I have been to Hide-Chan a couple of years ago, and had a ramen there. I remember it was good, not sure if it was memorable… Anyways, we decided to go back there one weekend for light lunch. The entrance is not very obvious, so it requires extra attention. When you open the door, you are greeted with a long staircase going up.

Once you reach the top of the stairs, you see a colorful painting on the wall by the stairs, and then a hostess station. That area pretty is pretty small, so if the restaurant is packed, people will be hanging around on the staircase. Behind the hostess station (or podium) is a ramen kitchen and counter seats.

 

On the other side of the hostess station is a dining area with tables and chairs, but not very large. They have some interesting wall decoration, and they use a lot of bright red.

We were not really in the mood for ramen that day, and we did not realize they don’t offer other main dish other than ramen… Instead of leaving and looking for another spot to eat, we decided to order few small plates. We started with hot Green Tea ($1.50), which we never got the refill… Otherwise, it was nice.

We ordered Regular Gyoza (10 pcs/$8), Pork Buns (2 pcs/$8), and Fried Chicken (6 pcs/$7). We got our food almost as soon as we put in the order, that led me to believe they were NOT made to order. I rather wait for the food to be prepared fresh, instead of being just sitting around there under the hot heat lamps.

Fried Chickens were ok, but not great. Looked a little too fried (charred). I certainly had much better ones elsewhere… The pork buns had a bit too much sauce which was a bit too salty. I felt it was too expensive for the amount of pork in them. For $4 each, I wanted more quantity and quality. Otherwise, the pork was nice and tender, and pretty tasty.

 

The gyoza was too sticky, they were completely attached to each other. They came falling apart as we tried to separate them. It was tasty though, but I wish all the ramen shops out there would stops making gyoza in this way…

Overall, we were disappointed with food and service – especially with the service.  We did not get refill on water or hot tea. None of the waitress/staff came to check on us, not once, until we finished eating and it was time to pay. We felt like we were not important customers to them, maybe because we didn’t order the main dish (ramen)? I believe every customer is as important, regardless of how much food and drink they order. I am not sure if I would be going back to Hide-Chan, but thankfully, there are many, many restaurants that serves ramen in the city, so I can always get a nice bowl of ramen any time, anywhere.

 

Hide-Chan Ramen – 248 E 52nd St, New York, NY 10022