I mis-timed my day and since it takes quite a while to get to midtown or below I ended up trying to get into Totto at about 8:30 tonight, and of course was greeted by the same crowd waiting for their tables. I figured it about a 1-1.5hr wait, so I hopped back on the train to the lower East side to try Kambi's sister restaurant Minca. Once I found it (a tiny bit off the beaten track) I got a seat immediately (luckily I don't really care if the place is hot/popular right now, I'm only here for a few days and I just want a good bowl of ramen). The staff here, like at Kambi, are all Korean, or at least they are all speaking Korean to each other. I decided to keep trying different types of ramen, so tonight was my first bowl of Tokyo style shoyu ramen, including a broth made from chicken and dried seafood. Apparently mixed-type broths are a big thing in Japan now. I finally got to have my thick wavy noodles, since Minca lets you mix and match your noodles, charsiu and soup.
It's actually called "Wahoo" ramen on the menu
A well constructed and presented bowl, the soup was both flavourful and light, successfully avoiding the saltiness or blandness I sometime find with Tokyo style. The pork charsiu was very tender, so much so in fact that it fell apart in the bowl, and so was a little difficult to eat. There were also generous portions of menma and wood ear mushroom on top. The noodles were fine, maybe a tiny tiny bit overcooked as I like some chewiness to my noodles.
Still not my favourite bowl, and making me set on trying Totto tomorrow for a last attempt at the perfect NYC ramen bowl.
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