It’s dorm-room delicious.
At a buzzy new Long Island City restaurant, there are 115 types of instant soup on the menu — including cups of ramen — just like you might make at home. In fact, you’ll have to add boiling water and cook the noodles yourself.
Instant Noodle Factory (24-11 41st Ave., Queens) has no waiters and no public restroom. Customers order via a computer kiosk.
Minutes later, uncooked, dried noodles arrive in a paper bowl on a tray, seasoning packet on the side. An employee guides diners on how to cook their soup with an appliance that dispenses boiling water and has an induction cooktop that continues to heat the soup for a few minutes.
“We call it the Noodle Cook Machine!” said co-owner Cierra Beck of the appliance, which is from Korea.
The 27-year-old and her husband Tat Lee, 26, opened the restaurant last summer, inspired by similar concepts in Asia, where instant noodles are a common quick lunch or snack.
“We’re trying to provide a cheap tasty meal,” said Lee.
The restaurant has been so well-received that on November 27, the couple are opening a second location at 130 E. 7th Street in the East Village.
But, some on social media have questioned why anyone would want to go out for instant noodles — and have to cook them themselves — when packets can be procured so easily and cheaply at a grocery store, Lee noted that the same could be said about buying a latte when coffee beans and milk are much less expensive to purchase yourself.
“Starbucks,” he quipped, “would blow our margins out of the water.”
The noodles start at $2.40 for Buldak spicy chicken ramen and go up to $6.50 for “premium” options such as Tseng brand “handpulled-style” spicy sesame noodles, Beck’s current favor on the menu.
Customers can choose up to three free toppings, such as corn and scallions, and pay more to add on fresh proteins — from tofu ($3) to pulled duck leg ($6) — along with premium extras, such as shrimp shumai ($2.50) and grated parmesan ($1).
“It’s so different than any other instant noodle.”
Those who are, understandably, overwhelmed by all the choices can opt for prearranged combos, such as “Kimcheese” ($9) — a kimchi-flavored topped with fresh kimchi, a slice of American cheese and cheddar-jalapeno sausage — and the current customer favorite “Beef Birria: ($8), which pairs Kangshifu Beef instant soup from China with corn, jalapenos and tender beef cooked in Mexican spices,
It’s the first foray into food for the couple — Lee previously worked in finance, while Beck was in software — but one they are passionate about it.
Lee grew up in Hong Kong, where the instant noodles are plentiful. Beck hails from Pennsylvania and had never had them until she was introduced by a Korean friend while an undergrad at Cornell.
Their first date five years ago ended with their eating instant ramen — Shin Black — at Lee’s apartment, and the convenience food was a key part of their courtship.
“We both had instant noodles that we liked going into our relationship, and we were excited to share the ones we liked with each other,” said Beck. “He had some noodles that his mom had to mail us from Hong Kong to try.”
The restaurant offers brands — such as Sapporo Ichiban, Nissin Cup and Shin — that are fairly easy to find in NYC, but they also have oodles of rare ones they hope people will try.
Samyang Buldak “carbonara” ramen — a creamy, spicy chicken soup — is one unique offering that customers are often drawn to sample.
The couple have found that some brand’s imported noodles are quite different than those they are selling on the American market with similar packaging.
“We found out for the most part, the Korean version tastes better,” said Lee.
But important isn’t always easy.
“We have to do these shipments of thousands of noodles from Korea. We’ve talked to some people who are like, ‘we’ll ship you our noodles if we can send you a 20-foot container of them,'” he said. “It’s been a journey.”