Kuro-Obi
“I've even had this at their other location at City Kitchen in Midtown West.”
“The Kuro has garlic, the Aka has spicy miso paste, the Shiro is plain, and the Cha has ginger.”
“The price is a little steep if you decide to add extras, such as an egg ($2), or extra pork belly.”
Kuro-Obi
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Pretty disappointed with my experience at Kuro-Obi.
I came a little after the dinner crowd, around 7pm on a Wednesday evening. Urbanspace is still crowded but seats are available.
Instead of calling it happy hour, Kuro-Obi (related to Ippudo) has 4 items they only offer after 5pm. This includes fried chicken, edamame, fried octopus and beer. All items are either $6 or $7.
The fried chicken looked good so I approached to order -there were 3 employees behind the counter.
I specifically asked the cashier what type of meat the fried chicken was. Were these wings? Boneless chicken breast? Thigh/other dark meat? He seemed to have no idea what I was asking, and insisted it was just cubed fried chicken.
I convinced him to please ask another employee- this person assured me it was all white meat chicken breast.
The chicken was $6.53 and came with a lemon wedge and 1 toothpick. It took about 6 minutes to prepare -not bad at all.
I was truly disappointed, however, when I got home. For the price I paid, I expected more chicken. It was not white meat at all – it was thigh meat and possibly other parts. The "bites" were fatty and chewy and disappointing. See my pictures for examples.
So sad that their employees did not know more details about the 1 of 4 items offered after 5pm. I would have never purchased the chicken had he told me the correct cut of chicken.
Ippudo's team's precise, limited sub-brand delivers an authentic experience in an accessible space.
Wonderful stuff; don't expect the top end experience, but the food delivers. The feel is a little less superlative, but that's… okay!
I'm so glad for another place to get delicious Ippudo ramen noodles, especially one that is quick and convenient!
(I was here on a weeknight, not during the lunch madness, so the wait was minimal and I was able to find a seat nearby.)
Started with the Tako-Yaki – crunchy, chewy, fried octopus in the shape of balls. My friend and I both enjoyed these. They were more filling than expected especially since we each had ramen.
We both ordered the Shiro-Obi Ramen. It was SO delicious and hit the spot. Great flavor and perfectly yummy chewy noodles.
I work a few blocks away, so I was really excited when Kuro-Obi opened up in Urbanspace Vanderbilt. I'm a huge fan of Ippudo and spicy miso ramen, so I had to get the Aka-Obi ramen with egg. I grabbed it to go, and even after a ten minute walk back to my office during winter, my ramen was still piping hot and the noodles not yet soggy by the time I sat back down at my desk. The ramen was flavored so well and cooked so perfectly! I've even had this at their other location at City Kitchen in Midtown West. Can't wait to come back!
A great spot for chicken broth lovers. Hot ramen on a cold rainy day. Easy decision. It was a late lunch so they only had cha-obi, clear broth w/ginger. It was actually really soothing and light. I added an umami egg on it, the soft yolk was easily my favorite part of the meal. The broth is very drinkable, the noodles are rather hard and the pork is pretty chewy and boring.
I decided to try the Kuro-Oni at the Urbanspace Vanderbilt instead of the 8th Avenue location because it's closer to the job and I haven't tried it from there yet so why not today it only about 90 degrees outside right ? But they are blasting the air conditioner at the job and we got on sweaters, hoodies and one girl has on her finger-less mittens on.
Well Ippudo Ramen special noddles recipe involves a process that takes over two days to make them in order for them to be perfect for take out . They then open the Kuro-Obi Ramen located inside the City Kitchen at 8th Avenue and was so successful that they soon open at Urbanspace Vanderbilt too. Now during lunch and dinner time is almost impossible to get a seat at Urbanspace, so that is no problem with their Ramem to go .
I order their basic Kuro Obi which comes with scallions and two pieces of Chashu Pork Belly. They also have the Kuro Modern, and the K.O. Karaka Men which I need to try also. I added an Umami Egg and Atsugiri which is a thick cut bacon. After I got back to the office I realized those clowns at the counter forgot my egg ;-(
The soup was thick and flavorful and met my all expectations just like before. And the as fine bone broth was a tasty fat and flavorful. The noodles, were light and springy and held up perfectly to the thick soup and the Chashu Pork Belly just fell apart into bite size pieces as soon as I touch it, yummy. The Atsugiri – bacon was a bit chewy and a little fatty but tasted so good, Ahhhaaa It was all wonderful, except for my missing egg.
Price is about $13 and these are not so big bowls takeout cups, the missing Umami Egg I paid for is $2, the Atsugiri – bacon $3 and a extra but you can add extras like Umami Tamago, (Soft Boiled Egg), Karashi Takana (Leaf Mustard) and my choice, Chashu Pork Belly is $4. They also have Japanese beer and sodas.
The cashier calls out the orders and I think they servers didn't pick out the egg part so I give them 4 stars and not 5 because they need to fix this system I could imagine what happens when it get real busy. I would still go back because it taste so good but I will double check that they gave me what I ordered.
For fast takeout ramen, this was such a delicious and satisfying lunch. I ordered the namesake Kuro-obi ramen ($12) and thought it was absolutely delicious. The rich chicken broth topped with garlic oil and the al dente noodles were just what I needed. The pork belly was pretty decent too. If you're usually a fan of Ippudo, you won't regret eating at this sister takeout spot!
It's not bad but it's nothing special. However, they have friendly and pleasant staff. I'm sure most of you have had the ramen some place else before. I had ramen with soy broth. I forgot to tell them no meat, so I had to remove it. Their style of ramen is quite al dente. It's the "New Chef on the block"! Try it if you have the craving for ramen. I think this is the only ramen place in this food court. In a hurry? Don't worry, there's a soup for that.