the ramen blog & other goodies!

This is edjusted reporting to you from Dallas, Texas–wait, what? What do you mean there’s no ramen here? Nothing?! No, Tampopo doesn’t count. Seriously? No ramen? Sigh…ok, pack it up. We’ll just get some etuoffee at Pappadeaux instead…

This is edjusted reporting to you from Houston, Tex–what?! Again? No ramen?! Aw c’mon! These are two huge cities with so much good food! …a sushi restaurant? Well, that brisket sandwich for lunch was damn “goode “so I guess I can take one for the team…it’s called what? “Nippon Japanese restaurant”? You’re kidding? Isn’t that’s like calling your restaurant Korea Korean restaurant, Française French restaurant or Deutschland German restaurant! Alright alright, beggars can’t be choosers. (more…)

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. (more…)

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. (more…)

I realized after the fact that my last review was post #200. Though the majority of my earlier posts were not much more than the blogging equivalent of caveman grunts, allow me a moment to pat myself on the back for reaching a milestone, even if it took me long enough to do it.

It’s a happy coincidence that this “just-missed-being-a-milestone-post” reviews the nama version of Kurume Taiho’s tonkotsu ramen. If you’ve never heard of Kurume Taiho, know that the rameniac likens the several hours journey from Tokyo to Kurume Taiho to the ramen fan’s equivalent of a pilgrimage and Go Ramen! raved about their nama ramen’s “harmonious balance of flavor.”

I’m a sucker for good packaging, and sometimes, it’s the understated simple designs that are the most elegant. I really like the packaging of the Taiho Kurume ramen, and now, thanks to Keizo, I have the opportunity to see firsthand whether or not the quality of the ramen inside matches the gorgeous packaging outside. (more…)

Some things are meant to be in a can, while others…maybe not so much. I’ve been looking forward to trying “ramen in a can” since I first heard about it last year, and thanks to fellow ramen blogger Keizo, who was nice enough to share his loot from his trip to Tokyo, I had my chance. (And yes, I should’ve finished writing this review months ago. I suck!)

Now, the ramen in canned ramen isn’t like the noodles you’re familiar with. Canned ramen is actually made of konjac, aka konnyaku, aka “devil’s tongue”. Konjac is a tuber and belongs to the yam family. It’s usually made into a flour or jelly for use in a variety of dishes and has a chewy texture, like a firm jello. The reason the noodles are made of konjac is to prevent them from becoming soggy. Can you imaging eating ramen noodles which have been soaking in soup for days or weeks? Mush city. (more…)

This ramen advertises that it takes only 90 seconds to make! Just imagine…if you eat this ramen every day for a year, you can save…multiply…divide…divide again…a whopping 9 hours a year! (Compared to the typical 180 seconds (3 mins) that other bowl ramen need.)

If that’s not enough to get you excited, what about the four packets of ramen accoutrements included in the bowl: there’s the obligatory soup pack, a packet of dry toppings, sesame seeds, and beni shoga. (more…)