Ichiro Kitchen Express offers ramen, hibachi near CCSU
Location has same principals as Ichiro Hibachi and Sushi in West Hartford Center
The newest restaurant in the neighborhood near Central Connecticut State University is an Asian fast-casual place with a familiar-sounding name: Ichiro Kitchen Express, at 1460 East St. in New Britain.
Two principals of Ichiro Kitchen Express, Jimmy Zhu and Vincent Ouyang, also are principals in Ichiro Hibachi and Sushi in West Hartford Center. However, the two restaurants are separate business entities.
“Ichiro is dine-in. Ichiro Kitchen Express, the setup is different. It has seats, but we focus on takeout,” Ouyang said. Vincent Lee, who works frontof-house, is the third partner at Ichiro Kitchen Express.
At Ichiro Kitchen Express, no sushi is on the menu — yet — and Chinese and Thai dishes are sprinkled in among the hibachi, yaki soba, udon, edamame, miso soup and takoyaki balls.
Ichiro Kitchen Express also serves ramen. The ramen servings — vegetable ($11.95), and pork, beef, shrimp or chicken ($12.95) — are fragrant, generous bowls full of broth, noodles, marinated hard-boiled eggs, fish cakes, onions, carrots and bamboo shoots.
“Ramen is the most popular dish so far,” said Lee, who opened the shop in late March. All three partners hail from Fujian, China.
Another favorite is the hibachi, which is served with rice, noodles, vegetables and onion soup. Varieties include vegetable ($10), chicken or shrimp ($11), steak ($12) or salmon or scallops ($14). The hibachi proteins also can be served as a side order, for $6 to $8.
Bento boxes, with rice, spring rolls and miso soup, come in
sesame chicken, sesame beef, General Tso’s chicken and orange chicken ($14); vegetables with chicken ($11), beef or shrimp ($12) or a mix of all proteins ($14); and teriyaki chicken ($11), steak or shrimp ($12) or a mix of all ($14).
Fried rice ($6 to $13), hibachi noodle ($7 to $14), and pad thai, yaki soba and yaki udon (all $11 to $14) come with the option of vegetable, chicken, beef, shrimp or a mix of all.
Appetizers, ranging from $3 to $9, include miso or onion soup; salad; edamame; harumaki; shrimp or pork shu mai; pork, vegetable or beef gyoza, calamari, shrimp, crab rangoon or takoyaki octopus balls.
The seating area is comfy, with sofas and a TV. Décor is tonguein-cheek. Posters poke gentle fun at Japanese cultural touchstones, such as Godzilla bathing in ramen; Hokusai’s “The Great
Wave off Kanagawa” reimagined as a bowl of ramen on a rampage; and a crowd of maneki-neko waving cats.
Ichiro Kitchen Express, 1460 East St. in New Britain, is open Monday, Wednesday and Thursday 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday noon to 10 p.m.