Originally from Los Angeles, Urban Ramen opened its second location in Midtown Detroit last June; and we’re so happy they’re here! According to Detroit Eater, “Owner Kohei Robert, was born in the U.S. but raised in Japan… and worked with executive chef Yohei Uchida to develop the menu for the original location which features noodles served with chicken, pork, and vegan maitake mushroom and shoyu broth.” The noodle shop has generated quite a hype with foodies by offering an exciting and authentic Japanese menu. And come on, say…”Urban Ramen” -it just sounds cool.
We’d be the first to admit that we’re probably jaded when it comes to the Japanese noodles known as ramen. We grew up on Maruchan Ramen, those wavy noodle bricks accompanied by little silver seasoning packets. No broth necessary, just boil the noodles until soft; strain and add the MSG laden spice pouch. So freaking good! They were the perfect after school snack, and the means for survival for many college students. We could probably eat it every day, (and for a long time actually did).
However, this is a new era in cuisine quality, and an authentic variety of food places is turning up at every corner of the Motor City. Walking down Woodward, you instantly take notice of the chef through the window, working fast in the steamy kitchen with lots of well organized produce and ingredients. You can also see an impressive industrial-sized ramen noodle maker (they make their noodles in house, daily). The restaurant emanates fresh and a standard of quality, before you even step in. Once past the threshold, we were greeted by a warm and knowledgeable server and seated after we placed our order (which included almost the whole menu- ‘cause we came to eat).
We started with the mini salad, which was a cabbage slaw tossed in ginger dressing and topped with fresh corn. We sampled the garlic edamame, totally radiating garlicky goodness; but too fibrous to eat whole (in spite of Sadie’s best efforts). So we’ve included a link for you on “how to eat soybeans“. You’re welcome. We followed up their most popular (Detroit exclusive) Chicken Paitan Ramen (pictured below). The bowls are loaded with interesting bits, and the presentation is like something you drool over on your foodie Instagram pics. (Somehow, our photos don’t do it justice.) Now time to slurrrpppp. Seriously, that’s how it’s done, and even considered complementary in Japanese culture… along with no conversation so that you’re sure to savor every bite. We tried to slurp… (but we were too busy talking about it all. We’ll get there.)
The creamy broth had a strong umami taste. The chicken was wonderfully tender with crispier edges… and hello ramen, I don’t think we’ve met! The thin noodles were so good and fresh, like an elegant distant cousin of the aforementioned bricks (which shall forever carry a special place in our hearts). But the biggest surprise was the soy marinated egg- perfectly soft boiled and soy infused, so delicious.
We cleared our palate with a drink of Ramune, a Japanese soda that the server compared to Sprite. **Read the instructions on bottle of how to open.** In complete transparency: it was fun to try something new, but we’ll stick to Sprite.
Next we had Shoyu Vegan Ramen (featured post image), and please don’t let “vegan” detract from this weightiness of this dish. It’s a meal. The ramen was a bit thicker and had a good chew. There were generous amounts of white onion and Maitake mushrooms, with garnishments like radish sprouts and fried burdock (shout out to fried burdock, you’re awesome). However, the star of the show (drumroll please), is bamboo! Yeah, baby! We should call it BAMBOOM because it is an explosion of delicious! Wider and thicker cuts than the kind in our stir fry, it was bursting with teriyaki-like flavor… and we’d go back just for that!
Picky eaters have options too, so don’t think you shouldn’t tag along! If you have kids like Sadie’s, know that plain noodles are available. (Rachel’s kids have more grown up tastes than most adults.) And feel free to mention “no scallions,” then you won’t have to pick them off one-by-one. 😉
For dessert we had Matcha Mochi Ice. Matcha Mochi!!! This green tea ice cream with roasted soybean flour and brown sugar syrup was creamy and cool, light and sweet, and as Sadie put it, “money in my mouth.” Also notedly, it was her son’s favorite.
Urban Ramen has a good thing going. It’s fresh, modern, authentic…, and if you’re ever in Midtown, you should stop by and see what it’s all about! (And be sure to order an extra side of Bamboom Bamboo, because you’re going to love it.) 😉
