May chan ramen in the East Village
The old saying goes, "You can never have too much of a good thing." Before you think about whether you generally agree with that statement, let's apply that phrase to ramen restaurants in the East Village. Ippudo remains my favorite, although I like the straight up simplicity of Rai Rai Ken. And if Minca wasn't all the way by Avenue A, I would visit much more often. With that said, I still believe that you cannot have too much of a good thing, although economic conditions would probably be the main factor determining just how many ramen shops are sustainable in New York. Since I'm open to any new ramen place, when May Chan opened up, I had to go give it a try.
In addition to ramen, May Chan also has grilled skewers, and pajeon on the menu. I didn't want to try the skewers because there are other places on St. Marks that has them for cheaper, and suits me just fine. I did want to try the seafood pancake though, so Ming and I ordered up one of those. For $8 dollars, it was an appetizer size seafood pancake that feeds two people at most. They do a great job of achieving a good crunch on the outside.
Two different ramens caught my eye. The $14 dollar May Chan Special (spicy seafood) and the $15 dollar Stamina ramen. Obviously the prices of the ramen kind of cause me to raise an eye brow or two but that's for this kind of money, it should. Stamina ramen was really a bit confusing so when the server came by, I asked him about it. He replied in broken English about 'Chinese medicine' followed by something like, 'and you know...' He didn't even have to say it or wink or anything. I get it. Naw son, that's ok. I'll just have regular food please.
The May Chan Special ramen is just a spicy seafood ramen. The one cool thing about this bowl of noodles is that they include a piece of a small crab in the broth. They don't provide anything for you to crack the shell, so I didn't even bother with the innards of the crab. A bit sad, but you can't have it all. The broth itself was fiery hot. Not so hot as to prevent you from taking the next sip, but hot enough to burn the side of your lips as your slurping the broth.
The major downfall of the May Chan Ramen is that the ramen is just very unspectacular. It resembled Chinese egg noodles in a way. It didn't showcase any delicate craftsmanship. The fact that it was cooked past al dente didn't help matters. The noodles made this bowl an average bowl of ramen at best. May Chan Ramen is on 2nd avenue and 7th street. If you really want to check it out, it might be worth it, but there are many more worthwhile places in that area.
May Chan Ramen and Robatayaki
119 2nd Ave.
New York, NY 10003
212-982-4285
wow, $15 for a bowl of ramen is too much. I think they raised the price due to the location, otherwise, why not just go to Chinatown then. The crab addition is cute if not functional.
kim
August 19, 2009 1:54 pm
@kim,
Have to agree with you, $15 is a little pricy. At the end of the day, it's just about finding a good bowl, and there are good bowls of noodles for a bit less. And just a few blocks away from May Chan too.
Danny
August 20, 2009 5:46 pm
SEAFOOD BITS! :D
Yeah I felt the same way about May Chan. There are so many other choices so I don't know why I'd go back. :\ But I did like that they had half portions available since I didn't feel up to eating a whole bowl.
Robyn
August 21, 2009 12:45 am
@Robyn,
hahaha, seafood bits. Oh man. The half portions did look cool but aside from that... it's just average. Ippudo and Minca and Momofuku has spoiled us all!
Danny
August 21, 2009 4:51 pm
$14 for the seafood ramen doesn't seem too expensive considering the ingredients (crab). Also, Momofuku ramen is $16 if I remember correctly. Haven't tried May Chan's but may give it a try in the future.
Yunju Lee
August 23, 2009 7:31 pm