ICHIRAN, the authentic ramen restaurant that began in the small city of Fukuoka, Japan and specializes in tonkotsu (pork bone broth) using Ramen Focus Booths, will introduce new first of its kind traditional jubako bowls on November 14th beginning with their Times Square location.
Inspired by the Japanese traditional jubako lunch boxes, the bowls are ICHIRAN’s way of providing its guests with a true Japanese experience. Jubako is a multitiered lunch box that is customarily used to hold carefully made meals for very special occasions. The bowls, which are hand made in Arita, Japan, will feature a finely crafted lid allowing guests to enjoy the aroma of the ramen as it escapes once the lid is lifted.
Along with the new bowls, ICHIRAN has also improved their broth to more closely replicate the authentic tonkotsu flavor they have in Japan. The tonkotsu ramen’s ingredients are skillfully crafted in their Brooklyn factory and then brought to each location to be prepped by the staff. The Hakata-style homemade thin noodles are prepared daily factoring in the humidity and temperature of the day. They are made using ICHIRAN’s unique blend of flour, producing the perfect texture to pair with the broth and spicy red sauce. The classic tonkotsu broth, now newly formulated, is created with the purest filtered water and pork bones. A new vegetarian ramen has also recently launched, which features a flavorful vegetable dashi.
The Original Spicy Red Sauce (Hiden no Tare) is ICHIRAN’s greatest secret and only four people have access to the recipe. The togarashi pepper-based sauce is aged and cooked slowly with more than 30 different types of spices to create a complex blend of spicy and rich flavors. Each ramen bowl can be tailored with the diner’s choice of dashi flavoring, richness levels, garlic, scallion, Chashu (sliced pork), Original Spicy Red Sauce and noodle textures.
Additional toppings and sides can also be ordered with selections including Premium Yakibuta, which is only available in the U.S, Kikurage mushrooms, soft-boiled egg, dried seaweed, white rice and Osukaran vinegar. Guests can also order extra toppings as well as noodle refills known as Kae-Dama.
For dessert ICHIRAN serves up a light and airy Matcha pudding with Kuromitsu (brown sugar), providing the perfect sweet finish to the meal.
ICHIRAN has created a simple and straightforward ordering process for its diners. Guests will wait in line for a vacant seat, which can be seen on a light up panel before walking into the seating area. An order sheet is then found at each booth where one can personally customize their ramen choosing different ingredients, the flavor levels, the noodle texture and Kae-Dama (noodle refill). After filling out the form and returning it to a staff member using the call button, a team prepares the individualized bowls of ramen and presents them to the diner in an original Jubako ramen bowl. To ensure that the quality of the ramen is seamless every time, a 15 second standard is applied, where each bowl is delivered in 15 seconds from kitchen to the table.
U.S. LOCATIONS: Times Square: 152 West 49th Street, New York, NY 10019; Brooklyn: 374 Johnson Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11206; Midtown: 132 West 31st Street, New York, NY 10001
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