Jeff M.
Yelp
Downtown Woburn has become pretty Asian centric which makes us very happy. Replacing a former Thai restaurant, Plearn Park doesn't miss a beat in terms of matching its predecessor and in fact, brings even more variety to the restaurant scene with some much needed ramen.
We have been crowing for years, "such and such place is great, but nobody offers really good ramen". Salem or Boston Cambridge were how far we would venture for the rich broths that make your tummy so happy. While we did like the former Thai restaurant and remember its ghost well, PPE does them even one better!
Tucked away on Main St. and surrounded by multiple other restaurants, parking isnt the easiest but depending on the time of day, you should be able to snag a parallel spot on one of the main drags through here. You hit the double doors and are smack dab in the middle of a quaint sit-down area with a welcome booth where most of the takeout hand-offs take place.
We were seated quickly with two children and out came a complimentary plate of fried wonton wrappers with duck sauce. We asked to get an appetizer in quickly for a hangry toddler and it was rushed out to us in mere minutes. The flash fried spring rolls were crunchy and brimming with cabbage. Next up were some roti & curry dip and edamame. The green pods were boiled to perfection with just the perfect amount of salt with the curry dip being the star of the show. The menu warns it's spicy but we didn't catch much of a hint of it. Our young one, a pretty picky eater, kept downing the roti so we asked for a second plate of it, also good because of how much curry sauce you get with it. I could have a meal of like three orders of these, it's that good.
As I stated, we are ramen lovers so each of us tried a different flavor. We ended up with one Miso and one Shoyu. With the meal paced nicely, out came the main courses. There was a lot of egg to be had but it was a bit short on the excellent and deep broth, and the pork was just a tiny bit overcooked. The seaweed comes in sheets and just melts into the soup where you hardly notice it. I could do without corn but this is fairly standard.....dark greens would be a nice touch.
Our server struck up conversations with us and really interacted with the kids, she was so great and they seem very happy owning the new location. They are putting out excellent fare, whether they be Indian, Thai, or Japanese. Highly recommended, like many of the other haunts on this small hidden gem block of Woburn. If you enjoy ramen and are in Burlington to Reading, you have a new spot that will shine quite nicely.