the dish was very refreshing and chilling.  The one disappointment was that I couldn't really tell where the clams were.  I thought I had tried them but then Jenn tried something else in the dish that looked different and could have been clams too.  You'd think clams are pretty easy to identify but it wasn't.  The dish actually tasted more like a cold linguini dish with crushed tomatoes vs. a "ramen".  I then tried the summer crab dish and this one was my favorite of the two.  The noodles also did not have broth but it was served warm and there was visible chunks of crab on top of the noodles and it was mixed in with the noodles as well.  Again, these noodles are firm, a bit tough but delicious.  The down side is that the menu is pretty limiting and the bowls of noodles aren't very big.  Jenn and I ended up going somewhere else for ice cream and dessert because we were still hot and hungry.  Plus the lack of A/C on a day where the heat is just rising from the ground did make for a slightly uncomfortable experience.

I really appreciated the different type of ramen and on a hot day, the lack of broth was a welcomed change.  While broth is usually the star of most ramen, these dishes made you realize that it's really the noodles that are the main ingredients and what comes with it is just an enhancer.  Definitely check this place out before it pops away.  Total bill with drinks: $38/pp with tip and tax

Photo Credit: Gothamist