Kishuya: Hartsdale, NY

When our family friend told us about a new noodle bar in Hartsdale, we knew that we had to try it out. In all honesty, there aren't many in this area -- you have to either order noodles at a restaurant or travel all the way to the city to find this specialty.

We walked in during the late afternoon and were greeted by very friendly staff. We ordered two appetizers to share: green laver french fries and chicken kara-age, which is marinated in soy sauce and garlic and then deep fried. To be frank, the french fries were the highlight of the meal for me. The green laver seasoning gave just the right amount of funk, which reminded me of a childhood snack. They were addictively crisp but soft on the inside.

As for my main dish, I ordered the Kinoko Ramen. It's composed of Kishuya original seasoning soy sauce and tonkotsu (pork) broth, pork belly, assorted mushrooms, broccoli rabe, and scallion. The broth was savory, buttery, and full of umami flavor. The pork belly added a sharp punch of soy while the scallions cut the rich flavor.

My sister ordered the Miso Ramen, which included Kishuya original seasoning miso and chicken katsuo dash broth, temomi noodles topped with pork chashu, assorted vegetables, men, corn and naruto. The flavor was more potent than mine, calling for the balance between the vegetables and scallion.