Category: Ramen

Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai Revisited

Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

I guess after checking out Marufuku and revisits to Nagi and Santouka, I’d had enough tonkotsu (i.e. what every ramen shop has to serve in San Diego) ramen and needed a break. Of course, HiroNori and their shoyu ramen is a favorite of mine; but I‘d just been there a couple of months back. Then it came to me. I hadn’t been back to Kitakata Ramen in over a year! And even though they’ve given up and have started doing tonkotsu, it’s their signature Fukushima style shoyu ramen that I was after. As a plus, I recall being able to order my noodles “katame” (extra firm) the last time I visited.

I arrived at around 1115 and was shocked to see the place empty!

And strangely, I was the only customer dining in…there were several takeout orders during my entire meal! The young lady working was so sweet and friendly.

I was really after only one thing.

The Kitakata Ramen is now $14.45 and I added an ajitama which has an upcharge of $1.70.

Because it was really slow; my bowl arrived in the blink of an eye!

In previous visits, I’ve noted that the broth was quite salty on occasion. However, that wasn’t the case this time around. Nice shoyu-savory tones. The broth was also a bit richer than I recalled.

The ajitama was……drum roll…..warm! Hallelujah!

No cold boiled egg! It was also nicely seasoned.

The Chashu was thinly sliced, with a nice toothsomeness.

It was however, a bit more salty than I recalled. Still, not bad.

My favorite part of the dish? Well, it was the extra firm, curly noodles. Which did a great job of “picking up” the broth.

Overall, while not in the league of HiroNori’s Shoyu Ramen, this was an enjoyable bowl. I should probably visit more often….especially since this bowl of ramen was cheaper than the last couple bowls of pho I’ve had. I am a bit concerned about the place being totally empty…..I hope they manage to stay in business here. Even though many folks would disagree; I think we need more than just tonkotsu ramen in San Diego.

Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai
7951 Othello Ave.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Mon-Thurs 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 9pm
Friday 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 10pm
Saturday 11am – 10pm
Sunday 11am – 9pm

Marufuku Ramen (Sky Deck at Del Mar Highlands Town Center)

Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

During my visit to Zen Modern Asian Bistro at the Sky Deck, I came across a place that I’d had on my “list” but had totally forgotten about. Marufuku Ramen. I recall reading how popular Marufuku was when it opened in San Francisco’s Japantown in 2017. And since it was “ramen season” for me; I decided to return to try the place out.

Marufuku is located in the rear of the Sky Deck. The place was kinda dark at 11am, so pardon my photos.

I was seated by the very friendly and efficient Sugui, who told me he also works at Glass Box next door.

The prices, as anticipated were on the higher end of the scale, especially for what I consider to be a Food Hall.

I went with the Hakata Tonkotsu – regular size ($18.00). What arrived was about the same size as the small bowl I had at Santouka recently. Of course it didn’t have the toroniku and other stuffs.

The broth was fairly light, in spite of the dots of oil floating on the top. It was pretty straight forward, mild in flavor, though not salty.

It was rich enough to coat the thin, straight Hakata style noodles. Which were unfortunately a bit overcooked and too soft for my taste.

At least the tamago, which was edging on being overcooked for my taste was still warm. I’d say that’s a definite plus these days.

There were two bacon-thin slices chashu that were nicely flavored, with a nice toothsome texture.

And was probably my favorite thing in this bowl. The ginger would have helped to cut the richness if the broth were a bit thicker, but really wasn’t necessary in this case.

Overall, not a bad bowl of ramen, perhaps below what I last had a Menya…maybe what I’d consider level B+ ramen. Though priced like level A+ ramen. I’m not going to be in a rush to return.

Marufuku Ramen (In the Sky Deck at Del Mar Highlands Town Center)
12841 El Camino Real Suite 204
San Diego, CA 92130
Current Hours:
Sun – Thurs 11am – 9pm
Fri – Sat 11am – 10pm

Ramen Nagi and Santouka – Ramen Ruminations

Japanese Restaurants, Ramen, yoso-silly

After my last visit to HiroNori, I decided to revisit two other of my favorite ramen spots in San Diego. And both of these places have interesting “histories” with your truly.

Ramen Nagi:

I hadn’t been to Ramen Nagi in a while! And that visit was to try out the Veggie King Ramen! I was tempted to visit right after HiroNori, but heck, I ain’t going to UTC during the holiday season! I just waited until the calendar flipped to 2026 and headed on over. And guess what? No line!

I walked over and was shown to a seat at the counter.

It was quite mellow! I also have my preferences for my ramen here. Folks can choose and “customize” their bowl to their tastes, something I wish other places would do as well.

And while I waited, the older gentleman who was in charge came on over to say hello. And we had a really nice chat. I mentioned that my first bowl of ramen in Japan was at Nagi Ramen in the Golden Gai. And he cracked up! Apparently, he worked for Nagi’s parent company in Tokyo before coming to SD! Of course I had to ask him about Niboshi Ramen….and he laughed again. Apparently they did try it as a “special” for a short period, but the only folks who would try the stuff were the Japanese nationals and hardcore “ramen heads”. It was such a nice little chat!

As for my Original King Ramen ($16.95), well, I liked that the mildly porky broth wasn’t too salty…and check out all that richness! It just coats your tongue and tummy. That’s why I order it “heavy richness”. Normal garlic is enough to add some pungency without overwhelming the soup.

And those katame…..firm noodles do a great job picking up that broth and are so springy.

The egg was decently marinated and flavored. And perhaps because it was opening time, it was still warm.

To me, the pork shoulder chashu might be the weak link here as it is on the more chewy side.

But was decently marinated with good porkiness.

I think we have my favorite tonkotsu ramen in San Diego here! And of course, that memory of wandering thru Kabukichō to find that 24 hour location of Nagi Ramen on our first evening in Tokyo! Such great memories.

Ramen Nagi UTC
4301 La Jolla Village Dr. Suite 2033
San Diego, CA 92122

Santouka Ramen:

And of course, after Nagi, I had to get back to Santouka. Hard to believe it’s been over a year since my last visit. And like Nagi, I have some history with Santouka. To this day, I believe that the opening of Sanotuka in San Diego back in April of 2008 really changed the ramen world in San Diego. And after trying things for a bit, we had found our favorite here; the Shio Toroniku.

This was a solo lunch; so I just went with the small sized Shio Toroniku ($15.95).

I had never ordered the small size, so when my buzzer went off and I went to pick up my bowl….well, I cracked up at the size of the ramen bowl. Though I was happy to note that the portion size off the toroniku and garnishes were of the same size as far as I could tell.

To put things into perspective….check out the size of the porky, super tender pork cheek versus the size of the bowl of ramen.

Still, this was nice and warming….that thick bowl keeps the broth super hot for a long time. And no; I wasn’t in the mood for the usual horrible egg here.

The noodles were adequately firm. I already wrote about that tender-porky toroniku.

The broth creamy, not overly salty, nice savory tones.

And of course, I’ll never forget hunting down the original Santouka in Asahikawa...a tiny little shop! And of course we cracked up when the tamago there was just as bad! Points for consistency I guess! Such fun memories! And a good bowl of ramen as well!

You can read Joy’s latest post on Santouka here. And Soo’s latest on Santouka here.

Santouka Ramen
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd(In the Mitsuwa Marketplace)
San Diego, CA 92111

Road Trip – Nikka Ramen (Goleta) and 1909 (Temecula)

American/New American Restaurants, Cocktails, Dog Friendly, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen, Road Trip, Santa Barbara County, Temecula/Idyllwild/Palm Springs - Riverside, CA, Travel

Our two week road trip up the coast was nearing an end. To break up the last two days, we were staying a night, first in Goleta, south of Santa Barbara….I was trying to stay in Carpinteria since it’s been a recommended stop, but was unable to book accommodation. Then we’d be staying a night in Temecula, before heading home.

It was a uneventful 4 hour drive from Santa Cruz to Goleta. We arrived a bit too early to check in, so I had a stop in mind. We decided to stop and do a nice little walk/hike at Ellwood Bluffs and the Ellwood Beach Loop. There’s a Monarch Butterfly preserve, but it was the wrong season for that.

Some nice wide open trails and also views from the bluffs.

Along the bluffs we came across this.

Along with this Historical Marker.

After our nice little walk, we headed back to the main drag in Goleta. I had gotten us a room at the Leta located right on Calle Real. We settled in and relaxed. When it as time to head out for dinner, we wanted something in walking distance and I’d found a ramen shop a block or so away from out hotel named Nikka.

The reviews seemed positive and they had an outdoor dining area that was dog friendly. We were greeted and seated. The young man who waited upon us was very nice; but I could tell that this was more of a “fusiony” ramen place as he kept calling he ramen I ordered as “tonkatsu” ramen and while the menu boasted of the 24 hour simmering time for the broth, they called the version I had as “Shiro ramen” not shio ramen.

They also had stuff like poke bowls and ramen “burritos” on the menu. And in fact, I decided to order the Combination Baos (3 baos for $12.50). I ordered one of each.

As I figured, the baos seemed like those premade frozen ones you can get at the market. The karaage was too salty and dry, the chashu had a very nice texture but was super bland and over shadowed by the sweetness of the bao. The shrimp tempura, while overfried was the best of the three as it was tender and presented a decent shrimpiness.

As for the Tonkotsu Ramen ($17.50).

Well, the broth was barely past room temp and was super thin for our taste. It was pretty darn bland as well.

I had ordered the “thick noodle” which was a tad overcooked, heading toward too soft. Also, you can tell how thin the broth was since the noodles rea;;y didn’t “pick” any of it up.

The chashu was the best item in the bowl, nice texture, perfect tenderness, though a bit lacking in the porkiness department.

Overall, a “C” level bowl of ramen.

Well, service was nice. We hadn’t expected much from this place and I guess they lived up to those expectations.

Nikka Ramen
5701 Calle Real
Goleta, CA 93117

We did have a nice night of sleep at the hotel and breakfast was included in our stay, which was enough food to keep us until dinner!

We had decided on making one last stop before heading home, at a place that we’d never really taken to. We had visited Old Town Temecula several times while living in the SGV and when we first moved to SD. But had never really enjoyed the place as it seemed overly touristy. I thought that perhaps staying the night might make things more enjoyable, so I booked us a room at the Hampton Inn, which was right across busy Rancho California Road from the start of Old Town.

JJ got in a nice nap while we drove to Temecula.

We checked in and then headed to Old Town to wander around a bit.

Man, the bars were doing some good business; even at barely 4pm on a Sunday.

The Missus got some cream for Her and JJ, which they don’t always have at Temecula Olive Oil in Old Town. I also got some olive oil as well.

Temecula Olive Oil Company
28653 Old Town Front St.
Temecula, CA 92590

We wandered a bit more…..

And then decided to grab some dinner. An acquaintance had recommended a Bar/Restaurant named 1909 Temecula to me. The place had outdoor seating and was fairly busy; even at 445!

The menu consisted of typical items like burgers and tacos, stretching into Korean Fried Chicken, Risotto, and even Lobster.

The Missus started with a Sangria, which She enjoyed.

I had the Cedar Smoked Old Fashioned, which had some decent smokiness, but was a bit on the sweeter side and tasted a bit weak.

We decided on a couple of items; one of which was recommended to me; the House Chili (bowl – $12).

The blue cornbread was too wet and mushy. The chili lukewarm. There was supposed to be “steak” in this; which I think was super hard pieces of meat. It had an interesting flavor profile; perhaps a bit on the sweeter side? I was told that they use beer to make this chili. It was the best item we had during this meal.

The Al Pastor Tacos ($16) were not good. The pork very dry and chewy. The flavor too sweet.

The supposedly house made tortillas too brittle and lacking in good corn flavor. The fries were dry and soggy.

The Shrimp in the Shrimp & Chorizo ($18) was tough and chewy, with a muddiness to it.

The sausage seemed more like Longaniza as the meat seemed on the courser side and without the spice of chorizo. Still that was not bad. The bread had been nicely grilled, the sauce was quite tangy and acidic.

Overall, 1909 seems like a very touristic place, though it was super popular as there was a line of at least 20 people waiting when we left. Good thing we had an early dinner. Service was nice, but things took a while to get to our table.

1909
28656 Old Town Front St.
Temecula, CA 92590

We walked back to the hotel and relaxed. I did a post and caught up on things. We had a decent night of sleep. There was a bit of traffic noise, but things weren’t too bad.

While not quite the ending of our epic little road trip we had wanted; we…and JJ still enjoyed ourselves, from revisiting Paso Robles yet again and enjoying the Alchemist Garden, to our favorite meal of the trip at L’Escargot in Carmel, to lovely Mendocino and Santa Cruz, this was one for the books. And we are so honored that you were able to vicariously come along with us!

HiroNori Craft Ramen Revisited

Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

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

Circling Back to Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori

Chicken Wings, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

Well, we finally got some rain around these parts! And thankfully, even though the “atmospheric river” that hit San Diego did have a bit of flooding it didn’t seem as bad as predicted. Still, while finishing up some rather late shopping for Saturday I was wanting some ramen. It had been a while since I last visited Yakyudori….like almost 5 years! And it was for takeout during Covid. And even longer since I had the ramen there. So, despite the feeling that I wouldn’t be able to find parking I headed on over.

And to my surprise, at 1115 on a Saturday, there was a lot of parking available. I’m wondering if having the Starbucks closed down and the construction of the apartments next door have something to do with things?

And even more strange was how empty the place was.

I remember when they moved to this location back in 2010 the place was super busy even during lunch hours. These days they are only open for lunch on weekends. Also these days, all ordering is done on a mobile device.

And while I was temped to have that Kanazawa Curry again; it was ramen that I was after. So, I got the Shio Ramen ($13.80) and for some reason he thought of having some Nagoya Teba ($9) triggered a nostalgic reaction, so I had to order that as well. The woman working the front of house was quite serious, but not as surly as folks I’ve dealt with here before.

My Shio Ramen was first to arrive.

While the corn really gave this bowl that “Hokkaido Shio” look; the clear broth wasn’t as strongly “umami” as other versions I’ve had. It did have a nice almost porky-poultry savory component and wasn’t overly salty.

Decent richness; especially for a shio ramen as well.

The Tamago was nicely cooked, yolk shiny and golden, decently marinated…but of course…my pet peeve? Yes, it was ice cold! Bummah, this could have been so good.

The noodles were al dente, with a good springy-slipperiness and did a good job of “picking up” the soup to coat.

This was better than I recalled. And while not in my top three for ramen in San Diego, I’d gladly return for this again.

As for the Nagoya Teba; well that was a non-starter.

I find this to be way too sweet even for Nagoya style teba and also lacking in the black pepper department. The coating; which points more toward the crunchy than crisp also gets mushy very quickly. I will say that the flat and wing tip was nice and moist. But for some reason, only one of those are provided. Perhaps they save them for the Yakitori.

The drumettes were tough and chewy.

I don’t think I’ll order these again.

Still, it was nice to get back to Yakyudori. And just eating here brought back some nice memories of going to the original Yakyudori and Hinotez 2 in Nagoya! Such great memories!

Yakyudori
4898 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Hope everyone survived the rain unscathed. And with the next system coming in, hope you stay warm and dry!

Lunch with JJ – Silverlake Ramen (Fashion Valley)

Dog Friendly, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

Recently, I had to head on over to Fashion Valley….which I usually try to avoid. But since I going there, I was wondering if I should take JJ along and looked to see if there were any dog friendly places to eat. And there were quite a few. I was pleasantly surprised to see that Silverlake Ramen allowed dogs. It had been on the cooler side…..which I kind of look forward to since I can get all my noodle soup fixes in. So, we headed on over.

I’d actually been to the UTC location of Silverlake, but since it was a lunch with a group of people, I didn’t take any photos. And to be perfectly honest, I really wasn’t impressed with the ramen. So, this was going to be interesting……

Silverlake’s location at Fashion Valley is located right along the south side parking lots and driveway, so it’s pretty discreet. The young man working was super friendly and even though I was seated outside was on top of things. He even got JJ a bowl of water!

Which JJ appreciated…..

During my previous visit to the UTC location of Silverlake….which BTW was founded in the Silver Lake (duh) neighborhood in LA back in 2012. Anyway, I probably erred and ordered the Garlic Truffle Ramen, which was way too sweet….and the noodles were overcooked.

I was kinda hungry from having to keep up with the squirt, so I got the Combo ($20.50). Since I’d be having karaage for dinner; I went with the Pork Bun as my appetizer to go with the Classic Tonkotsu. The efficient young man brought out the pork bun soon after I placed my order.

The pickled onions were indispensable as this was really sweet and over-sauced for my taste. There was just too much of the sesame aioli. All of which combined to nullify any porkiness. That bun and the pork were on the chewy side as well.

Hmmm…..now this made me somewhat concerned about my ramen.

Which wasn’t bad. Not a fan of the overly sweet black garlic oil and I think the broth, which was on the thinner side in terms of tonkotsu has quite a bit of msg in it as I soon got the “ms-heebee-gee-bees” and actually gulped down two cups of water during my meal…..thank goodness for the great Server and another bottle in the car!

The tamago had a decently tender yolk…but sigh…..you know my pet peeve right? It was ice cold. Bummer!

The noodles were decently cooked. Nice and slippery, with a good “Q-Q” springiness them.

The pork was milder in terms of the marinade, but quite tender and you could actually make out some rich savoriness. I do enjoy some of that sweet-savory-soy sauce flavor that a good marinade provides for my chashu.

All in all, more of a “B” level ramen to me. This was definitely better than what I’d had at the UTC location and that young man provided very good service. Though I’m not in a rush to return as I’m going to have to revisit those ramen shops I consider San Diego “A” level…..hope the cool weather holds steady.

Silverlake Ramen (In Fashion Valley Mall)
7007 Friars Rd. Suite 357B
San Diego, CA 92108
Current Hours:
Mon – Sat 11am – 9pm
Sunday 11am – 8pm

Midweek Meanderings -China Quick Wok Becoming Fujiyame (Sp?) Ramen, Mikiya Replacing Shancheng Lameizi, and is Poppy Boba Closed?

Chinese Restaurants, Desserts, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

Here’s a bunch of “stuffs” I noticed while driving around the last couple of weeks

China Quick Wok Becoming Fujiyame:

Driving thru Liberty Park Plaza, on the corner of Mt Etna and Genesee, I noticed some new signage on the long standing China Quick Wok, so I drove on over.

And yep; it looks like the shop is becoming something called Fujiyame – hmmm….not Fujiyama Ramen? Whoa, China Quick Wok has been here forever, I recall the last set of owners taking over in 2011?

4310 Genesee Ave.
San Diego, CA 92117

Mikiya Replacing Shancheng Lameizi:

This one was quite easy to see while driving down Convoy.

Shancheng Lameizi replaced Thai House in early 2022 if I’m not mistaken. Man, they didn’t last very long. Well, one chain is being replaced by another as Mikiya Wagyu Shabu House is moving in. I know they have locations in LA and also recall seeing one of their restaurants in HNL on Kapiolani. I know folks that really like the place. So, looks like Shabu Shabu replacing Hot Pot here?

4225 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Is Poppy Boba Closed?:

Taking the quick way home from Nijiya I passed by Poppy Boba Kitchen and noticed that the sign was gone. It was just after 11am, when they would usually be open.

It seems like they were closed? I believe they just opened like 7 months ago?

So, I did a quick search and Google and the four-lettered spot said Temporarily Closed? But why is the sign gone. And there was also this note.

Hmmm……temporarily closed for like 9-10 months? Perhaps someone is going to give birth perhaps?

It’s just kinda strange to have the sign gone though….

3538 Ashford St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Monday Meanderings – Gusto Grocery Italian Market Moving from Bay Ho, La Posta de Acalpuco (Hillcrest) Closes, Ajisen Ramen (Kearny Mesa) Closes, and Other “stuffs”.

Markets & Grocers, Mexican Restaurants, Ramen, Taco Shops, yoso-silly

A couple of closures and a move for this Monday……

La Posta de Acalpuco (Hillcrest) Closes:

I noticed lots of upcoming changes in my short walk from where I parked my car during my visit to Makai Sushi. Like this one.

IMG_9822

Though one of them caught me by surprise. Looks like La Posta de Acalpuco, like El Cuervo has closed.

IMG_0561

Like El Cuervo, this was a place I'd go to every so often when my office was in Hillcrest….though mostly when I'd have to work nights as there wasn't much open late in those days. And much like El Cuervo; I hadn't been back in ages.

Times change and it seems that Hillcrest is in major turnover mode.

I'm sure folks are going to miss what I used to call the "late-early crowd"……which someone once described to me as "Goth's, Grungees, Gays, Gargoyles, and the bar scene from Star Wars!" And another once told me "You know, the food here is okay, but it sure tastes better at 4 am!"

3980 3rd Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

Ajisen Ramen (Kearny Mesa) Closes:

This one was fairly widely announced, but I was shocked at how quickly the signage was gone for Ajisen on Clairemont Mesa.

IMG_0610

Which explains why they tried Wagyu Street concept. Was never a big fan of Ajisen, though the late Ed from Yuma enjoyed his visit there in 2017. And of course, ramen-maniacs will always remember the Ajisen soup scandal.

7398 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111

Who you calling a creep ummm, Creap?

On occasion, while shopping, I'll see something that will bring a smile to my face. While looking over the ever changing "treasure hunt" at Nijiya, I cam across this.

IMG_0562

I've come across this in Japan before…it's known as being the only "powdered creamer" that uses real milk. But on this day I just read "Foaming Creap"….. I know, silly me….. But I was sorely tempted to buy some for folks and see if they got the pseudo double entendre.

Gusto Grocery Italian Market Moving from Bay Ho:

A week or so back, I needed some Pesto Genovese….for some reason, we've starting enjoying Avocado Toast with a touch of pesto. And yes, in spite of what I learned in Liguria, I just didn't see myself making pesto from scratch for some avocado toast.

So, I decided to head up to Gusto Italian Market, which, since they opened their brick-and-mortar shop in Bay Ho next to Rose Canyon Deli has been a blessing for picking up Italian Staples for us, without having to head into Little Italy. So, I headed on up and arrived at 1030…and strangely, the shop didn't seem open.

IMG_0485

So, I walked on over and noticed the door was unlocked so I walked on in. I found all the shelves empty! The nice woman who works there came on out, smiled and explained to me that the grocery was closed and moving to "somewhere north"…… Their online orders were being fulfilled at their warehouse now. Bummer, as I'd been kind of taking this place for granted!

I do wish them luck in their new space; wherever that might be!

4901 Morena Blvd Suite 314
San Diego, CA 92117

Ramen by Request – The Vegan Soy Ramen from Nishiki (Mira Mesa) and the “Crazy Garlic” Ramen from Buta Ramen (Linda Vista)

Japanese Restaurants, Ramen, Vegetarian and Vegan Restaurants

One of the reasons that I've kept on blogging all these years are the great "FOYs" and the wonderful comments, emails, questions, and recommendations I receive. There's just no way this blog would have existed for nearly 20 years without all of you. Yes, it's a large part a "food/travel diary", but the interactions are what keep me motivated to continue. And in spite of sometimes taking a while; I do try to check out places that are mentioned in your comments. I try not to forget these. And here are two visits that would never have happened without those comments.

The "Crazy Garlic" Ramen from Buta Ramen:

In my last post on Santouka and HiroNori, FOYs ST and Franklin mentioned the "Crazy Garlic" ramen from Buta Ramen. After my visits; I've considered Buta to be a "second tier" shop. They have catchy names for the fusiony ramen; like "Soul You" for shoyu or "Tahini Old School" for tonkotsu. I'm probably not the target audience for their ramen. But what the heck; it had been over 5 years since my initial visits; so I guess I needed to see if this "crazy old school" would feel like a Buta?

Buta Garlic 01

I as happy to find parking on this day. This parking lot on Linda Vista Road as almost attained the same notoriety as those along Convoy and some of those along University in City Heights.

Buta Garlic 01c

The nice gentleman working pointed me to a table and handed me a menu.  I took note of this on the menu.

Buta Garlic 02

And I went ahead and ordered the Crazy Garlic Ramen. Which arrived in just a few minutes!

Buta Garlic 04  Buta Garlic 05 First thing I noticed was how foamy the broth was, like it was kept at a rolling boil instead of a simmer. It was also on the thin side and seemed more like a thickened, slightly bitter, shoyu based broth. Like the tonkotsu I had here before, it also had a slight "metallic" tinge to it.

As for the garlic "chips"? Well, I expected something crisp, not bitter, hard, and plastic like, which this was. It was not fun eating those!

Buta Garlic 06a  Buta Garlic 07  The chashu was a bit on the chewy side and lightly flavored, but not bad. The noodles were actually cooked decently and had a nice "springy pull" to them.

As a whole not my favorite bowl of ramen, but I'm glad I tried it.

Buta Garlic 08

I'm probably just not into these hipster type of ramen?

So, ST and Franklin, I know you mentioned that it was your coworkers who loved this. It's been a couple of months since you both commented and I'm wondering if you've managed to try this and if so, what did you think?

Buta Japanese Ramen
5201 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92110

The Vegan Soy Ramen from Nishiki (Mira Mesa):

Way back in November of 2023, in the comments of the post on the Veggie King Ramen at Nagi, FOY DavidG commented:

"As for the veggie ramen, this is the 2nd best I have had in SD. the Nishiki veggie ramen is so good, I don't understand how the broth is vegetarian. better than anywhere else i have ever tried. i'm curious what a meat eater like yourself would think of Nishiki's veggie ramen?"

Yes, I know it took long enough, but I finally decided to try the veggie ramen at Nishiki out. It's a good thing that I checked the menus online as I was headed to the Kearny Mesa location, which does not serve the "Vegan Delight"! I immediately changed plans and headed on over to the Mira Mesa location, which I hadn't been to before.

Nishiki Vegan 01

Wow, I remember when this was Spicy Hut!

I was greeted as I entered and said I was fine with a counter seat.

Nishiki Vegan 03

The nice young lady handed me a menu, but I told her I already knew what I wanted and ordered the "Vegan Soy Karaage Delight" 

Nishiki Vegan 02

I rather enjoyed sitting at the counter as I could watch the kitchen in action. Those folks were working hard.

Nishiki Vegan 04

My ramen took a while; but I enjoyed watching the action.

Nishiki Vegan 05  Nishiki Vegan 06 The pseudo tonkotsu bowl arrived seaming hot. There were some…well, interesting things about this bowl. My least favorite was the "impossible chicken karaage". It seemed to be sort of soybean based; but the texture was not to my liking; it was spongy and super chewy…think thick nylon sponge and had no flavor.

The eggless noodles were perfectly cooked, I really didn't miss the eggs….probably the best prepared I've had at Nishiki, so no qualms with that.

Nishiki Vegan 07  Nishiki Vegan 08  Not quite sure what to do with the slice of tomato? How much acidity, sweetness, will one slice of tomato provide for a bowl of ramen? The cabbage added a slight sweet-bitterness and was blanched. The corn also added some nice textural contrast and sweetness to the bowl.

As for the broth, it was mildly savory tones, and decent saltiness; not bad at all. I did miss the umami forward tones and while there were many "dots of oil", you can see it was on the thin side. I missed the tongue coating richness of a decent tonkotsu broth.

Nishiki Vegan 09

In the end, I think I prefer the Veggie King Ramen from Nagi. Though this wasn't bad at all and the staff here were really nice. In fact, to be perfectly honest, I preferred this to the Garlic Ramen at Buga, which I think says a lot.

Nishiki Vegan 10

Nishiki Ramen (Mira Mesa)
9460 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126

Thanks for the recommendation DavidG!