The hottest day that I enjoyed whilst on vacation in New York was a scorching 7 degrees. It was so hot that I was actually able to leave my scarf at home and don a slightly less puffy coat.

Though that sort of weather is considered rather dreary for most people; I not so secretly enjoy it. It allows me to dress up and wear coats that disguise my weight (they have no idea that the gun show is more like a Harry Potter wand exhibition). It also provides great conditions to enjoy some food designed for cooler climates.

Like ramen I suppose.

You know what? That’s a great idea; let’s go to Hide-Chan on 52nd and 2nd!

Before I left home, I put in a tonne of research as to where I was going to eat. Many of my university tutors would look at my restaurant lists and state that I put way more effort into their composition than I ever put into an essay.

This is true.

Hide-Chan Ramen was on the list along with a few other ramen joints because…ramen. I knew the sort of weather conditions I was subjecting myself to and I knew the greatest way to counter the freezing conditions was with multiple bowls of premium noodle soup. I read several blog posts prior to my visit and was warned to go as early as possible to avoid the lines.

Please, don’t they know I’m the #122nd most popular Sydney food blogger on Urbanspoon?

Turns out they didn’t and was subjected to a line that almost stretched out the door. The line moved about as often as I do on the dance floor, for all the people who haven’t been clubbing with me….I don’t dance.

Eventually, I made it in.

I’ve never been to Japan, but it felt very authentic to me based on the still images and clips I’ve seen of ramen joints in the land of the rising sun. There was a nice buzz as friends caught up over noodles, burgeoning couples bonded over tonkatsu broth and tourists lost themselves in their holiday meals.

Then there was little old me who was shipped to the bar so that the groups wouldn’t see the lonely dude holding on to his Kindle and camera.

I didn’t mind though, I was about to be joined by some very tasty company.

Let’s begin:

I know, I know. You’re wondering why I didn’t opt for pork which seemingly every Japanese restaurant now has a variant of. Well, that’s exactly why I didn’t go for it. I knew *SPOILER ALERT* that I’d be visiting other Japanese restaurants on my trip and that I’d have many more opportunities to go for pork. Besides, I love tuna and wanted to give this a shot.

I’m glad I did because these two buns were incredible. The sweet chilli sauce was unnecessary as the buns had a tonne of flavour and worked so well considering how simple they appeared. I have no complaints and would like to note that these buns would make a great snack at any time of the day. I’m writing this at 6:00am and it’s the first time I’ve felt that tuna would make an excellent way to start the day.

Moving on from strange culinary cravings:

I overheard a couple of people next to me discussing how spicy this bowl of ramen happened to be. This was prior to my bowl arriving in front of me and I was sniggering. Clearly these people didn’t have iron tongues like me (Source: Many girls. Ok, not that many). The couple also happened to mention how disappointed they were in a previous ramen experience they’ve had recently (more on that later).

Anywho, I finally made the bowl’s acquaintance and turns out the couple were right. This was deceptively spicy. Being that I’m a simpleton; I usually associate the colour red with spiciness so I was caught off guard. Considering the ‘spicy’ tuna buns had been mild, I assumed this bowl of ramen would be of that ilk.

Here’s how it got me. It started off mild as most spicy things do then its heat level just kept on going up. It went from Antarctic to Mount Vesuvius incredibly quickly.

This was as spicy as it was tasty and it delivered quite a lot in both departments. The pork wasn’t very tender or fatty and the lack of egg was a bit disappointing but I loved the kick in the mouth it gave me. It was like getting a heel in the face from a Victoria’s secret model.

Here’s the TL; DR for other people who want to kick me in the face:

– Go and line up early or you’ll be holding the door open for satisfied patrons that you want to punch in the gut.

– Spicy tuna buns for breakfast, lunch and tea. Let’s make it happen.

– Don’t judge anything by colour.

Hide-Chan Ramen, New York

245 E 52nd street (between 2nd and 3rd avenue)

Opening Hours:

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