196267 Fri Aug 02 18:47:06 -0700 2002 3 18 Manhattan 0 1047740 today i had the soy-based shoyu ramen special for lunch at CHIKUBU. i guess they only serve it on fridays 11:30 to 2:00. they do a brisk lunch you have to wait in line a bit. i sat at the sushi bar and immediately was worried when i did not see it on the menu. however, i really laughed at myself because when i looked up and around everybody was eating it. duh! compared to RAI RAI KEN this had much richer broth and meat. also the noodles were better. the pork melted as you ate it was sooo good. as a suprize they served a delicious iced tea w/o ice but in chilled tea glasses. the cost was $10.40 w/o tip. if you are looking for lunch around grand central on a friday this is the place. thank you thank you thank you eric eto for tipping me me off to this you are a prince. next up for me, ONY for hakata style ramen. Fri Aug 02 18:47:06 -0700 2002 0 mrnyc 1 1047741 mrnyc, I'm glad you enjoyed your Chikubu experience. They are an all-around solid restaurant besides the friday ramen special. I'm disappointed because up to a couple months back, my office was a block away from there. Now it's a significant schlep. Besides ONY, my current favorite place for tonkotsu style ramen is Village Yokocho, so perhaps you can do the honors of putting my words to the test. So tell me, how can you stand to be eating ramen in this heatwave? By the way, even though it was my post that tipped you off to the friday special at Chikubu, I was tipped off to it a while back on these boards by someone else. I'll let them be the prince. Fri Aug 02 20:46:26 -0700 2002 1047740 0 Eric Eto 2 1047802 today i finally went to ONY w/ my spouse for tonkotsu (aka hakata) style ramen. why i am craving hot soup in this weather ido not know! the milky white and rich broth suprized me by with it's pronounced ginger taste. that was ok with me i love ginger. loved that broth. a downside was the lifeless, tiny and over done pork slices. my wife had the house menchanko salmon ball ramen. other than the cabbage/bok choy (?) vegetable she liked it fine. i did not try it but it looked fine to me. a major complaint was the booming celine dion/cher wanna-be muzak blasting over the speakers. it really detracted from eating. we did not verbally complain but left a note on the questionnaire with the check. next i would like to try VILLAGE YOKOCHO and SAPPORO. i will save ONY for delivery unless they tone it down or pick some better tunes. Sun Aug 04 18:36:00 -0700 2002 1047741 0 mrnyc 3 1047817 I agree the music at Ony leaves much to be desired(they were blasting the "I am Sam" sountrack on my last visit. I've noticed the meat portion of the dish has been overcooked too. I always make note of these problems on those response cards because the managmnt. does seem very concerned about customer happiness and the food is well prepared otherwise with an attention to detail. Frank Mon Aug 05 01:52:29 -0700 2002 1047802 0 Iron frank