In a post from a few days ago, I mentioned actually finding reasonable parking in Hillcrest for a ramen fix. And yes, it’s time for me to make my “ramen rounds”…..and I wanted something other than what is ubiquitous ’round these parts….that is something other than tonkotsu ramen. So naturally, my choice for shoyu ramen is HiroNori. Looking at my previous posts, it’s quite funny as my last three visits had been in December! So, I guess the time was right!
It was kind of crazy, as I was part of a line of 10 people waiting when they opened! The place filled up quickly. As always, the service was friendly and efficient.
It was interesting to note that overhearing folks order….everyone was going with tonkotsu.
I was pleased to note that the Shoyu Ramen was priced the same as my visit a year ago – $16.45….a rarity these days!
As usual, I got the shoyu ramen with noodles extra firm and it was nicely delivered to the window seat I had.
Man, there’s something about the shoyu broth I like, the barrel ages shoyu has an interesting flavor, that’s not overly salty, nice slightly smoky-sweet umami. Decent richness and tongue feel.
The tamago was nicely cooked…and guess what? It wasn’t cold! In my best “Bourdain mode”, I thought “a glowing orb of deliciousness….”
While the chashu looks to be on the tough side, I’m thinking because it looks roasted and charred. but that adds to the flavor; it is decently tender, nicely roasted, with good porkiness!
And those noodles were firm, slippery, and perfectly chewy for my taste. It did a nice job of “picking up” the broth.
The really nice young lady came to check on me as I was finishing up and asked me; “is everything all right?” So I showed her my bowl…..
And she just laughed.
Overall, a lovely, warming bowl of shoyu ramen…..it just makes everything seem better…..
HiroNori Craft Ramen
3803 Fifth Ave.
San Diego, CA 92103
Current Hours:
Mon – Wed 1130am – 8pm
Thurs – Sun 1130am – 9pm