Mike K.
Yelp
Having closed during covid, this is our first venture into this restaurant. When they shuttered for so many years, they should have chained the chef, that made those awesome asian bbq ribs, to the door. Too bad the ribs are gone.
K on to the food. We ordered a Tonkotsu Ramen and a Kalbi plate. The Ramen was tasty. But at first glance it didn't look complete... While they included half a boiled egg, it was at the bottom of the bowl instead of inviting you to say hi while floating above the noodles. Additionally, there was a strange lack of green on the surface. Not that I'd expect some extra greens with Tonkotsu, but you usually at least see all of the greens onions in a bunch to the side. Not scattered all over. I mean Japanese food means presentation, no? What was presented looked like a homemade product. AND, no gyoza on the menu. A sin.
Getting back to the dish, it tasted ok. Not a very great example of a Tonkotsu broth, but for a casino offering, ok. Now, the noodles. As a previous poster said, these are not ramen noodles, there is a difference. Totally agree. It was obviously the same noodles as the regular saimin at the Market St. Cafe. No kansui, not yellow or bite at all. With Sun Noodles supplying pasta all over the nation, there is no reason to not have actual ramen noodles in ramen.
Kalbi. Every yobo family has their own take on kalbi. That being said, this offering was delicious in it's own way, but not something I'd make. The end product was so drenched in gravy that it was a paper napkin makers dream. I think for most local folks who order this, it will be a winnah. Very sweet, wet and slightly too salty. Which leads to another question... where's the mac salad to cut all of that? LOL, not even offered. The portion was huge... I mean gigantic. 4 slabs of LA Kalbi, nice. check out the aftermath in the pics. Sure put us down for not stripping all of the meat off of the bones, but it was really a lot of meat.
Overall the meal was good. A fun change from eating in the Market St. cattle call. I forget what the food coupons cover, but there are a few things covered. They should print menus with the palm tree on them... other then that, you get something like $2.75 off of regular prices.
Oh BTW, the service, from phoning in, to being seated, to watering, taking orders and service, the people in here were really good. Pretty sure we had Antonio... excellent.
Aloha, good luck. Quit when you hit something decent...