WHAT WE ATE
- Truffle Ramen, 40/100 (17 Mar 2025, Greenwich Village)
Mr Ramen, located in the Picnic food court at Greenwich V, serves up comforting bowls of Japanese ramen in a cozy heartland setting. Known for their flavorful tonkotsu broth, one of their standout dishes is the Truffle Ramen, which adds a rich, aromatic twist to the classic pork-based soup. Beyond ramen, Mr Ramen also offers a variety of donburi options, including the popular Mentaiko Don, catering to those craving a hearty rice bowl instead. For those who prefer to enjoy their meal at home, the stall provides convenient delivery options via platforms like Foodpanda and Deliveroo. Whether you’re in the mood for a comforting bowl of noodles or a flavorful rice dish, Mr Ramen is an interesting spot to check out in the heartlands.
Truffle Ramen: 40/100
Noodle: 10/35
The noodles are medium-thick, round, and straight, with a firm bite that sits between snappy and doughy. While the texture is decent, the flavor is flat against the overpowering truffle aroma, making the meal feel one-dimensional. There’s also a noticeable slippery texture, likely due to the excessive use of truffle oil. This is a clear case where noodle pairing makes a huge difference—the thicker noodles don’t slurp well with the rich soup, further highlighting their lack of depth. A thinner or curlier noodle might have worked better to balance the dish.
Soup: 10/35
The soup is quite rich, measuring at 9 brix, and even before mixing in the truffle paste, it has an intense truffle aroma. The overwhelming truffle presence dominates every sip, hitting hard in the nose and lingering on the palate. It starts with a sweet and savory profile before settling into a deep, woodsy, mushroom-like truffle taste. While this might appeal to die-hard truffle lovers, the excessive oiliness is a major drawback. Stirring in the truffle paste only makes it worse, as a thick, glistening layer of oil quickly forms on the surface. Additionally, the soup has an odd sweetness that clings to the tongue, flattening the overall flavor profile too quickly. Given these issues, the non-truffle version might fare better.
Meat: 15/20
The chashu consists of a heavily grilled slice of pork belly. The fat has a pleasant gelatinous texture, while the lean meat is firm with a slightly sticky, chewy mouthfeel. It’s not dry, but just a bit tougher than ideal. One redeeming quality is that the grilled smokiness comes through well, standing up to the overpowering truffle notes.
Topping: 5/10
The toppings are quite simple:
- The marinated egg has a perfect texture and a well-balanced savory marination without an overpowering mirin taste.
- The bamboo shoots have a savory-sweet flavor with a slight pungency. However, the texture is inconsistent—some pieces are extremely soft and tender, while others are firm and crunchy, and a few are too fibrous.
- The green negi are mostly for visual appeal, as their flavor is too subtle to stand out.
Overall, this bowl leans too heavily on truffle, sacrificing balance for sheer aroma. The result is a dish that feels overly oily and lacks complexity. While the chashu and egg are decent, the noodles and soup fall short, making this a disappointing execution of what could have been an interesting concept.
DISCLAIMER
One man’s meat is another man’s poison.
Find out more about our palettes and how we evaluate our ramen here. 😉
