the ramen blog & other goodies!

Have any of you ever woken up in the morning and thought: hmm…it’s going to be 99 degrees today…what a great day for a nice steaming hot bowl of ramen! Since Mitsuwa Supermarket decided to hold their Gourmet Food Fair on the hottest weekend of the month, I found myself in the awkward position of doing just that and convincing my wife that I wasn’t already suffering from heat stroke! The wife and I went early to beat the heat, only to find an already packed parking lot and an already packed food court. We eagerly ordered the Kujiraken Shinasoba ramen (there’s only one choice) and circled the busy food court a few times before we were able to find some seats. (more…)

I’ve been looking forward to trying Ryowa in Berkeley, and I recently just had the chance to go up there. I’ve read a lot of good reviews from various web sites and I have to say…I’m disappointed. I had the Ryowa ramen even though I was sorely tempted by the shoyu ramen. The sesame soup base sounded intriguing. Well, the soup was just ok. The sesame was nice…strong but not overpowering, but a bit on the bland side. The noodles were a very nice texture, but they were really bland. The vegetable gyoza, however, were excellent! The gyoza were cooked perfectly and had a really nice blend of flavors. I didn’t miss the meat at all! I’ll probably come back if I ever get the chance and try the shoyu ramen. The Ryowa ramen gets a 6. The gyoza gets a 9 though!

Ryowa Ramen
2068 University Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 883-0667