Bay Area Ramen rating update - 6/3/2011

Some new ramen restaurants and updates on the list. The new restaurants I found were from E-じゃん, a magazine on Japanese lifestyle in the Bay Area, curtesy of Jun.

We tried Ramen Shalala in Mountain View by Castro St recently. A post on Chow Hound claims that the chef used to work at Kahoo Ramen. Given my opinion of Kahoo, that does not raise my expectations. :p Hsin-Tien had shio while I had spicy miso. We felt that the broth lacked depth. The broth tastes like it's mostly a chicken base, so it was light and somewhat oily. The spicy miso reminded me of tan tan men. The noodles were quite good, so was the chashu, which was flavorful, fatty, and tasty. We felt that we would prefer Ryowa (Hsin-Tien) or Maruichi (me) over Shalala. The waitress did say her favorite was the shoyu, so I will probably try that when and if we come back. One final thing, the chicken karaage was a complete disappointment. There was not much taste, and the thick breading was flavorless and did not stick on the chicken properly. (HT)

I also tried Yuuraku in San Mateo. This is actually a Japanese Chinese restaurant, i.e. chinese food adapted to Japanese tastes. Still much better than American Chinese. ^_~ They have a large variety of ramen, which can be a red flag. I tried the Yuuraku Ramen since that was what was listed in E-じゃん. It was not a traditional ramen and rather interesting. The meat slices were thin but chewy with good flavor. The broth is supposed to be spicy shoyu. It's interesting but not very complex. I think overall it's an ok ramen house and would like to come back to at least verify their more traditional ramen offerings.

I have also made some adjustments to the list. I've decided to promote Santouka, since we've had it very often and still find it to be very high quality.

Pictures for Shalala:

My spicy miso and Hsin-Tien's shio

Pictures for Yuuraku:

The ramen menu and close up of the meat for Yuuraku Ramen

Revised list:

Top
Santa (Tonkotsu)
Orenchi (Tonkotsu, Shouyu, Shio)
Santouka (Shio)

Middle
Ramen Dojo (Tonkotsu stamina)
Maruichi (Tonkotsu variation)
Ramen Tenma (Okinawa, pork based)
Haru (Various)
Ryowa (Butter Corn)
Himawari (Tantan, Shio)
Yuuraku Ramen (?)
Shalala (Shio, Spicy Miso)
Katanaya (Kayanaya ramen, shyouyu-based)

Bottom
Kahoo (Shio)
Ajisen
Kumako

Question mark?
Ogisan in Campbell. New
Douhatsuten in Palo Alto.

Bay Area Ramen rating update - 11/27/2010

Wow, it has been a while.

There is a fairly new Ramen place in town, called Ramen Tenma on Saratoga Ave, in the Lion City strip mall between Mitsuwa and Halu Ramen. They claim to be Okinawa Ramen, with a pork bone soup base and thin noodles. Despite being pork bones, the soup is very light and not oily at all. The flavor is arguably a little light. They also have Okinawa Soba, which tastes more like a konbu based broth. Also very good.

Ramen Tenma also has some interesting appetizers. One is the fatty pork that you can find at other ramen places. Another is a set of 4 pieces of chashu w/ some melted cheese on top. I would recommend trying this one. Lastly, they have something called the Okinawa Bowl, which is andasu over the rice. It seems to be some kind of flavored, almost fermented pork. It's an interesting try.

Overall, I think Ramen Tenma is a decent addition to the Ramen scene in the Bay Area. And Hsin-tien and I appreciate how close to our house it is. ^_^

Pictures:




Revised list:

Top
Santa (Tonkotsu)
Orenchi (Tonkotsu, Shouyu, Shio)

Middle
Ramen Tenma (Okinawa, pork based)
Maruichi (Tonkotsu variation)
Ramen Dojo (Tonkotsu stamina)
Santouka (Shio)
Haru (Various)
Ryowa (Butter Corn)
Himawari (Tantan, Shio)
Katanaya (Kayanaya ramen, shyouyu-based)

Bottom
Kahoo (Shio)
Ajisen
Kumako

Question mark?
Ogisan in Campbell. New

Bay Area Ramen rating update - 8/15/2010

Hsin-tien and I tried Kumako in downtown San Jose a couple weeks ago. That was definitely a mistake. The only reason we went there instead of any other restaurant in Japantown San Jose was because we didn't get there until 2PM and all of the other Japanese restaurants are already closed. Nothing about the ramen was good, in my opinion. I didn't like the soup, noodles, or chasu. I would never go back again unless all of the restaurants were closed again. And even then, I would seriously consider going somewhere else...

Hsint-tien and I tried Katana-ya (刀屋) in downtown San Francisco yesterday, when we took a friend of hers to SF. When I saw their menu, providing a diverse mix of broth and many rice dishes and even sushi, I pegged them to be about Himawari or Ryowa's level. I was right. Both of us tried the Katana-ya ramen, which was unorthodox. It was a soy sauce broth, with corn, seaweed, chasu, fried gyoza, and fried chicken. For only $13, it was well worth its value. The fried chicken, or chicken karaage (), was actually pretty decent, and even withstood soaking in broth. I can't help but wonder if its four start ranking on Yelp is helped by people dropping by after drinks late at night. ^_^



Two updates this time.

Revised list:

Top
Santa (Tonkotsu)
Orenchi (Tonkotsu, Shouyu, Shio)

Middle
Maruichi (Tonkotsu variation)
Ramen Dojo (Tonkotsu stamina)
Santouka (Shio)
Haru (Various)
Ryowa (Butter Corn)
Himawari (Tantan, Shio)
Katanaya (Kayanaya ramen, shyouyu-based)

Bottom
Kahoo (Shio)
Ajisen
Kumako

Question mark?
Ogisan in Campbell. New

Bay Area Ramen rating update - 5/15/2010

I tried the shouyu ramen at Orenchi this Wednesday and I really liked it. I think it's not the usual shouyu. I'm guessing they mix in soup from the pork stock. Yet it also retains some of the fish stock, smoky taste of shouyu. I like it better than Orenchi's shio for sure.

Updated list:

Top
Santa (Tonkotsu)
Orenchi (Tonkotsu, Shouyu, Shio)

Middle
Maruichi (Tonkotsu variation)
Ramen Dojo (Tonkotsu)
Santouka (Shio)
Haru (Various)
Ryowa (Butter Corn)
Himawari (Tantan, Shio)

Bottom
Kahoo (Shio)
Ajisen

Question mark?
Kumako in Japan town San Jose. Heard it wasn't good.
Ogisan in Campbell. New

Bay Area Ramen rating update - 4/24/2010

I ate at Ajisen in Fremont and the newly opened Ramen Dojo in San Mateo recently.

I now understand why Hsin-tien never wanted to go to Ajisen. LOL It is not that special, at least in terms of a ramenya. As a noodle place, it is good. The broth is decent, but not deep. The noodles were ok. I had the spare ribs ramen, which were recommended, and I must admit to being impressed w/ the meat.

Ramen Dojo is by the same people who do Santa Ramen, so expectations were high. It opened at the old location of Santa Ramen and specialized in Stamina Ramen: spicy high-calorie ramen. There were 3 base broths: shoyuu (soy sauce), tonkotsu (pork bone), and miso. Three levels of spiciness: mild, regular, and spicy. The toppings were also a little different. There was a quail egg, roast pork, kimagure, fried garlic, shredded red pepper, sliced green onion, and chicken gravy. (I may have missed a few items.) Again, I was not impressed w/ the chasu, but I like it better than Santa. I've tried the tonkotsu and the miso at regular spicy, and I prefer the tonkotsu. The spiciness is not bad for the mouth, but could affect your digestive system. >_> I would try mild next time. Hsin-tien had the mild and it seemed like the spiciness is more controlled and generated by black pepper, not hot chili oil. Hsin-tien prefers Santa and I have to agree. Although Ramen Dojo is a good change of pace.

Pictures are from Ramen Dojo.



Updated list: (I've also decided to promote Santouka above Haru)

Top
Santa (Tonkotsu)
Orenchi (Tonkotsu, Shio)

Middle
Maruichi (Tonkotsu variation)
Ramen Dojo (Tonkotsu)
Santouka (Shio)
Haru (Various)
Ryowa (Butter Corn)
Himawari (Tantan, Shio)

Bottom
Kahoo (Shio)
Ajisen

Question mark?
Kumako in Japan town San Jose. Heard it wasn't good.
Ogisan in Campbell. New

Bay Area Ramen rating - 3/24/2010

I was eating at Kahoo Ramen for lunch today and it occurred to me that I should probably rate my preferences for the ramen restaurants that I know of and tried in the Bay Area. Just for kicks. :) I'm restricting this to restaurants centering around ramen. Restaurants that happen to serve ramen won't count. Maybe I'll have honorable mentions later on.

Anyways, here's my list of ramen restaurants, along w/ my preferred soup base.

Top
Santa (Tonkotsu)
Orenchi (Tonkotsu, Shio)

Middle
Maruichi (Tonkotsu variation)
Haru (Various)
Santouka (Shio)
Ryowa (Butter Corn)
Himawari (Tantan, Shio)

Bottom
Kahoo (Shio)

Question mark?
Kumako in Japan town San Jose. Heard it wasn't good.
Ajisen in Fremont
Ogisan in Campbell. New

It wasn't just ramen deprivation!!

Back when I was in IL, Katousan Ramen (火頭山) in the food court of Mitsuwa was the only ramen place I could find. Practically every time I went up to Chicago, I had to eat there. However, a part of me always wondered if it was actually good. Or if I was just ramen deprived.

Recently Katousan opened up a branch at the Mitsuwa here in Saratoga. I finally tried it a couple nights ago and found it to still be rather tasty, despite the abundance of ramen shops here in Bay Area. So I am glad that it wasn't just ramen deprivation that made me like Katousan Ramen! :)

Correction: It's Santouka (山頭火). :p