Myers + Chang is the Latest Spot to Serve Ramen

Following in the footsteps of Guchi's and Uni, the South End Asian eatery now offers ramen at lunch.

Ramen with fermented tofu, shrimp, and scallion butter at Myers + Chang. (Photo by Karen Akunowicz)

When Guchi’s Midnight Ramen burst onto the dining scene this year, it subsequently whirred the dining public into an excited ramen frenzy—and then frustrated folks when the late night pop-ups sold out immediately.

There has been a silver lining, however, to the scarcity of Guchi’s: local restaurateurs have noticed a hole in the local food landscape that clearly needs filling. To wit, Ken Oringer recently rolled out some more readily available ramen at his Back Bay sashimi bar Uni, which you can order Thursdays-Saturdays after 11 p.m.

And as of today, those who aren’t able to (or simply don’t want to) wait up that late for a brothy bowl of noodles can head to South End eatery Myers + Chang, which has officially added ramen to its weekday lunch menu. Today, I spoke with M+C chef Karen Akunowicz about the no-brainer decision to make the dish a permanent menu fixture (it has been available as an on-and-off special for the past week or so).
“We’ve actually have been talking about it for a little while,” Akunowicz says. “It’s definitely been on our radar, but with the craze right now, it would be silly not to put it out there.” Her version features kyushu-style noodles (long and thin, rather than crinkly) in a fermented tofu broth with shrimp, tofu, a six-minute egg, nori, miso, and scallion butter. “It’s definitely got some funk to it from the fermented tofu,” Akunowicz says. “It’s a pretty strong flavor, and pretty amazing.”

The ramen clocks in at $12 for a sizable bowlful, and currently is available at lunchtime only (though Akunowicz says: “If there’s an outcry we would consider it for dim sum or the dinner menu”). While Boston still has a long way to go before we’re recognized as a town with great ramen, it’s fantastic to have some more options (particularly ones that don’t require eating close to midnight).

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