the ramen blog & other goodies!

I’ve been meaning to try Kohryu for a while but somehow just never got around to it. Finally, goaded by a recent comment, my wife and I decided to give it a try. It was a cold and windy day: perfect conditions for a nice hot bowl of ramen! The restaurant has fairly non-descript decor in a non-descript little strip mall. We ordered the lunch special, which comes with a bowl of ramen and one side dish, and decided on the shoyu ramen with a 1/2 order of fried rice. They also advertise in their menu that you can choose the hardness or softness of your noodles along with the amount of oil and the strength of the soup flavoring, but the waitress didn’t ask and I didn’t pursue it. (more…)

Mentatsu ramen house opened recently in Costa Mesa, near the Mitsuwa plaza. It’s a tiny place with a nice atmosphere. Everyone from the chef to the wait staff greet you when you come in. Well then, right on to the food. I ordered fried rice, shoyu ramen, and gyoza. The fried rice was nicely done and the gyoza was good and garlicky. The ramen had decent chewy noodles, but were a bit on the bland side. The soup was quite good, rich in flavor. The fried rice and gyoza get a 7. The ramen gets a 7. I’ll definitely be back to try their other selections.

Ramen House Mentatsu
688 Baker St #7
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
714-979-2755

sorry i don’t have a picture. and actually, the last time i went to ezo was over a year or two ago. this is the ezo noodle cafe in irvine, at the tustin marketplace. so why am i rating it? because it’s the worst ramen i’ve ever had. it’s even worse than most instant ramen i’ve had. the staff is very friendly, but the food is just so bland. admitedly, i’ve never had their signature miso ramen. i’ve only had the chashu ramen twice (twice because i wanted to be sure it was that bad). the soup is bland. the noodles are soggy. it’s just tasteless. i’ve had their fried rice a few times. it’s also bland, but with a *ton* of black pepper, it’s salvageable. the ramen gets a 3…just in case i come across something worse. the fried rice gets a 4.

Ezo Noodle Cafe
13256 Jamboree Rd
Irvine, CA 92602
(714) 544-5075