D.wight L.
Yelp
Cool and new spot in an Asian-centric strip in my hood. They specialize in Mazemen which is basically a bowl of ramen with all the accoutrements, just minus all the broth. Instead they put in a couple of spoonfuls of a thick umami ladened sauce made with lots of garlic, aromatics and maybe some miso and/or smoked fish element, maybe bonito flakes? Before digging in, you're supposed to mix everything together really well so every noodle is well coated in this sauce. I've had ramen many times and even Tsukemen where you dip noodles into a rich broth. But I gotta say, this was the first time I've ever had Mazemen.
Clean and hip spot, very light wood, comfortable spacing with the tables and stylish wall accents and lighting. I heard they may have roots from Socal and it did seem to me that they do have some experience in building a restaurant space. It didn't seem like your average mom n pop. In less than a month of opening, they already have around 100 reviews, so they knew how to get their name out there. Props to that.
Chicken Karaage ($10/4*) Nice chunks of marinated chicken thighs, fried with a sturdy crisp coating, crisp but not a thick layer. This came out super fast, like less than 3 minutes, so they must cook a bunch and stay ahead of the orders. I liked the bites for the most part but they drizzle on a sweetish-ginger-soy dressing on it, that I think I'd prefer to not have on it or at least on the side. There also was a side of some aioli type of sauce that I did try on a few bites.
Deluxe Mazemen ($21/3.5*) I was kinda hungry so I opted for the bowl which seemed to have the most protein. This had very thin slices of chasu, maybe some ground/minced pork, some scallions, lots of dried nori type of seaweed, lots and lots of dried/minced garlic and 2 types of eggs, 1 poached that you mix in with the noodles and sauce and another medium boiled egg like you'd see in any ramen bowl. So it was a heavy and filling bowl.
The noodles were very thick and chewy, I'd say closer to udon in thickness than wavy ramen noodles. After mixing the first few bites are huge hits of flavor/umami. I definitely got the garlic, some smoky fishiness and minced pork. After about bite 6, I was already kinda tired of the richness. There's an instruction on the wall that says to add the vinegar that's on the table, so I did. It did brighten up the next few bites, but after the next 5-6 bites, I was fatigued with the flavor again.
I dunno, I think Mazemen just isn't my jam. I also tire of eating a bowl of regular ramen as well but this was even more so. I think because the bowl is like 80% heavy carbs, I just don't gravitate towards those type of dishes anymore. The chasu was good but so thin that I could hardly sense it. And there is so much sauce that they'll even give you a small ramekin of white rice towards the end to absorb the rest of the remaining sauce, so more carbs. Lol
I heard they will also make ramen with broths but I didn't see it on the menu, and I know they weren't doing it during their soft opening. Since I had never tried Mazemen before, I had to try this out. Now that I have, I think I'm a one and done for it. But thankful that I did try. I will be back to try more apps and maybe eventually a bowl of noodles with broth in it. They are much too close to me for me to not.