Gen Ramen House
“Love the Gen Paitan Ramen which is A1 on the menu.”
“There was an interesting depth of flavor: including a hint of spice and sesame oil.”
“Homemade Char Siu and sandwich on a rice bun with lettuce and spicy mayo sauce.”
Gen Ramen House
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
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This bowl of ramen is worth every penny of that $6.50 you're gonna shell out on it… For the price it's not bad, thus the 3 stars. If you want top notch knock your socks off ramen this ain't it.. If you're in the hood and have $7 in your pocket and have a hankering for ramen this will suffice. The chicken based broth while sufficiently tasty does not have the richness and depth of flavor of a pork based broth.. Remember… you get what you pay for.. It's not a large bowl (plastic disposable bowl), the pork is tasty and tender but you get one really small slice, half soft boiled egg, some bamboo, and that's about it for toppings.. the noodles are thin and wavy and nicely chewy.. it's good and it's cheap! Also have yummy and super cheap apps like homemade gyoza (4 for $1.50), seared shishito peppers ($3.50), kimchi with apple sauce ($3.50), seaweed salad ($3.00), char siu bun ($2.00), etc.. Great bang for your buck!! 😉
One of the better places for ramen, and for a cheap price too! It is conveniently located by the B,D station so it's not a bad choice on a lazy day.
I ordered the gen spicy ramen. I love the broth. I don't think it's too salty or anything like that, just great. The meat they put in is perfect. Its so tender, it alost melts in your mouth. The texture of the ramen is also good, chewy and makes me happy.
The place seems pretty consistent too. My boyfriend said it was just as good when he ordered take out from work the other day.
Not many people seem to know this place yet. It is definitely worth trying.
Decor reminds me so much of St Marks.
Small, tidy place with limited seating, but somehow we stopped by on a Sunday afternoon and was able to dine in with a stroller parked next to our table. Nice! Best part is, our baby girl was good and let mommy and daddy have a peaceful ramen lunch. All smiles!
Super affordable ramen!
Love the Gen Paitan Ramen which is A1 on the menu. The soup was just right, not too bland or too salty.
Also love the Char Siu Bun. The sauce inside wraps up the taste.
Menu is short but the goodness is all listed!
The Husband and I both agreed on the # of stars given hehe
Tip: Check-in for a freebie: Can of Soda!
The Curry Ramen for $6.50 was legit. Not the best ramen I've ever had, but a good sized portion, came with egg and pork, noodles were good and yelp check in got me a free soda. I forgot about it until after the meal and after I paid and they still gave me the soda to go. Dope!
The people I was with got the rice and eel and the regular ramen. I did NOT like the regular curry ramen broth. The rice on the eel dish was pretty tasty though.
I would definitely come back here for a quick cheap tasty meal.
I feel like I should be ashamed for eating non-Chinese food in Chinatown. Ok, maybe I am, juuust a little..
I ordered:
Fried Dumpling
Tasty, hot, cheap, and satisfied my meat craving.
Spicy Ramen
..which wasn't spicy (wth?!) BUT the pork was amaaaaazingly tender! The noodles didn't have any chew, and were cut kind of short. Weird. The half egg was wonderfully yolky.
It was NOT a mammoth bowl of ramen, thankfully, and the price point was very reasonable at ~ $7.
Service was good – attentive and unobtrusive.
In all it was A-OK option for Japanese food in Chinatown, but not quite worthy of four stars given the lack of spice and the atypical noodles.
The stars are halfway because half our party enjoyed their food and half did not. 2 of us ordered the Gen spicy ramen, one ordered the regular ramen, and one ordered the curry ramen. One of the spicy ramen was delicious and enjoyable with nice noodles and a wonderfully rich broth. The other person who ordered the spicy thought it was very bland and lacked substance. Interestingly, the curry recipient thought the same thing of her ramen where the broth was watery with a touch of curry powder added later on leaving much to be desired.
We did start the meal with some takoyaki and seaweed salad. The takoyaki was small but tasty while the seaweed salad was very … fishy. This might mean it's fresh? Not really sure why but we've never had seaweed salad taste so much like the actual sea! We didn't enjoy this at all, unfortunately.
Overall, only 2 of us might come back to this place while the other 2 definitely would not be back. Bring a group and see how it goes!
Let's get straight to it with this ramen shop. I went here solo just to see if you could possibly get a decent bowl of ramen for less than $7 in NYC. The ramen is $6.50 and no, it's not instant ramen in a cup. I was afraid that might be the trade-off. And no, the ramen isn't a super small portion. So far, I'm thinking "we're in the clear man! This is your budget bowl of ramen and it's going to be good!"
And it was! He shoots, he scores… the Spicy Ramen ($6.50) I got was a decent sized bowl, maybe not a huge one like Mr. Taka but that bowl is $16 to start and I have to say, a challenge to finish for most people (I finished it, don't worry). It also included pork chashu, seaweed, bean sprouts, some greens, and half AN EGG in the $6.50 price. Just give me the damn egg included… if this place can do it, everyone can.
I also got a pork bun (1 for $2 or 3 for $5) which was simple but delicious. I mean there are great pork buns in a lot of places all over the city but the going rate is 2 for $9 and sometimes, let's be honest, they are forgettable. Considering the price, these were tasty, super tender (bun and pork), and even memorable in my opinion.
The service is good, I'm more about the food, but these guys gave me water, free tea, and were super attentive. It was like eating at the kitchen counter at your friends house except my friends aren't japanese chefs (I wish they were, apply within). I got to watch them make everything at the bar and the process was the same as most other ramen shops.
The trade-offs (they have to do something to offer these prices):
– The two pieces of pork chashu in the ramen were sliced somewhat thin
– You just get a half egg
– Portion size is filling but not huge
This is a great place to go for a quick bowl of ramen where you don't want to end up spending $20+ on one meal. My total with one bowl and a pork bun came to $9.25 with tax (plus tip). That's the best deal on ramen I've seen in NYC even counting lunch specials. If you have a friend whose never had ramen and doesn't want to commit to a $15 bowl, this is a great place to get a feel for what it's all about.
I found this via Yelp when I visited NY in December. It's in Chinatown about 3 blocks from the Grand St subway stop. Small place but well arranged seating area. I came here on a Sunday evening around 6 and the place was empty but 3 groups came in right after me.
I ordered Gen Fried Dumpling, Ebimayo & Gen Spicy Ramen. Dumplings were just the right texture. Ebimayo was not too greasy and had great crunch. The ramen was full of ingredients but it could've been spicier for my taste. For a mere $20 bucks, you get a filling feast 🙂
There's an abundance of cheap good eats in Chinatown. This place is another good addition to this neighborhood.