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CORNELL CONCERT SERIES PRESENTS

Sco ish Sco ish Chamber Orchestra Chamber Orchestra

with Nicola Benedetti

SATURDAY OCT 15 3PM

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Maru Ramen provides authentic Asian fare in a traditional setting. (Photo: Josh Baldo)

Maru Ramen: Delicious Asian Fusion

By Henry Stark

Maru Ramen is a Korean restaurant specializing in Japanese food that originated in China, that fuses Asian cuisines on the west side of State Street in Ithaca. Its name can be translated to mean round wheat noodles in broth: the two basics of ramen. A er those two elements, the rest of ramen dishes are up to the improvisation of the chef. Dishes can include literally dozens of ingredients based on regional, and individual preferences. e noodles, which originated in China, are almost always made of wheat. At Maru Ramen you can also order rice or yam noodles if you want gluten-free. ese noodles can be thin or thick, long or short, straight or ribbon-like. e broth is usually robust and made from chicken or pork stock and is cooked a long time under extreme heat to absorb as much avor as possible. Maru Ramen makes their own broths, including vegetable, which could stand alone as hearty soups. e restaurant uses various toppings on their ramen including, among others, a slice of boiled egg, toasted sesame seeds, seaweed, ginger, and scallions. eir ramen dishes range in price from $10.90-$14.00 and I have always taken at least half home with me. e Shitake Mushroom dish is excellent. It’s vegetarian and is made with a vegetable broth with a soy sauce base and comes loaded with the mushrooms. Tonkotsu ramen is popular in Japan and here it’s served with a pork bone broth, dashi, (mixed hearty stocks forming the basis for various soups), and topped with chashu, (sliced pork tenderloin).

Besides ramen, the restaurant o ers several other major categories: Hirata Buns, Pho, and BiBimBop.

Hirata Buns are a Korean version of a small sandwich. Here they are o ered as one portion ($5.50) with a choice of four llings, or two portions, ($9.99). e buns are steamed and a bit “doughy.” I enjoy the Chicken Bun with Hoisin sauce. Some of the ingredients in the buns are repeated in the ramen main courses so you may not want to have so much pork, chicken, or shitake mushrooms in one sitting.

Pho is a Vietnamese noodle dish made with rice noodles (as opposed to wheat) and an herbal (rather than robust) broth. At Maru Ramen you’ll nd four of them ($12.50-$13.50) all mixed with bean sprouts, cilantro, very thinly chopped green onions, and part of a so -boiled egg. ere’s a spicy seafood pho, and a beef pho, among others. e beef pho, “Bulgogi” is made with a light beef bone broth