I feel very mixed giving 4 stars for $30 ramen, but I think the fact that it's vegan but doesn't taste vegan combined with the gorgeous interior of the space may help to justify it?? Everything on the menu is plant based, and while I'm a meat lover through and through, I was very intrigued. Once I got past the sticker shock (typical Ippudo ramen are in the high teens to lower $20's), I decided I needed to try the "tonkotsu" and see for myself how rich they could make a plant based broth that is traditionally pork based. OH MY. they did it. They really did it. How did they get the broth to be so creamy?? So rich?? Answer: mushroom and soy milk? No matter, I was so impressed! The grilled eggplant slice in the tonkotsu was soooo melt in your mouth and the pickled carrots added a nice refreshing zing, while the fried enoki provided a tasty crunch. The husband was less impressed with his shoyu ramen, which is generally lighter than the tonkotsu to begin with, but I still thought they did a great job with the broth. All in all, I don't know the variety of options out there for vegans, but ippudo V did a banging job of delivering on the umami. If I didn't have a side by side comparison I'm not sure that I'd be able to recognize that this broth is plant based! The price is not my cup of tea, but hey, I'll stick with my meat-based $20 ramen! read more