Yoshiharu is another ramen shop that specializes in tonkotsu ramen, but interestingly enough, they don’t seem to offer a “straight” tonkotsu ramen. They have tonkotsu shoyu, tonkotsu miso, a tonkotsu spicy miso, tonkotsu black, and a tsukemen. And a vegetable ramen. They also offer a few options on the accoutrements. You can order the chashu…
Tetsuya is a ramen shop in Sapporo Japan that’s been open since 1997, and this is the instant brick version of their tonkotsu-shoyu ramen. This instant ramen also tries to be a bit healthy, with noodles that aren’t fried in oil like most other brick ramen. This was great! The Tetsuya ramen has a satisfyingly…
Mitsuwa is having its Umaimono Gourmet Fair and Tanaka Sobaten is making an appearance. There’s exactly one item on the menu: their signature chuuka soba. The ramen comes with just a few basic toppings: lots of green onions and deeply marinated menma, and a few thinly sliced pieces of chashu. The ramen is delicious! The…
I’ve previewed Daikokuya when they first soft-opened but have never formally reviewed it. Since it’s been so long and a few things have changed, I decided to start the new year right with another visit to this popular and expanding ramen chain. First, a few small changes: the fancy restaurant pager is gone, replaced by…
Tokyo Table is a fine dining restaurant that offers “modern yet authentic Japanese cuisine, complemented by tastes from other Asian and world cultures.” I have a tendency to look down on and avoid “fusion” type restaurants (more on this later) like Tokyo Table, whose signatures dishes include “sushi pizza” and “grilled pesto salmon.” I recently…
Among the unique logistical nightmares I face when traveling with a group of people is: 1. how do I trick–I mean convince everyone to eat ramen with me, and 2. how far out of the way can I coerce everyone into going for ramen? Recently, I was excited to be able to try another bay…
There are hidden gems, really hidden gems, and then there’s Kairakutei Ramen. Nestled in the corner of a strange two-sided plaza that can be best described as a sandwich cut into two triangles, Kairakutei doesn’t even have a sign that says “Kairakutei,” at least none that I saw. Unless you can read Japanese, the only…
There are numerous kinds of instant ramen, from the ubiquitous brick ramen, to cup and bowl ramen. A less common type of instant ramen is “stick ramen.” Unlike the other kinds of instant ramen, stick ramen noodles are packaged straight, like a package of spaghetti. As with other kinds of instant ramen, stick ramen comes…
Kohryu Restaurant has gone through not only a change in ownership but a complete remodel since my last review. After their grand re-opening in January, I thought I’d give them another try. We arrived in time for a late lunch, hoping there’d be less people…wait, why are all these people huddled outside (it was really…
Orange county residents: if you haven’t gone to the Costa Mesa Mitsuwa Ramen Festival yet, you have one more day to go, unless you want to go to Torrance or San Diego. Fellow ramen blogger Keizo has already covered all three locations, but was nice enough to join me today (thanks for the ramen souvenirs!).…
This is different. Hirauchimen to dashisyoyu…flat-made noodles with pork bone shoyu soup…more or less. (Trivia: the kanji for pork in Japanese is the kanji for dolphin in Chinese!) This was pretty good! It doesn’t taste like a “typical” ramen. The noodles are flat and chewy and the soup is pretty tasty and rich. There’s a…
very…ordinary but in a decent way. the meat is the typical poor excuse for a sliver of meat in these instant ramens…but it’s…slightly…spicy? …iiiiiiinteresting…well it’s not great but it’s not bad. it gets a 5.