Ichiran, Brooklyn, NY Review

Ichiran recently opened an outlet in New York. This store is located in Brooklyn, at 374 Johnson Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11206 (Phone: (718) 381-0491)

The cool thing about this is the hours are from 11am to 2am.

About the location.

This location is not so close from Manhattan. probably will take you about 30 mins from Downtown to get there. Feels like an industrial area with construction work around. Probably not the best place to be at night.

The good thing about this location is that this is not too crowded, so probably less crowded?

There are 2 types of seating available, so don't worry if you want to talk, there are regular tables besides the booth seating.

So hows the Ramen?

Well, I love Tonkotsu Ramen. And Ichiran is one of the best Tonkotsu Ramen you can get. Ichiran in Brooklyn does not disappoint. I ordered the strong flavored, rich soup with firm noodles. Some garlic, Chilli and scallions. I remembered to save some broth for extra noodles. I added a side order of seaweed.

Everything was fantastic. Can't complain. Best ramen I've had in the US by far.

Hakata Issou (博多一双) is still my favorite (located in Fukuoka)

Is it worth the trip from Manhattan to Brooklyn to try this?
-- YES!!!!

On a weekday afternoon, it was not too crowded, seats were available during lunch, and service was ok, and quality was top notch. Taste was authentic like the Ichiran I like.

One thing to note, this restaurant is a no tipping restaurant and I felt that the price is rather high. The price for basic ramen with 2 pieces of pork is $18.95++, and with Ice Matcha, Extra noodles, side of seaweed, it costs $30++.

I probably can have the same thing for under US$15 in Tokyo. But heh, instead of flying to Tokyo, you can taste it here in NYC!

FYI,

-- Robin

Food and Electronics Bazzar 2012 Review

The Food and Electronics Bazzar 2012 runs from 13 July - 15 July 2012 at Hall 5 Singapore Expo. (11am to 9pm)

I was at this Expo today on 14 July, and it was drizzling all day, and at times, the rain got heavy and I was surprised that Singapore Expo flooded on the outside. Luckily, the flood waters did not get into the halls.

Singapore Expo seems pretty disappointing. The toilets were not maintained, and the floor was wet and disgusting. The toilets also ran out of soap which makes me not want to eat there.

But most importantly, I went there for the Electronics expo. Like most bargains in Singapore, there are large crowds of people, all wanting to save a buck or two. A few things were apparent, there are many stupid people.

Audio House is having a BIG sale, and not all the door busters are sold out. In fact there are hourly sales which randomly sells things like Large Smart LCD TVs at good prices and giving away free WiFi and Tablets.

I've compared some prices of the items and there are indeed some good deals. Not all the items are "old stock" and in fact, there are some very new models of Samsung and Panasonic TV at deep discounts.

I bought a Blue Ray Player for S$179 (with RMVB playback on USB) full 1080p HDMI.

I also got a few Sandisk USB Thumb Drives 32 GB at S$29.80 and 16GB at S$13.80. There are Samsung 500GB Portable USB 2.0/3.0 Drives for S$99 which is an ok deal (Which I can find at Carrefour)

I am tempted to get a 46" Panasonic LED Smart TV for S$1,099 with 4 HDMI inputs and 2 USB ports and Built in WiFi and SD Card Readers and Flash Player to watch YouTube.

On the Electronics side, the Audio House booths are pretty ok, you can pay by Visa, Nets or Cash, and queue is not long, but for many other booths, only cash payment is allowed.

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Food Expo. Wow, how do I even begin. I've bought an ice cream which taste pretty good, but otherwise, there are so many Sharks' Fin Soup stalls, I think 30% of the stores sell Sharks' Fin.

With all the call for banning Sharks' Fin, I guess only the rich people who do not need to buy things at a bargain and eat organic stuff really cares about the cause. Many people bought the 2 for $5.90 Sharks' Fin.

The other food is relatively cheap, but not appetizing, and since the toilets are dirty, I did not try the food as I can't afford to be sick.

Its an interesting show, and pretty good for bargain hunting. Not too crowded because of rain (and floods)

-- Robin Low