Back in August, I noticed that several businesses were opening in the strip mall off of Convoy that houses Target and Costco Business (which BTW, has closed their "food court"). One of the places opening was Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai part of a huge chain which tracks its history to Kitakata in Fukushima and has several very popular shops in Orange County. The style of Kitakata Ramen is quite distinct; lighter, flat – curly noodles in a soy sauce based broth. Most "Rameniacs" that I know tend to use the word "lighter" when describing this style of ramen. I was quite interested to check them out and visited on the Monday after the restaurant's soft opening arriving right at the 5pm opening time.
Based on how busy I'd heard the Irvine and Costa Mesa locations are, I was surprised to see the place only half full. And the counter, where I was seated was totally empty.
Looking over the menu I decided to just try the "Kitakata Ramen" (regular – $14.75). Note, tamago here is extra, a $1.90 upcharge. I also ordered the Chicken Karaage – noted as "Juicy Fried Chicken" ($9.25) on the menu.
There was a bit of a wait for my food, which I'll write off as part of the soft opening process.
Ramen was the first to arrive. The broth is indeed lighter, though there were some nice globules of fat in it. I thought it was on the overly salty side and pretty one-dimensional in flavor, though that might be written off to the sodium overload. The chashu; which had a nice "fat cap", was thinly sliced, with a wonderful soy-porkiness to it and very tender. The tamago was also nicely cooked and marinated but was ice cold, a pet peeve of mine.
As for the noodles, they were indeed curly and quite "light" and bouncy, though these were over-cooked for my taste and were on the mushy side.
My karaage arrived after I had finished my ramen….I figure it's soft opening timing and hopefully will be resolved in the future.
I was not a fan of what I believe is the sesame-based sauce provided. The karaage was unevenly coated and quite mild in flavor. There were three crisp pieces and two very dry and tough pieces. When I turned those pieces over, I figured out why.
The pieces had been cut several times to check for doneness! Another pet peeve of mine.
So, this was almost twenty-six bucks for ramen and karaage: sheesh! The place was nicely staffed and the folks working were very nice. The place had filled up by the time I left.
I decided to return a few days later right at 11am for lunch. Like my previous visit, the place was very mellow when I arrived and seated at the counter. This time, I decided to try the Shio ramen.
I got the Mixed Vegetable Shio Ramen ($16.75) with an egg (again – $1.90). This time it seemed like my wait was even longer, but my bowl finally arrived.
This version came with a small "pile" of veggies – mostly bean sprouts, some carrots and spinach, etc…..for what seems to be a two dollar upcharge that's not really worth the price. The shio broth seemed even lighter than the shoyu version, less rich, but not as salty. For some reason, there was a pungency like that of white pepper that resonated with me. I preferred this broth to the shoyu version.
As before the chashu was tender, flavorful, and quite good.
The light, almost airy, noodles were cooked nicely this time. It seemed like the noodles were wider and even more curly on this visit.
And then I came across a "blob" at the bottom of the bowl.
Apparently some noodles were stuck together during the cooking process and melded into a hard, inedible ball of gluten madness. Oh man, what a bummer. I showed this to the young man working who was speechless and told me "sorry" and then walked away. Soon someone else brought me my check! So, perhaps I was in an alternate universe at that moment having lunch at Kita-"katai" Ramen?
In spite of some shortcomings, some of what I had was quite good. And I believe that Ban Nai is way ahead of what I call the "typical level B" ramen shops in San Diego, providing a good change of pace from all the Tonkotsu and Hakata style ramen in the area. And heck, my first visit to Santouka when they opened in San Diego was not very impressive either. Hopefully, they will keep getting better. We'll see in a couple of months.
Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai
7951 Othello Ave.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Mon – Fri 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 10pm
Saturday 11am – 10pm
Sunday 11am – 9pm
The note on the door said "we are closed
And here again was the note posted on the door stating "we are closed". I checked Google which indicated that the place is "Temporarily Closed" as well as that "four-lettered" site which also noted that the place is scheduled to reopen on September 1st. I also did a check on the Zen Curry website, which said the reopening date is TBD.
Does the presentation of the sashimi look familiar? Well, it should. When I sat, I was told "Sashimi Kirk-san…." it wasn't a question, more of an affirmation.
On this morning the parking lot was empty. I walked on over and took a look at the posted menu and noticed the opening time was noon. I also noted that there were donburi and ramen lunch specials going for as low as ten bucks! In these days that's a bargain. I decided that I'd return on another day and check the place out. As I started walking away the "open" sign came on and the really friendly gentleman who runs the front of house waved me in. My lucky day I guess.
I would go on record to say this was more sausage than tsukune. It was hard, rubbery, tough…..I'm sure there are more synonyms I could come up with given time. Not much flavor at all….I guess that's why salt was provided.
And my worries were well placed. Ok, so since the ownership is under Olleh, my expectations were low, but this was even below that!
The chashu wasn't bad, nicely marinated, tender, decent porkiness. The noodles were standard issue, curly, a bit overcooked and mushy…which did nothing to enhance the dish. It had me thinking….at ten bucks what should I have expected?
I loved the presentation. And overall, I enjoyed this dish the most. Nothing fancy, just a by the book beef bowl. The beef was on the chewy side, flavors were quite typical, soy sauce – mirin – sake, which is not bad at all. A generous portion of rice….I wish there was more egg, but this was a decent donburi.
Nothing fancy mind you; but for a ten buck for lunch…I wouldn't pay $15 to have this for dinner, this might work out fine for you. After all, how much is a bento from Nijiya these days?
The Missus really loved the yamaimo and the meat was buttery, beefy, and so tender.
There is seating outdoors in front as well as inside tables and there is a lengthy counter for the sushi bar.
I ordered the Shrimp and Veggie tempura appetizer ($9.95) to check out the frying technique here. The veggies (two each of green bean, onion, carrot and potato) were battered and the two shrimp were also dipped in bread crumbs. The tempura sauce (soy, sugar seaweed and bonita flakes) (each sauce is made here and ingredients listed on the menu under the “Glossary of Sauces”) was a perfect compliment to the crisp, non-greasy fry.
I ordered the "Modern Sashimi Salad" ($15.95). Assorted sashimi (tuna and salmon this day)-(a very large amount) topped with the House dressing (soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, onion and black pepper) on top of a crisp spring mix. This was a wonderful choice. Fresh, flavorful and plenty; I will order again.
The Mister ordered the Tonkatsu Bento from the Lunch Special menu($13.95). {Lunch specials served from 11 until 4:30} Breaded pork topped with a ponzu sauce (bonito flakes, soy, seaweed and citrus juice), rice, salad and tempura. The pork was cooked about 30 seconds too long and was a bit dry but not terrible; the breading was not burned or too crisp. It was on top of some sautéed cabbage, carrot and onion which was quite flavorful. 
The lunch special came with a good quality miso. Hot tea (as I always order) was a quality green with the grass-like flavor that I like and no charge.
When I finally had another opportunity, I arrived just as the very friendly young lady was folding up the blinds on the front door. And as during the soft opening, only one party is allowed inside the shop at once. I recall seeing chicken karaage on the menu when I did my aborted visit, but that was no longer offered. There are four sandwiches on the erase board menu; chicken katsu, menchi katsu, egg salad, and fruit and cream.
Compared to the Japanese version; this was chopped too coarse, there wasn’t enough mayo. There was a bit too much black pepper and it edged on the sweeter side. Liked the visual of the quarter tamago. The bread was slightly moist, but a bit too firm and chewy for me. Like I said before, I prefer my shokupan fluffier and softer.
It was also quite dry. This did the bread no favors. There was some flavor though it was quite mild. I could have used with a bit more katsu sauce to added a nice savory-umami-sweetness to things. It’s a sad day when I think that the shredded cabbage is the best part of the sandwich.
Which was soggy and peeling off the protein. Man, this was not good eats at all. It seems that the only thing I could taste was the katsu sauce. Again it was the cabbage that was the headliner of the sandwich, bummer!
The wings actually held up better than the Karaage. Don't get me wrong, the karaage was very moist and tender, but that light, what seems to be katakuriko based batter is made for eating quickly. I think of the flavors are very nicely balanced, soy-with a touch of sweetness. I like that the karaage still has skin attached. The "whole" wings (tips and drumettes included) did well. Like I've mentioned before, I like the addition of wing tips as they add a nice cartiligous texture with the addition of the batter of course. I could make out a touch of the shichimi togarashi a lot clearer than the karaage.
