Big in Japan: Japan’s top ramen shop opens up NYC branch

by Matthew Firestone on

If you’re a fan of Japanese soul food, namely the heaven-sent goodness that is ramen, and you happen to live in the New York City area, boy do we have some good news for you!

There is no shortage of truly gourmet ramen in Tokyo, though few bowls can compete with Ippudo (?????), which is widely regarded as one of the country’s best noodles shops. Originating in the city of Hakata (????) on the island of Kyushu, Ippudo pays homage to its roots by serving up some of the best damn Hakata-style ramen on the planet.

Hakata ramen is distinguished by its rich and milky pork-bone broth, thin noodles and unique toppings such as pickled ginger, crushed sesame and pickled greens. However, Ippudo expands on this traditional recipe by adding fiery Tokyo-style red miso, savory black sesame oil and a wide range of toppings such as soft-boiled eggs and thick sheets of nori.

And now, if you happen to be a New Yorker in need of some serious ramen, all you need to do is head to the brand-new Ippudo NY, located at 65 4th Avenue in downtown Manhattan.
Although ramen has always been regarded as something of a blue-collar staple in Japan, Ippudo was one of first major commercial enterprises to vault this hearty dish to truly gourmet levels. The story of Ippudo is really the story of Shigemi Kawahara, who is widely regarded in Japan as the ‘King of Ramen.’ After launching his first ramen restaurant in 1985, Kawahara went on to open up a total of 34 shops throughout the country, and is currently aiming to bring his epicurean noodles to the international stage.

According to Kawahara: “The restaurant is the stage and the business is the art. We are not just making ramen, but creating and instilling a feeling of gratitude. My ambition is to have Japanese ramen take root around the world.”

Kawahara is credited with several ramen innovations, most notably the incredibly refined texture of his handmade noodles, which are made from several different types of blended flour. The ramen master also builds his soup stock from no less than three individually blended mixes, and is extremely proud of his roast pork, which is slow-cooked in a closely-guarded secret sauce. And finally, Kawahara is regarded as the first chef to use color designation (red and white) as a way of defining his signature miso-based ramen soups.

With a history dating back over 300 years, ramen noodles have undergone an incredible transformation from their humble origins as Chinese-inspired fast food. And, needless to say, true ramen is nothing like the Styrofoam-packaged Cup o’Noodles that are something of a staple amongst American college students. With that said, if you’re still unconvinced that ramen noodles can be as gourmet as a finely aged cheese or a hand-plucked wild mushroom, head to Ippudo NY and see what you’ve been missing.

Ippudo NY is located on 4th Ave between East 9th and 10th Streets, and is open daily for lunch and dinner. For more information, check out www.ippudo.com/ny.

New Virgin V Australia flights to fly between Sydney and Los Angeles

by Grant Martin on

Is Richard Branson singing you to sleep and feeding you oatmeal in the morning yet? No? Well then he hasn’t yet nuzzled his way completely into your life. Not to fear, you’ll be wearing Virgin loafers and listening to Virgin Radio on your Virgin phone some day soon.

Branson’s newest airline venture, an off-shoot of Virgin-Blue, the new Australian Low Cost Carrier, is called simply V Australia. He plans to fly routes between Sydney and Los Angeles on Boeing 777’s in direct competition to Australia’s national carrier Qantas, who currently has a stranglehold on the market.

Because of tight supply, Qantas has historically been able to charge around 1500$ for a round trip flight between the two cities. Branson hopes to kick off some serious competition on the route and this past Monday announced the first 1,000 tickets would be sold for 777$ — those sold out almost immediately.

For what its worth however, the Chipmunk-eque British billionaire did promise fares in the 375$ range sometime in the future. We’ll see if that ever comes to fruition.

Service is slated to start in December of this year, with tickets already on sale for journeys afterwards. Rest assured — Gadling will be on hand to test drive the new service too. Word on the street is that they’ll also be partnering with Northwest Airlines, so look forward to the potentials of mileage and booking alliances.

Check out V Australia’s website for more info and to book tickets.

Ten tips for smarter packing

by Kent Wien on

If you haven’t checked out the search engine Mahalo, you might be pleasantly surprised. Mahalo’s goal is to hand-write and maintain the top 50,000 search terms. The effort they’re putting into these articles is refreshing. They’ve even tackled a subject near and dear to Gadling; ten packing tips for your next trip.

I was glad to see that I’ve incorporated at least eight out of ten of the tips when flying. For now, I might pass on donating my clothes at my destination, and I would add a couple of others, like making a checklist–which admittedly I still haven’t done even after forgetting to bring pants on my last London trip. To avoid the real horror of forgetting a power adapter for my laptop, I’ve bought an extra to leave in the suitcase permanently, along with my second set of toiletries which are a must.

How about you? Let us know of any tips that you’ve discovered to make packing less of a pain or if you’ve found a better way to travel light.

Camel cheese – coming soon to a grocery near you

by Jeremy Kressmann on

As any proper Bedouin will tell you, camels are an essential part of a nomadic desert existence. They provide a convenient method of transportation, require little water and can stand up to great extremes of temperature. We now also know that they provide the perfect compliment to your next cheese and cracker platter. I’m talking more specifically about camel cheese, the latest delicacy to make its way to grocery stores here in the U.S.

The camel cheese trend started in the African nation of Mauritania, site of the world’s first and, to the best of my knowledge, only camel dairy farm. Mauritanians consume camel milk as part of their everyday diet, but it was a local expat named Nancy Abeiderrahmane who first got the idea to turn the milk into cheese to preserve its shelf life. The idea was a hit, and Nancy has been producing camel cheese ever since.

The cheese made its debut in the New York City area this past month. Connoisseurs compare it favorably to goat cheese, citing its subtle “barnyard flavors” and the ability to spread it easily on bread or crackers. When it comes to food, nothing wins me over quicker than when I hear phrases like “barnyard flavors.” Pick up some now for your Final Four party this weekend!

[Via Buzzfeed]

Where on Earth? Week 52

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Hints are sparse in this photo, so I’ll give you one: this was taken near a very large religious landmark.

Think you know where this is? Leave your guess in the comments, and come back Friday for the answer.

P.S. Happy Birthday to Where on Earth?! Can you believe it’s been a whole year?