When west meets east, both inside Manhattan and out of it, it generally means a fusion of something delicious and interesting that you need to try. This is exactly what is happening when new spot E.A.K. Ramen will be opening their doors to the public for the first time on Wednesday. Located at 469 6th Avenue, E.A.K. Ramen’s wants to spread their IEKEI style of ramen all over the world. We got a taste of this and so much more this past Thursday night, and you are definitely in for a real treat when this spot opens tomorrow.

What is IEKEI style anyways? It essentially means the marriage between the Tonkotsu style from the West (Kyushu), and Shoyu style from the East (Tokyo). The primary difference between their special ramen and the run of the mill that populates Manhattan is that they use spinach instead of chopped onions as well as having a very distinct, thick broth. Naturally, even reading this got me very excited and that did not dull down as I took my friend there to experience it all.

The location itself rings true to what you would normally see in a ramen shop here in Manhattan. I always prefer locations to be smaller in size as I do feel there is a good amount of intimacy surrounding the entire place, which is exactly what you get with E.A.K. Ramen.

At the tasting, they had four different ramen options to try from. As someone who dares to not stay away from heat, I immediately beelined to their Oh So Hot! option. This came in a pork and chicken broth with pork chashu, seasoned egg, nori, bean sprouts, cabbage, spinach, sesame oil and spicy miso with ground chicken. This was literal heaven in a bowl. I love when you are able to combine so many flavors into one dish, yet none of them outpower each other. You have the great crunch with the cabbage and the pork with the spicy miso making the dish have an intense amount of flavor to it without it going overboard on your palate. The Zebra Ramen (our featured image) was also fantastic, with smaller components such as a roasted umami garlic oil that can be a bit hit for the garlic lover in your life.

Outside of their wonderful ramen options, they also have some great starters that are a must before you dive head into the noodle and broth explosion. We loved their Gobo Chips (thinly sliced Burdock root which was salted to perfection), as well as their outstanding Gyoza, which was pick a part-dunk in your soy sauce fantastic.

Overall, we had a blast at E.A.K. Ramen and hope you do so as well when they open tomorrow! For more information on E.A.K. Ramen, check out their official site.