Pete Wells Finds Lip-Smacking-Good Ramyun at Jeju Noodle Bar

In an increasingly crowded ramen scene, Times critic Pete Wells finds that the Korean-influenced soups at Jeju Noodle Bar stand out. He praises the West Village newcomer from chef Douglas Kim for its ramyuns that are “so carefully considered” and “so well harmonized.” He writes:

All of Jeju’s broths have the body and texture that comes with boiling and skimming for hours over an abundance of meat and bones. The pork soup called gochu ramyun has a similarly lavish texture; heavy on the slippery collagen that holds pigs’ feet together, it glides across your lips. This broth, though, is spicy, and the gochujang spooned over the seared pork belly slab on top makes it even more so. This is Mr. Kim’s most obvious homage to Korean instant ramens, many of which are more fiery than the typical Japanese product.

Beyond the three soups, Wells also enjoys several of the “nuanced” starters, like the cucumber kimchi and amberjack salad, while calling the tuna yuk hwe “pallid” and “unforgettable.”

As for the service — which unorthodoxly doubles up cooks as servers in order to bring back-of-house staff into the tip pool — Wells found it “muddled.” Two stars.

Gary He

• Instant Korean Ramen, Made the Hard Way [NYT]
• All Coverage of Jeju Noodle Bar [ENY]