Mu Ramen
“Amazing Ramen – my favorite ramen is tied between the spicy miso and the tonkotsu.”
“Tebasaki Gyoza is a boneless chicken wing which is fried and stuffed with foie gras and brioche.”
“Have a sip; its oxtail and bone marrow broth is so full of flavor that you won't forget it anytime soon[1].”
Mu Ramen
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Accepts Apple Pay: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Hole in the wall, very limited seating so there is a wait but the hostess is friendly and attentive. The uni rice bowl is good but very small and the pancakes were too sweet- it almost ruined our appetite before the main course. The spicy miso ramen was not spicy at all and it came with udon noodle and they "make no modifications" in their menu so we couldn't even order a side of regular ramen noodle for it and instead had to order it as a side for the tonkatsu ramen. Weird.. But it was an overall pleasant and relaxing experience. Even if my review might seem otherwise
I really wanted to love this place. But it was quite a disappointment. This place has such hype as being worth the trip to venture into Long Island City. The mu ramen dish (I guess signature dish?) was just bad. See below
Now the food:
– tebasaki goyza. This was good and creative. The crunchy chicken wing with the foie gras inside worked. It was my favorite dish at this place.
– mu ramen – horrific. The noodle was one of the worst I have tasted in New York. It was completely undercooked, with dry wheat or whatever inside. Also, the noodle was shorter than usual. The soup was ok, but the corn beef was too salty. I told the waitress about the undercooked noodle, and her response was "oh".
– tonkotsu 2.0 – this was quite good. My friend ordered this and its a solid bowl of noodle. But not mind blowing good.
Tl;dr disappointment. They managed to screw up their signature dish.
Cows go Mu. Ben goes yaass.
I very rarely find myself in LIC, but after a night of climbing, a filling bowl of ramen sounded like the perfect finish to the evening. 9PM on a Sunday still proved to be busy for the small restaurant, but we were able to get a table within five minutes. Our server asked if it was our first time and went through all the menu options with us. I opted for the mu ramen, he went with the shoyu, and we split an order of the tebasaki wings.
We were initially hesitant to order the wings based on the price tag, but wow, they blew me away. The breading was the perfectly crispiness, and the chicken was as tender as could be. Because they're stuffed, my mouth went on such a journey. The richness and silkiness of the fois gras was such a delightful surprise, and I went all in to devour it.
My ramen was equally tasty. The oxtail flavor really came out in the broth and unlike at other ramen restaurants, I was lapping it up and loved the large spoon they give you. The noodles were the perfect consistency, and toppings-wise, I would've opted for an egg but there were ample toppings as-is.
I wouldn't really wouldn't change my experience for anything, although the seating can get a little awkward. They seat parties of two side by side, so you could very much be looking directly at another pair of diners while trying to enjoy your noodles. We did get our fair share of table side eavesdropping though. I'd come back!
The star of the menu is the U&I which is listed as market price and as of 7.16 it was $22. A beautifully constructed dish layered with uni, spicy maguro, ikura, rice and sesame roasted nori. The server was kind enough to advise how the dish should be consumed: with the spoon provided, scoop through all the layers and eat. DO NOT mix. Appreciated the tip! The flavor and texture combination was out of this world.
The spicy miso ramen was much less exciting. Although the broth was delicious, the bowl did not justify the $16 price tag.
The Mu ramen ($18) was excellent. Noodles cooked to perfection in soup so dense with flavor I could ditch the ingredients and just eat the soup all day.
Without a doubt, this stop makes a killer broth, the best. But other than the outstanding U&I dish, I can't rave about the ramen, especially at the prices they charge. Minus 1 star.
The missing 2nd star comes from their no doggy bag policy. I don't know why this policy is in place but if I paid $16+ for ramen I can't finish, I should be able to take it home.
This is not your simple ramen joint like Totto. Chic and more upscale. Naturally the price is a bit more and food a bit more sophisticated. My tonkotsu ramen had nice thick pork soup base without being gamey in taste. Paired with thin white noodles and topped with luscious pork belly. Boyfriend's Mu ramen had beef broth with tasty but not overwhelming beef flavor paired with wavy noodles. I enjoyed both. A lot of thought is put into the ceramics they use and lovely plants on table setting. They also do a fun take on okonomiyaki topped with smoked fish, micro greens and petals.
One of the tastiest and most unique ramen places I've been to in NYC, but also the priciest. I think overall its worth the try. Not an everyday casual ramen shop though.
The restaurant is small, with a big communal table in the middle and a handful of seats at the bar. Expect a wait at prime meal times.
Service was very attentive and they made sure to explain their dishes/specialties/what they were most popular for.
There were several things I wanted to try but it was too pricey to get everything. I ended up getting the mu ramen and my friend and I split the foie gras stuffed chicken. The mu ramen is bone marrow and oxtail broth based, topped with corned beef. Very rich and creamy. Not the best choice if you want something light. But I thought this was the most unique ramen broth I've ever had. The portion was on the smaller side but still filling enough. The foie gras chicken came out freshly deep fried, with a light dusting of flour on the outside, which formed a nice light crust. The chicken was extremely moist and juicy. The foie gras on the inside added to the richness. A bit of it seemed undercooked/just slightly cooked so I didn't eat that part and would definitely point it out next time if it happened again.
Overall very indulgent meal and I walked away satisfied. I would go back to try the uni and their other more traditional ramen.
The first time I came here a few years back, the place was closed. I don't know if they were undergoing renovations but it hardly resembled an eatery that time.
Fast forward to present day, my boyfriend and I decide to try to go to Mu Ramen again. We were happy to see that we would be able to actually eat here this time. It's very easy to miss – there is a lone lantern above the door that reads "mu ramen" in small print.
There aren't any hosts, so I didn't know whether to keep standing there or to sit down. Then I spot a sheet of paper with a list of names and as I was about to write my name, a waitress pops out of nowhere and tells me she will write my name down. Even though I'm already holding the pen? Um, okay.
We were seated in less than 15 minutes. There are no separate tables though; I was sitting with my boyfriend to my right and a stranger to my left. It was not as uncomfortable as I thought it would be. The table was pleasantly set as well.
There were only a few options of ramen, but we played it safe and stuck with tonkotsu ramen. It had pork jowl as the meat ingredient, but I asked for a side of pork belly just in case (the usual meat topping in tonkotsu ramen). I was glad that they accommodated my request since the menu said no modifications allowed. Anyway! The pork belly side order was unnecessary; the ramen was delicious the way it was with the original toppings given. It was a pleasant surprise. I also tried to plum wine and that was good as well.
We will definitely be back if we're ever in the area to try the other ramen flavors! 🙂
So I've dined here a couple times now, and decided it was finally time to leave a review. My first visit, I had treated my family out to dinner. Mind you, my mother and brother have gone to Japan on couple occasions and raved about the ramen there. My father, hates anything that is not korean food.They pretty much disliked totto, ippudo and any other ramen shop i've taken them to. However, MU Ramen is a winner! My mother and brother said it wasn;t as good as ramen in Japan, but it is the tastiest they've had in NYC. Not one complaint came from my father, so i know he enjoyed it. We collectively had all the ramen on the menu, and each ramen comes with different noodle styles, but all wonderfully prepared. U&I was also very good with good portion of uni. The clams were delicious as well, definitely order one to share!