There are those who love ramen, and those who are obsessive. Count us firmly in the first category. We won't cross town, wait in line for hours or pore over websites just to slurp at some particularly popular noodle shop. But if we hear word of anything especially good and unusual, then we want to know all about it.
Which was why, a couple of weekends back, you would have found us on a slow train, heading toward a modest suburban shopping street on Tokyo's southwestern fringe. Our destination: Ivan Ramen Plus, a noodle counter quite unlike any other in (or outside) the city. The reason: Ivan Orkin, New York-born chef and ramen-maker extraordinaire, has just launched a hot new recipe.
That's hot as in tongue-tingling. The official name on the menu is Spicy Chili Hiyashi Mazemen. What that means in practice is a mound of fine noodles served chilled in a fiery tomato-based sauce containing plenty of ground peanuts, topped with chunks of chicken breast and long slivers of cucumber, then garnished with finely chopped negi scallions and a twist of lemon.