Take a peek inside Ramen Lab from the Sun Noodle team

This city is serious about its noodles, with ramen counters cropping up all over Manhattan (Ivan Ramen), Brooklyn (Ganso) and even in LIC (Mu Ramen). The latest to join the ranks is Ramen Lab, the highly anticipated slurp shop from the Sun Noodle team that's slated to open in early January. What sets this tiny 10-seat counter apart from the flurry of others in New York is its education model. During the day, the restaurant runs as a testing facility, opening its kitchen—by appointment only—to chefs looking to tweak recipes and master the art of the noodle. 

At night, the "lab" portion is evident in scientific details: beaker water glasses, ergonomic chop sticks with tornado-shaped ridges for noodle-gripping and even an aluminum-lined ceramic bowl (designed by chef Shigetoshi "Shige" Nakamura himself) to keep the soup as hot as possible. Take a seat at the blond-wood bar from 5–10pm Tuesday through Saturday, when the restaurant goes into full swing: Nakamura layers bowls of miso and shoyu ramen ($13) with full-bodied broths, marinated pork belly and fresh toppings (minced scallion, ginger, cabbage) and offers small plates like ginger-pork dumplings and pickled eggs. Expect a drink docket highlighting imported Japanese sake and bottle beers. We got a closer look at the in-the-works menu, which you can check out below: 

Shoyu ramen at Ramen LabPhotograph: Liz Clayman

Miso ramen at Ramen LabPhotograph: Liz Clayman

Pork, cabbage and ginger dumplings at Ramen LabPhotograph: Liz Clayman

Chef Nakamura at Ramen LabPhotograph: Liz Clayman

Ramen LabPhotograph: Liz Clayman

Ramen LabPhotograph: Liz Clayman

70 Kenmare St between Mott and Mulberry Sts (ramen-lab.com)