Alice Y.
Yelp
4 stars for tasty food, big portions, and friendly staff. Ironically, I like their other food more than their ramen, though there have been some hits and misses.
***
This small restaurant is located in a quiet strip mall. My bf and I usually come here on a weeknight. Otherwise, they get quite busy with guests and take out orders. Most tables seat 2-4.
I like the brightly lit wooden interior. It's casual, with TVs, One Piece figurines, and alcohol bottles decorating the walls.
Service is generally good. There was one employee who was super sweet and fast. Another person who might have been the owner was also kind. We've had only one hiccup in our overall dining experience. There was one time when our table didn't receive both entrees at the same time even though every other table did. We basically didn't get to eat together.
APPETIZERS ORDERED
- Pork Buns ($8.95 - 2 pcs). Juicy, slightly fatty, melt-in-your-mouth ribbons of pork topped with pickled onion, green onion, and a sweet and sour sauce. Delicious! The white bun was also warm and soft.
- Spam & Tamago Musubi ($4.5). This was good, but hard to eat because of the sweet soy glaze drizzled on top. It got all over my hands as I was eating, and I'm sure I looked insane. Otherwise, the egg was fluffy and juicy and the spam was not too salty. The rice was perfectly chewy.
- Side Salad ($6). Neatly sliced green lettuce topped with canned yellow corn and plum tomatoes. The dressing was light, cool, and refreshing the first time we got it. It was on the blander side with a hint of sesame and herbs. When we ordered it again, the dressing was out of this world! It had smoky roasted sesame, sweetness from some sort of fruit, tanginess, and a hint of spiciness from horseradish or mustard or something.
ENTREES ORDERED
- Beef Curry with Rice ($14.50). The beef was good and on the thicker side compared to gyudon meat. The curry was also good: savory, slightly sweet, mildly spiced, and not too salty. I really liked the carrot and potato and wished there was more of it. The rice that day was chewy, but a little soft for me. The toppings of green onion, seaweed, and half of a marinated egg were quite generous. In fact, the portion was so massive that I took half of it to go.
While the side of miso soup was sort of lacking on the miso, it had a nice umami flavor. The pickled carrot and onion were alright.
- Butadon ($14.50). The meat was thicker than I would have liked for a rice bowl. I didn't like the sauce at all; it was very salty and sweet. It also could have used more onion flavor. My bf said the poached egg helped balance the salt.
- Cold Original Ramen ($16.50). This was a summer special that seems to have stuck year-round. Even though I don't like cold noodles in general, I enjoyed the chewy texture of this cold ramen noodle. The cherry tomatoes were fresh. Julienned cucumber was also good choice, but the wet lettuce was not for me. I thought the broth was just okay. Something about its acidity and sweetness reminded me of Italian salad dressing without the herbs.
- Tonkotsu Original Ramen ($16.95). The serving was large enough for my bf and I to share. I liked the creaminess of the broth, but it was more garlicky than porky - not what I was looking for. The toppings were generous and included 4 slices of chashu instead of only 2 like most places. The chashu had good grilled flavor with a light sweetness, but the meat was harder than I liked.
We made the ramen a combo by adding 2 pieces of agedashi tofu for $4. I enjoyed the silken tofu bathing in umami dashi stock. The light fry on the tofu gave it that thin layer of chewy "skin" that I go feral for!
For $2, the side of plain blanched bok choy was expensive - but at least it was cooked well.
