The July opening of Nagasaki Noodle House added to the staggering array of appealing nooks of truly good food in West Chester. The borough is simply mushrooming with great places to eat.
The comfort of the restaurant is felt throughout, accented by a keen sense of very intentional friendliness. The 40-plus seats in the dining room are under the watchful eye of an attention-getting geisha photo peering out from behind the sushi bar. The room is modern without being chilly or austere. Minimal adornments make for clean lines and a frank focus on the food.
Hung Ngai and his very hospitable crew are all over the scene. Trained in Japanese cuisine, the Florida transplant is on a mission to get really good ramen to the masses. “It’s good! It’s simple. It’s healthy. And I like it,” Ngai chuckled. The big flavor of the noodle-rich stock is obviously made with attention to detail and sweet sincerity. “The stock is always cooking,” said Ngai. The foundation to great soup is the broth, made bold and exciting with very slowly cooked pork and chicken bones. Nagasaki’s ramen is every bit part of that rule. The chicken katsu ramen is a birdbath-sized bowl of the classic noodles swimming in the elaborately flavored brassy broth studded with a soft-boiled egg, scallion and fish cakes.
To make the meal a challenge, the brutality of deciding between noodles or sushi is a good problem to have. The array of raw fish, tempura-imbued rolls and “not-so-traditional” selections is plentiful. The tally of sushi offering runs the gamut. The Market Street roll, Nagasaki’s biggest seller, is tempura-coated white tuna over cream cheese and avocado rolled around crab and mango, all drizzled with sweet chili sauce.
Seriously. There is also the salmon volcano roll—spicy tuna and cucumber nestled under salmon, spicy sauce, eel sauce, avocado and little crunchy tempura bits. The house specialty rolls’ menu has myriad offerings, both exciting and funny. Nagasaki is serious about food, but refreshingly not woefully swollen-headed.
Getting back into the school season, Ngai is offering a 15% discount to students as well as those tasked with jury duty at the nearby courthouse. Online ordering is also available through GrubHub, but the eclectic dining space and opportunity to relish Nagasaki’s hospitality is reason enough to make the trip and skip the take-out containers.
Find Nagasaki Japanese Noodle House at 113 W. Market St., West Chester; phone: (484) 887-8661.
Photo credits: Jim Berman
