Rah Rah Rai Rai Ken!

So on Friday, the summery weather in NY totally bypassed the crisp cool temperatures of fall and dove headfirst into brisk chilly winter cold. Of course, what better way to beat the cold than to feast on some warm, hearty ramen noodles??

The ramen noodles at Rai Rai Ken in the East Village came highly recommended by friends and coworkers, so I decided to give them a go on this cold night. Much to my chagrin, a line had formed outside the restaurant, but luckily I only had to wait around shivering for 15 minutes. And, once inside, I could see why the turnaround was so quick. The venue, a small and cozy space in which diners were seated on stools around a bar/counter-top table, lent itself to fast food dining rather than a drawn-out meal.

I ordered the pork gyoza dumplings and the house special shio ramen for dinner. The house special ramen, made from a light seafood-based broth, with spinach, bamboo shoots, pork, boiled egg and scallions thrown into the mix, definitely was hearty and filling. But hmm...I've tried the ramen at Momofuku Noodle Bar and Setagaya, both served in a similar way to Rai Rai Ken's, and I have to say I liked the ramen at these two places better. Maybe I should've gone for the soy-sauce based shoyu ramen or the miso-based ramen instead? I thought the seafood broth wasn't that flavorful, and it didn't really complement the fatty juicy goodness of the pork pieces, which, mind you, only consisted of one medium slice!! I like it when my ramen comes with huge pork belly chunks like Momofuku and Setagaya, that one slice was pretty weak. I mean, it wasn't bad ramen and it was above average, but nothing mind blowing.


And the gyoza? It was definitely perfectly cooked to a golden brown crisp, but I couldn't really taste the pork in there. I felt like I was eating a vegetable gyoza--the pork was seriously lacking at this place in all areas!! I feel like that old lady in the Wendy's commercial--where's the beef, Rai Rai Ken??

By skimping on the meat, maybe that's how Rai Rai Ken can afford to price the dishes at a phenomenal value. I mean, dinner for two was $21, usually that's how much it is for one person!! That is a total bargain in NYC, you definitely can't beat that! Which also explains why there were a lot of NYU-looking students and scruffy hipsterish people in line. I noticed that not many Japanese people were eating here, and that always worries me when the native people aren't eating at the ethnic joint. Setagaya is just as cheap and tastes even better, so there's almost no point in coming back here. I guess if the line at Setagaya or Momofuku is too long, then this is a good backup option. It gets the job done in terms of filling you up with something above average in taste, but nothing beyond that.

Rai Rai Ken
214 E. 10th St., New York, NY 10003
212-477-7030
(10th and 2nd Ave.)

Rating (out of 5 stars):**1/2
Style: Japanese
Prices: $2-$8 (What a steal!! But CASH ONLY)
Summary: When you're craving ramen on a cold day, but don't want to spend Momofuku prices and the line at Setagaya is too long.