"I was really excited to try Ani Ramen! I've never been, but I've had to walk through Ani Ramen in Jersey city when my friend and I did a Sushi By Bou experience and I loved the ambiance in JC. They carry the ambiance throughout each location. Maplewood is just as cool and you can get lost in the walls and zone out while staring at the funky wall paper. I only wish the food was as good or cool as the wallpaper. We ordered spicy miso ramen, chicken karrage, soy glazed bao buns, the glazed chicken wings and were offered the pickled cucumbers as complimentary. The cucumbers were the most flavorful dish we ate, probably because they were the only item required to have salt in the preparation. I was wildly disappointed with the chicken karrage- overly fried and served with the wrong kind of dipping sauce. I would have expected a thicker sauce that could cut through the fry flavor, but unfortunately soy sauce was not the magic trick. The wings were OK, and the sauce it came with worked well with the chicken karrage, we should have asked for more on the side. My favorite part of the chicken bao buns was the spicy Mayo and I wish there was more of it to go around. And lastly the ramen doesn't hold up to NYC standards, the broth was decent, but the noodles and pork belly were lacking in my opinion. I had really wanted to like this place, what a cute little spot close to my childhood home. Unfortunately I'll have to stick with the mom pop shops from my teenage years and if I'm coming to Maplewood, stick to the Trat, Arturo's, st. James or Coda."
