Malaysia Taste Good

This weekend I went to Elmhurst to satisfy my craving for a good,
spicy, noodle soup. Malaysia Taste Good (an oddly but accurately named
restaurant) fit the bill. I had a curry fish ball noodle soup for
around $5.50. It was a medium-sized bowl full of a nicely spiced,
coconut-based soup, with noodles, fish balls, and a handful of bean
sprouts. The noodles were soft and thick, without much chew. The soup
was well balanced and really flavorful. I'll be back again for the
exact same thing.

After the soup, I noticed that Elmhurst now has a Quickly bubble-tea
store. Good bubble tea is hard to find, and Quickly is the best you
can find here. It comes from the Bay Area, and there it is solid but
unexceptional. Sometimes I miss that place. I actually noticed a
fruity taste in my tea, which shouldn't have happened since my tea was
black tea flavored. Otherwise, the tea was good.

Hakata Ippudo

On Thursday, my friend Ben and I went to try the new ramen noodle shop, the Tokyo-based Hakata Ippudo. It was packed with a mostly Japanese crowd. We were seated within ten minutes in an elegant medium-sized room that sat about 40.

The soup I ordered was very well executed. It had a rich porky broth, but it was well balanced. Not too salty, but very robust. The noodles were thinner than the usual ramen noodle, but they had a great firm texture. I think this is the best ramen noodles I've had. Unfortuntely, I have not been a good food blogger, and did not write down the name of the soup. But it was the second soup on the small menu. 

For dessert we had a macha green tea creme brûlée.  It came with a lychee ice cream, and it all worked very well together. 

The past year has seen a huge ramen rennaisance in New York. And it is not over, more Tokyo-based shops are coming.  I love it!