Samurai Papa — Ramen Daddy
Off the Avenue of the Puerto Ricos on the edge of East Williamsburg Bushwick lies another outpost of the Bozu Japanese food empire, Samurai Papa. Serving ramen, as opposed to Samurai Mama’s udon noodles, this is the second (or first?) of two Papa joints in Brooklyn. I’d tell you which came first but the About pages of every of these restaurants serve only to extoll the virtues of Kaiki water. This “revitalizing” process that boasts removing contaminants, pH-balancing and, “break[ing] apart inactive water clusters into stable molecules that are easily absorbed at the cellular level”. The devotion to the power of the process is likely my only qualm with the Bozu sushi group. However I am very willing to overlook the zaniness of their claims in praise of the excellence of their food.
Not that everything was amazing. The pork buns were above-average, well seasoned and juicy but not a bao above the rest.
The spicy fried chicken however fell flat. The mess served with the chicken (greens, onions, cherry tomatoes, cucumber) only made the dish resemble an Olive Garden salad. The habanero sauce deserves special dishonorable mention for being neither well-spiced nor habanero flavored. Italian dressing might very well have been a better sauce.
The bukkake-style ramen, however, made up for all that noise. According to their menu, bukkake-style is denoted by use of a concentrated broth for your noodles. The bowl is then served with a side of dashi to adjust the strength of the broth.
It’s pretty amazing. Maybe it’s my salt-forward palette or my predilection for strong flavors but hot damn did I enjoy that bowl of ramen. The soy-egg was creamy, the corn and bok choy sweet and luscious, the pork deeply savory. I had a damn good time chewing all the way to bottom, breaking up my salty mouthfuls with sips of clean, warm dashi.
Samurai Papa’s vibe is often too-well lit and rocking that concrete look fresh out of the Bushwick School of Interior Design. But I’m going back, or at least to the Bed-Stuy location. It’s worth it for the affordable ramen. How often do you need more than that and a beer?
