the ramen blog & other goodies!

ramen challenge links

edjusted — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 08:53:25 +0000

Join the quest for the best ramen in Vancouver.

There must be something in the water–I mean ramen at Foo Foo Tei…Exile Kiss joins in the 31 day ramen challenge.

inspired by Iron Chef Morimoto’s NYC ramen challenge, NYU Local visits the East Village ramenyas.

Take the Menya Ramen Godzilla Challenge: eat a 2+kg bowl of ramen in under 30 minutes, and be immortalized on their wall of fame.

It’s the Brooklyn Kitchen Ramen-Off…and the winner…the pepperoni pizza ramen pie (with recipe!)

Not quite ramen, and more thimble than bowl, but who can eat 383 bowls of soba in 10 mins?

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Tags: Australia ramen, L.A. ramen, NY ramen, ramen tidbits, vancouver ramen

ramen rating: santa ramen

edjusted — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 04:38:39 +0000

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 area ramenya. Santa Ramen was not my first choice, but between one ramenya being closed when we wanted to go (damn you Ramen Club!) and one ramenya being too out of the way for us (damn you Kahoo Ramen!), Santa Ramen was the next best compromise (yay Santa Ramen!).

We arrived at Santa Ramen a little bit after noon, and braced for a long wait. The line was almost out the door, but at least it moved pretty quickly. Be aware that, like some “true” ramen shops, Santa Ramen only serves ramen at lunch (sorry “D”!). There’s no fried rice. There’s no gyoza. There’s no curry anything. Santa Ramen serves only three different types of ramen: a shoyu-tonkotsu ramen, tonkotsu ramen, and a miso ramen.

The ramen fates were with me that day and I was lucky enough to try all 3 styles of ramen. Everyone in our group just happened to want a different ramen, and I didn’t even have to do any fast talking. Yes! We ordered the ramen, some sides of hard-boiled eggs, some buta kakuni (stewed premium pork), and some white rice (again, sorry “D”!).

First, the sides. Unless you’re really really craving a hard-boiled egg, the hard-boiled egg is…well, a hard-boiled egg. Very hard-boiled. Very un-marinated. And very unanimously panned. The buta kakuni (made not just with any ol’ pork, but kurobuta), however, elicited mixed reviews. “N” thought the stewed pork was too lean, and not particularly exciting, while “K” gave it an F, calling it “the lean, non-fat, dry sweet stewed pork.” Whew. Tough crowd. I agree that the pork could’ve been a bit fattier, and it was a bit dry, but thought it was decent. The marinade obviously consisted of mirin and maybe not much else, but still…not too bad.

The different styles of ramen came with slightly different toppings to complement each soup. All the ramen come with negi and chashu, while the tonkotsu adds kikurage mushroom, the shoyu comes with menma and a piece of nori, and the miso has the same toppings as the shoyu, plus some bean sprouts to help balance out the natural sweetness of the miso. The menma was marinated, but not crunchy enough. The chashu also had mixed reviews. “N” thought the chashu was delicious and fatty. I thought that half of *one* of the chashu slices I managed to grab was better than average, but the other pieces were thin, too lean, and dry.

Tonkotsu ramen: Hakata style ramen should come with thin hard noodles. Unfortunately, these were not them. The generic noodles were a bit soft, but sufficed. The soup was smoooooth. And no, I didn’t accidently lean on the keyboard. Unfortunately, there’s not much more to add. The meek tonkotsu broth was smooth, creamy, and a bit light, but lacked any expressiveness. “K” was quite disappointed, calling it a D-level ramen, while “N” thought it was just a bit above average and “nice,” which I think is a perfect description for the soup.

Miso ramen: I tend to shy away from miso ramen, preferring the more aggressive shoyu base or the more complex tonkotsu, but Santa Ramen’s miso was quite good. The mildly sweet miso had a light spicy kick, giving it a good contrast that paired well with the rest of the ramen. This was “L”’s choice, and she claimed it was “pretty good if a bit sweet,” and both “K” and “N” gave it a B rating (well, “K” gave it a B-. She’s a tough one.)

Shoyu ramen: I had a really good feeling about the shoyu as soon as I saw it: rich mounds of fatty goodness floated on the surface and clung to the noodles for dear life. The noodles were the same non-descript, soft noodles used in the tonkotsu and miso ramen, but the soup really was “pure kotteri heaven” and among the best ramen soups I’ve had in the U.S. I smiled as the shoyu and tonkotsu danced a delightful pas de deux around my tongue. The shoyu yin to tonkotsu’s yang (or is it the other way around?) was perfectly balanced and the soup was incredibly rich and flavorful (though the MSG-adverse should note that it does have a slightly noticeable MSG “tingle”). If you like your ramen broths full of flavor, this is the one to get. Everyone in the group agreed that this was the best of the three, and even “K” gave it an A-.

Overall, the forced visit (me forcing everyone else) to Santa Ramen was a success…well, except for “D,” who patiently waited for a fast food stop (come on, “D”!). They’ve moved to this location recently, so the interior is still spotless with “nice bathrooms” (Gee, “K”, that’s such a helpful comment for a ramen review!). Also worthy of mention, this is the only ramenya I can think of that has a minimum charge per person ($7.95 minimum, basically a bowl of ramen). Now if only they could improve on the noodles and the toppings…Santa Ramen gets a 6.5, but the shoyu ramen gets a 7.

Santa Ramen
1944 S. El Camino Real Rd
San Mateo, CA 94403
650-344-5918
Wed-Mon lunch: 11:30am to 2pm
Wed-Sat dinner: 5:30pm to 9:30pm
Sun dinner: 5:30pm to 9pm
Closed Tuesday

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Tags: bay area ramen, miso, ramen shops, tonkotsu, tonkotsu-shoyu

parts is parts (or how my wife made my head explode)

edjusted — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 09:31:19 +0000

…so I’m chatting with my wife about ramen and she stumped me with this simple question:

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Tags: ramen tidbits

ramen rating: ajisen ramen

edjusted — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 08:51:33 +0000

Ajisen Ramen started out in the late 1960’s as a ramenya in Kumamoto, Japan, serving “Kumamoto Tonkotsu” ramen, a tonkotsu ramen served with a garlic and onion brown sauce. Since their humble beginnings, they’ve expanded to more than 300 stores worldwide and their Chinese joint venture even trades as a public company on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

I have to admit I’m biased against Ajisen Ramen…they’re a franchise chain, and my years-ago first experience with Ajisen Ramen in Shanghai didn’t exactly make me jump for joy. Ok, I actually thought it was horrible. On the plus side, though, I found their decor to be elegant, and I was charmed by the winking mascot (who also has a cartoon series and is apparently fond of throwing cleavers). Of course, nice decor and cute mascots can’t make up for subpar ramen. When I heard that Ajisen’s Irvine branch finally opened this week, I approached the news with something akin to morbid curiosity.

Ajisen’s most popular dish seems to be their Paiku Ramen (”Tender Pork Ribs” ramen), but I decided to start my day off with the namesake Ajisen Ramen. One thing I noticed while seated at the counter: all the servers scurried about at a “gotta get to where I’m going” pace. If you’ve ever been to Hong Kong, where even the elevators and escalators are sped up, you know what I’m talking about. Don’t get me wrong, the servers were all extremely friendly and professional. But I felt just a bit compelled to order, eat my ramen, and leave as quickly as possible.

When I got my ramen, I was a bit dismayed: the chashu slices looked like miniature versions of what I saw pictured on the menu. With so many strikes so far, I was still determined to keep an open mind, and I took my first sip of the soup…it was good! Now, it wasn’t mindblowingly good, but still, it was good. The Ajisen web site claims that the tonkotsu soup is cooked for over 10 hours to give it a rich and deep taste. Well…not quite. The soup was a bit on the light side, but the mild garlic flavor and creaminess blended well.

The noodles were a bit thicker than the thin noodles I typically associate with tonkotsu ramen, and also not as hard. While Kumamoto ramen is supposed to have slightly softer noodles, I couldn’t help but wish they were a bit more chewy. The softer noodles did contrast well with the crunchy cabbage and the result tones down the overall flavor even more. A variety of other toppings… negi, wakame seaweed, half a hard boiled egg, and chashu round out the ramen. The hard boiled egg was disappointingly hard boiled, and it tasted like the marinade consisted of one ingredient: soy sauce. I’d heard good things about the chashu, but was slightly disappointed to find that it wasn’t particularly fatty. The chashu had browned edges, and was slightly sweet and carmelized. It reminded me more of the kind of chashu you’d find in Chinese cooking (which does tend to have a harder texture and a sweeter taste) than in Japanese ramen.

Overall, I found Ajisen Ramen to be “good enough.” If you’re a hardcore ramen fanatic, looking for that genuine Japanese Ramen, you might want to keep looking. But if you’re new to ramenyas, or you want to try a lighter tasting ramen, you should give Ajisen a try. Ajisen rates a 6 out of 10 in my book.

Bonus: Ajisen commercials

Ajisen Ramen
2700 Alton Pkwy, suite 145
Irvine, CA 92606
(949) 833-3288
Sun-Thurs: 11am to 10pm
Fri & Sat: 11am to 11pm

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Tags: OC ramen, ramen shops, tonkotsu

nagashi soumen fun

edjusted — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 06:54:09 +0000

It’s not ramen, it’s soumen. And not just any soumen, it’s nagashi soumen 流し素麺 (”flowing” soumen)! Only distantly related to ramen, soumen is thin white noodles usually served cold (sometimes in a bowl of ice) with a light dipping broth. Watching this video brought back a very fond memory of the funnest meal I’ve ever had (well, besides the live, still-moving whole-fish sushi I had once with my Japanese host pointing excitedly and repeating in English “fresh! fresh!”, but then again, that probably belongs more in the “most terrifying” meal category).

I lived in a tiny Japanese town with an incredibly friendly host family during a study abroad program, and my host parents made it their purpose to expose me to Japanese culture. One night, my host father took me out and led me to a dark alley. At first, I thought maybe the price for their hospitality was my left kidney, but as we walked deeper into the alley, I noticed an interesting sight near a street lamp: there was a small group of people huddled excitedly around a long, slanted bamboo sluice about 6-7 feet long or so. The top of the bamboo rested on top of a scooter while the bottom of the bamboo was propped up on top of a red bucket. As we got closer, I noticed that everyone had a small bowl in one hand and a pair of chopsticks in the other. I could hear water flowing down the sluice and I saw…something white…shooting down the sluice…noodles??? Noodles!!! Clumps of white noodles were sliding down the sluice, and the object was to “catch” the soumen, dip your prize in your bowl of tsuyu (noodle broth) and slurp to your heart’s content. It’s not just a meal, it’s a game! I was naturally delighted, and will always remember that happy meal in that dark alley on a warm summer’s night. Sometimes the simplest meals are the best.

The video features Pan-kun, a celebrity chimpanzee (yes, I think that’s an odd phrase too) in Japan, who has his first experience with nagashi soumen. His sluice is much bigger than mine was (ahem), but I bet I had more fun.

thanks to Japan Probe

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Tags: ramen tidbits

weird al hearts top ramen

edjusted — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 03:32:34 +0000

I’m posting this new Weird Al song for 3 reasons:

1. I like Weird Al.

2. This lyric: “You like Top Ramen…need Top Ramen…got a cupboard full of ‘em, I’ll keep ‘em coming…you want it, I got it, go get it, just heat it, dump the flavor packet on it and eat it.”

3. If you like the song enough to buy it via this itunes link, I get a shiny new nickel. A whole nickel!

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Tags: ramen tidbits

North Korea invents “Super Ramen”

edjusted — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 02:55:48 +0000

“North Korean scientists have created a new type of noodle that has twice as much protein and fives times as much fat as ordinary ramen.” –wait, did I read that right? North Korea? Apparently, a technologically-advanced team of North Korean scientists have specially engineered the “super ramen” from ingredients such as soybean and corn, instead of the usual wheat flour. Designed to stave off hunger pangs longer than “conventional” or, I guess, “non-Super,” ramen, this could certainly be a breakthrough for a country that’s experiencing severe food shortages and famine.

Sadly, somehow, I don’t think anyone at Nissin is losing any sleep over this, though I’m sure diet fad heralds are eager to see the outcome of this grand experiment.

Thanks to Korean Melon and Big in Japan. Photo courtesy of yeowatzup.

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Tags: ramen news

“Cat Ramen Boss”

edjusted — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 23:21:11 +0000

“You’ll believe a cat can make ramen!” No, that’s not the official tagline for this movie, but it should be. Or should it? Neko Ramen Taishou, or “Cat Ramen Boss,” began as a manga about a cat who runs a ramenya. The manga inspired an animated TV series and a live action movie version will be out this month in Japan. No, I’m not making this up nor have I been drinking.

The 2007 animated TV series is available for free download on Vuze.com (with English subtitles!) and is both wacky and entertaining. My favorite is episode 12 (”slightly gansta ramen!”), though episode 2 is also quite mya mya meow mya nya nya mya nya.

For more info and links, check out Dread Central.

via Japan Probe

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Tags: ramen tidbits

(mostly) NYC link

edjusted — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 22:12:23 +0000

What are you doing November 9? If you’re in NYC, you should be at The Brooklyn Kitchen Ramen-Off! (thanks to Not Eating Out In New York)

It looks like New Yorkers are having all the fun this month. Join the Nippon Food Club of NYC on their ongoing mission to find the best ramenya in New York.

For hardcore ramen fans only: make your own tonkotsu ramen. From scratch. Seriously.

I’ve mentioned this before: Tomato Ramen fans (you know who you are) need to head to Foo Foo Tei to try their Beef Tomato ramen!

New York’s Ippudo is offering six new seasonal ramen, including a Tomato Ramen (I’m starting to see a pattern here) and a simple but delicious-looking Tori Ramen.

Vancouver has another new ramenya, the simply named menya (”noodle store”).

Can a ramenya succeed in the land of pasta (or, wow! there’s ramen in Florence?!?)

Wondering how to survive after college? Here’s a chance to win a free copy of the book Ramen Noodles, Rent and Resumes: An After-College Guide to Life!

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Tags: italy ramen, L.A. ramen, NY ramen, recipes, vancouver ramen

iron chef: ramen!

edjusted — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 21:27:44 +0000

My favorite iron chef has always been Masaharu Morimoto. Maybe I’m biased because I had the opportunity to meet him in person at his Morimoto restaurant in New York, but I’ve always preferred his quiet, unpretentious style over some of his counterparts’ tendency to be more flashy. And unlike some other “celebrity” sushi restaurants that are more hype than substance (cough, Nobu, cough), Morimoto the restaurant is not only amazingly good, but (relatively) reasonably priced, but I digress…

NY Magazine recently featured a two part article on ramen, featuring Morimoto’s tips on ramen and his pick of the 5 best ramenyas in New York City.

I’ve only visited Rai Rai Ken, his number five choice, but was a bit surprised (spoiler alert) to see him choose Momofuku as #1. I’ve never eaten there before, but from what I’ve heard, Momofuku Noodle Bar (emphasis mine) is really more of…well, a noodle bar than a ramenya.

So can any NYC ramen patrons out there chime in? Does Morimoto-san know ramen? Is a trip to NYC in my future?

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Tags: iron chef, NY ramen, ramen tidbits