You are learning expressing preferences: you will read the scene it happens in, take apart the pattern behind them (preference expressions), hear them in a conversation, rehearse them, and finish by saying one thing out loud to be graded.
Ivan Ramen or Ichiran — two of NYC's best ramen shops. Choosing between dishes, expressing dietary needs, and reacting to food with the vocabulary of someone who eats with intention.
Ivan Ramen on Clinton Street in the Lower East Side was opened by Ivan Orkin, an American who moved to Japan in his thirties, learned to make ramen from scratch, opened two acclaimed restaurants in Tokyo, and then came home to New York. The ramen at Ivan Ramen is Japanese precision made by someone who understands both cultures.
The stranger orders the shio (salt) ramen. It arrives: pale golden broth, thin noodles, chashu pork, a soft-boiled egg. He takes a sip. The broth is almost impossibly complex — layers of seafood, chicken, and something floral.
"Do you have a spicy option?" he asks.
"You can add chili oil on the side," the server says.
"This is incredible — the broth is so rich and clean at the same time. I prefer the shio to tonkotsu, I think." The server nods, genuinely pleased by the observation.