Tonkotsu ramen

Jin Ramen, sitting in the shadow of the 125th street station of the number 1 subway line, is probably the northern-most ramen joint in Manhattan.  They do a rich and complex Tonkotsu ramen (pork bone broth), their Chashu Pork is really good and they have a long list of extras that can be added to any of the soups.  They also have seafood and vegetarian broths.  The same owners also just opened a Japanese tea shop next door that serves Donburi and will apparently soon have sake.

Jin Ramen has Chicken Gyoza on the appetizer menu, but as long time readers know I don’t eat chicken so my dining companion ordered them and wrote up a guest review.

Chicken Gyoza

The Dumplings, a guest review:  Jin Ramen is a nice little joint in Harlem. A pretty good place to get your ramen fix as you come out from this winter’s hibernation. The staff was friendly and service was on point. But my companions and I we were kinda split on their Dumpling Game. Their chicken and scallion gyoza was IMHO kinda bland in the flavor dept. Had it not been for the heavy vinegar influence in the soy sauce the whole experience might not have even been worth mentioning one way or the other.

They do however get 10 cool points for proper texture and consistency. The gyoza were actually fried to perfection and the added crunch from the fresh scallions made up a little for their lack of overall flavor.

All in all though still an excellent spot to get “your ramen on”…

-DH

The Dipping Sauce:  I didn’t try the dumplings but the dipping sauce was stellar, very vinegary but with a complexity such that I couldn’t really identify all of the ingredients.  The dipping sauce makes it worth ordering the gyoza.

The Location:  Jin Ramen is in Harlem, on Broadway just below 125th street.  125th street is one of the central commercial strips in Harlem and is at the bottom of a deep valley that runs East-West through Manhattan, so the number 1 subway line, which is otherwise underground, is several stories above the ground at 125th street.  Jin Ramen is on the west side of Broadway at the bottom of the escalator up to the subway stop.