May Chan Ramen 09-25-2009

Location: 119 2nd Ave.
Time: 7pm
People: RB and myself

Feelings: You might think May Chan Ramen is another Japanese ramen shop in East Village, but this one is a little bit different with their unique selections of both Japanese and Korean dishes. They have Japanese style ramen as well as more spicy Korean style. They have okonomiyaki and pajeon. Just the thought of ramen and okonomiyaki at one place gives me joy. With the option of Korean dishes? This place sounds too good to be true.

I ordered tan tan men ($9). The broth was spicy and very flavorful, and the noodles were chewy and cooked very al dente. Unfortunately they tasted like it was out of package a little bit. It did not taste badly but was not superb by any means.

RB wanted tonkotsu ramen, but they were out of it, so he switched to beef ramen ($9). The noodles were egg-y and chewy as the way he likes it. The beef broth was not spectacular but decent. Sadly, there were just two tiny pieces of beef, and we could barely see if we actually ordered beef ramen.

We also shared hiroshimayaki ($8), which is a type of okonomiyaki from Hiroshima region. Unlike Osaka/Kansai version, all the ingredients of hiroshimayaki are layered instead of mixed all together. They are typically layers of batter, cabbage, noodles, and pork, and RB and I had a privilege of trying this amazing authentic dish (or being forced to try by my father) during our visit to Hiroshima.

The hiroshimayaki at May Chan, however, was a bit too soggy, and the yakisoba in between was mushy and had a strange flavor. The batter to cabbage ratio needs to be reconsidered. The batter needs to be almost crepe thin with more of fresh thin sliced cabbage in between to avoid this sauce-y mess. I cannot believe I am defending the honor of hiroshimayaki right now since it is almost like New Yorkers defending Chicago style deep dish. However, I really hope people in New York will not think that this is how hiroshimayaki tastes like.

Overall, May Chan offers somewhat average food with their clean, open space. I still think that menu selection is quite interesting, but I would not expect spectacular dishes from here. It is still satisfactory nonetheless.