A Restaurant Review of Batten Ramen

Ramen. Many of you may have heard this word before, especially if you happen to be one of those instant meal types, who could have lived off of this stuff while in college (I know I did). Though Ramen is actually something more than just instant noodles, most Americans, including myself, have never had any exposure beyond instant cups. And with that mentality in mind, I would have never thought that anyone could make a restaurant based around it. But recently I had the pleasure of broadening my horizons.

"Batten Ramen", located in Fort Lee, NJ, is a Japanese restaurant that specializes particularly in the Ramen noodle, adding unique compliments to it such as corn, egg, bamboo shoots, and even Asian-styled fried chicken.

The restaurant itself, located in a small shopping center, is a nice cozy hub with a warm atmosphere, though slightly cramped in terms of seating and space. For those of you who might dread crowds and the possible long wait for a table, this could be the only real downer to this dining experience in general.

Sitting down, the menu had a variety of dishes, with nearly all of the main entrees being bowls of Ramen mixed with certain combinations (cooked pork with bamboo shoots, sautéed pork with seafood and vegetables, etc.). I ordered the "Batten Ramen", which was a bowl of Ramen noodles with cooked pork, bamboo shoots, an egg, and scallions. I also ordered it with a side of curry and rice.

Overall, the Ramen entrée was excellent and substantial, being not too heavy, but also not too light. The dish itself had a very good variety and was well balanced in texture, with the firmness of the egg and the meat working in fine unison with the softness of the noodles. In addition to all this, the curry with rice was an excellent side dish to the entrée, with the spice of the curry being held mostly in the aftertaste as opposed to the blatant forefront.

By the time the dinner was over, my entire meal, including the dessert of green-tea ice cream, came out to an affordable price of $12.50. It was a real deal for the buck.

So in the end, here's the low down:

Pros:

- Good quantity of food for an extremely affordable price (roughly around $10 or less for main dishes).

- Innovative and exotic way of enjoying soup noodles.

- Good quality with a good quantity of food

Cons:

- Cramped seating and space.

- Doesn't accept credit cards!

Taking in all the factors, the overall rating comes out to be a 4 out 5 stars. Nowadays, it's pretty hard to find a good Asian restaurant that really stands out in your mind, especially if you happen to be an Asian American who grew up constantly being exposed to such things. Ironically enough, out of all the Asian foods that I would expect to stand out, the Ramen noodle was perhaps the last thing that I was on my list. After leaving the restaurant, I definitely knew one thing was for certain--I would never look at a cup of instant Ramen the same way ever again. Batten Ramen is located on 2024 Center Ave, Suite J&K at Fort Lee, New Jersey.