I Tried Shaved Ice on Sorba — think Ramen — at Koa Restaurant in NYC

Outside my office, there is a restaurant called Koa. Everyday I walk by Koa on my way to and from work. They always have a sign outside highlighting their new summer dish: Koa Original Shaved Ice Sorba. They have a new noodle called Sorba, which is kind of like Ramen, but not.

At first I wasn’t sure if “Shaved Ice Sorba” was a dessert or an entrée. I heard they turned the soy sauce/whatever sauce into shaved ice and layered that on top of ramen noodles. I laughed. I kept walking. Asian fusion had gone too far.

One Friday, I got off work at 1:30 — STARVING. So, I took the leap. It was finally time to try this strange concoction. Shaved iced ramen would sound good if it was a hot summer day. But it wasn’t — it was overcast and actually a bit chilly. I contemplated just getting regular Soba because I was craving noodles. But the adventurer in me wanted to try something new, and so I was like “fuck it”, and ordered it.

So what is Shaved Ice Sorba? It is what it sounds like — a pile of shaved ice on top of ramen noodles and veggies. It was cute, kind of funny to look at. I took a bite. It was tart and would’ve been perfect for a hot day (too bad it was chilly). The taste was a bit too sour for my taste, and the noodle also felt a bit undercooked — or maybe it was just cold.

But then I took a bite of the Chashu. Despite the overly-sour sauce and the overly-hard noodle, the Chashu made up for everything. I wanted to drown in it. It wasn’t the usual Chashu that people put in ramen. It was from a fattier part of the pork. In fact, there was probably more fat than meat on that piece of pork, but it changed my life. I usually hate fat, and this piece of fatty meat destroyed everything I knew about meat in my life. It was the optimal combination of smokiness and nuttiness, with fat that was textured and melted on my tongue. The chef had taken the fatty taste out of the meat and created a smoky and savory taste that I never knew was possible. It was absolutely delicious.

I was in love. I went back another day and ordered the Chashu ramen in hopes of getting some more of the heavenly pork, but all I got was regular pork. I guess only the Shaved Ice Sorba pork gets special treatment.

Koa
12 W 21st St
b/t 5th Ave & 6th Ave
Flatiron

Sam Siu also likes pickles.