Hanjan's Late-Night Ramyun
Sunday, April 21, 2013 at 11:39AM 
"Ramen is listed on the menu as ramyun," Wells wrote in his review of Hanjan, referring to the noodle dish that's only available after 10 p.m., "one of the large plates, which implies sharing," he continued. "I recommend eating it alone at the bar, where you can have all four slices of sweet pork to yourself and make as much noise as you want slurping the bouncy, squiggly noodles out of the steaming and chile-hot soup."
On a recent night, we did just that. It was close to midnight. There was no one at the bar and only two tables had people at them, one of which was Jean-Georges. We were only there for the ramen, because Hooni Kim starts simmering pork, chicken, fish bones, and chilies in water around noon everyday. Almost twelve hours later, the deep, spicy, rich broth is used to bathe tender, perfectly cooked noodles from Totto Ramen, a six-minute egg, scallions, and pork belly.
Makgoelli was the drink of choice. It's a wheat and rice fermented beverage - sort of a sake/saison hybrid. It's only slightly effervescent and it has a subtle sweetness that's perfect with the spicy noodles.
There was no shortage of flavor in the ramyun ($16), and the effort to source makgoelli ($9) does not go unnoticed. But neither does the price of late-night dining in Flatiron, where bigger spaces and higher rents affect the menu prices. When you compound these factors with the well-deserved attention Hooni Kim has received of late for his stellar cooking at Danji and Hanjan, the experience is likely to ring in a bit higher, which is why three bowls of ramen and three beers on 26th Street is $81 before tip.
