Ramen – Page 13

Tokyo: First impressions, Shinjuku, and Nagi Ramen

October 24, 2014 mmm-yoso Japan, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen, Tokyo, Kamakura, and the Kantō Region, Travel, yoso-silly

Back in July, having just returned from Belgium and the Czech Republic, the Missus sent me a text. Something along the lines of "let's go to Japan." To which I replied, "great, so next year, we'll go to Japan". Her response? "No, I mean let's go to Japan in October, after seeing my parents." And so it came to pass….

For some strange reason; I'd never really been motivated to visit Japan. But now, the wheels set in motion, I just couldn't wait. Though busy at work and time was short, I did some research, and found things I needed to know; the somewhat confusing address system, making sure I had photos of the storefronts of the places we needed to be at. I got us apartments in Tokyo and Osaka, and even a Machiya in Kyoto. Had friends make reservations at two places in Tokyo. We don't really plan much in the way of activities; mostly just broad outlines. The Missus likes to do most of that when we reach our destination. This can be a challenge, but She does it based on where we need to be.

All in all, Japan turned out to be one of the easiest places we've ever visited. It's amazingly orderly, folks at the worst are polite and everyone we met was helpful. That the Missus could read Kanji proved to be a major plus as other than the hiragana and katagana, and Japanese pronunciations, She could cull out meaning. I know a handful of words though my phrasing is (sometimes hilariously) woeful. When it comes to food though, I understand much more.

Well, enough of that….I'll get more into it in future posts.

As things turned out, all you really need is a Japan Railpass, Suica Card, the Hyperdia App, addresses both in English and Japanese, the word "sumimasen", and a little patience and you'll do just fine.

I really thought Tokyo was going to be a bear and was prepared to be overwhelmed, and in a way we were, but not exactly in the way we thought we'd be. First off, getting around in Tokyo was very easy for us. Finding exact locations weren't. Tokyo itself is made up of 23 wards…..think of it as 23 cities packed into one mega-city. Yes, it's busy, but also very quiet. The train/subway can be packed to the gills and yet, there's not a single word uttered in anything above a whisper! Folks line the stairs and escalators…all to the left in Tokyo, letting folks pass to the right. They walk…a lot…they eat tons of carbs and are very thin…folks do not eat while they walk, it's bad manners, even though there are very few public waste receptacles, the sidewalks are extremely clean.

We arrived in the neighborhood of Yotsuya and found the business of the person we were renting our apartment from with rather minimal problems. She was in the middle of teaching a class, so we dropped off our luggage, we travel super light, and set off to get something to drink, and to do some exploring. We walked down one of the side streets….

Seeing the sign above we walked down the alley like street and were totally over whelmed by all the restaurants and bars……which led to the big question. How does one actually make a choice here? There are so many places and options. I'm sure Tabelog and Gurunavi would help, but man, there's just so much. The Missus made the comment, "man, there are more restaurants in this little street than all of Clairemont Mesa!"

Luckily, I had reservations taken care of for the next night, had a plan for this evening, and had an outline of where to eat in the area for our last evening in Tokyo. In fact, we went looking for that Izakaya and actually found the place….using my really, really bad Japanese, I uttered one of the few phrases I know, "Yoyaku wo onegaishimasu"…. actually getting reservations.

We finally got settled into our apartment, which ended up being in the Yotsuya Sanchome area. A bit more residential, busy main streets, but quiet side streets.

We were meeting an old friend of mine; Reiko for dinner. nothing major, I wanted some ramen, and it would be great seeing Reiko, who used to work for one of my friends several years (actually more than several) back. Reiko was born and raised on Tokyo, so I thought getting to where we wanted to go to would be a slam dunk…well, not quite. You see, first we had to get to Shinjuku Station, claimed to be the busiest in the world (according to Wikipedia, the station was used by over 3.6 million people a day and has 200 exits).

Shinjuku itself is a popular business, entertainment, and shopping area…. lets just say popular is an understatement. Tons of younger folks gather outside the station, just milling around, as it seems to be a popular meeting and socializing area.

The place I'd ask Reiko to find had several locations within Kabukichō, the red light district and the Golden Gai, so it goes to figure that Reiko isn't really familiar with the area. After passing the Robot Restaurant (if you really gotta know, you can read about it here.) and missing the photo op of a large group of business men taking a photo with one of the "Robot Warriors", she needed some help and got a bit of direction….

This was sensory overload….after a while, things started looking like this.

I was seeing blurred outlines by now…all the blinking lights, the neon….. the punk-goth Japanese girls, good god, I was ready to fade to black.

Just in time Reiko pointed and said, "there it is Kirk-san…. Nagi Ramen."

Yes, all this effort for ramen. Would you expect anything less from us? Of course, not just any ramen….

Then of course, there was navigating the ramen ticket machine. You enter in your money and press the buttons for the various options you want.

The tiny shop has a single counter with a few seats. Behind the counter, two guys do everything….. it's hot and hard work.

Nagi is famous for their hardcore niboshi broth. Vast quantities of dried anchovies are simmered for over 12 hours to come up with a heady broth.

The broth is hearty, thick, savory, packing a huge punch. Pungent and full of flavor, it's not eveyone's cup of tea. Indeed it was a bit too strong at first for the Missus. That first sip of the broth will do that to you. We both ordered the combination of noodles, the regular, kind of doughy-chewy noodles and the wide and flat "hirauchimen"noodles which the Missus preferred. The egg had that perfect bright orange orb of a yolk. I had ordered extra green onions which helped balance out the flavor of the broth. My only issue was with the chashu which looked medium rare and was very tough and chewy. Otherwise, this was love at first bite….though perhaps not for the Missus who was a bit overwhelmed by it all.

Leaving the restaurant, things seemed to slow down, everything felt like it was slowing down, all was right in the world, things were starting to make sense…. though I still didn't have an explanation for the Robot Restaurant!

Thanks for reading!

Tsuke-mania; Tsukemen visits to RakiRaki, Yamadaya, and Taijma Ramen House

September 28, 2014 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

During our recent hot spell I was really craving some noodles. In recent years though, I've kind of lost my affection for cold "bun" type dishes and I've yet to come across a version of hiyashi chuka in San Diego that I enjoy. So I thought why not do a couple of servings of tsukemen which invented in the mid-1950's by Yamagishi Kazuo at his shop Taishoken Ramen. He is such a legendary personality that there's actually a documentary called God of Ramen, which is sort of a Jiro Dreams of Sushi style movie.

Anyway, I thought it would be good to compare a couple of bowls over consecutive days.

RakiRaki Ramen and Tsukemen:

A yes, the home of hype….. Though I'll honestly say, the service here has been efficient, and Tsukemen I've had here has gotten better over time. It's now less salty, there's a bit of an almost citrus effect with the flavor of the broth. It also seemed to have gained some viscosity this time around as it coated my noodles, which were perfectly prepared (firm with almost a crunch), nicely.

There was a bit more pork than I recalled in the broth, though it was a bit too cold in temperature for me; I thought this was the best version by far…..except for that egg, which I thought should have been soft boiled.

RakiRaki Ramen and Tsukemen
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Ramen Yamadaya:

**** Ramen Yamadaya has closed

I really didn't know what to expect from Yamadaya. I know what I usually get here; Kotteri Tonkotsu with Kakuni Pork and extra firm noodles. I really didn't like the Tsukemen when I had it back in 2012. But, since I started this thing…..

The broth is still to salty for my tastes, which makes it difficult to taste much else. In spite of the rich look of the broth, it doesn't coat the noodles well, which by the way, were done pretty good….I had expected it to be overdone. The chashu here is bland and dry, the egg was nicely done though.

Ramen Yamadaya
4706 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

So that was going to be it….just a head-to-head comparison. Until I mentioned this to someone and they told me I needed to include Tajima in the mix. Frankly, I thought after my last post, I'd be done for a while, but I guess not. So for due diligence here it is.

Tajima Ramen House:

Actually, the Tsukemen looked not bad.

That chashu was dry and tough, the noodles over-cooked, the egg was nicely done, good flavor, soft boiled…one out of three. The noodles are hard to forgive. That broth was weird, there a strange metallic aftertaste that I get from the broth at Tajima, also this had a slightly fishy tone to it; like it was based on niboshi dashi. Very thin, it did a lousy job of coating the noodles in fat and flavor. At least it was hot…..

Tajima Japanese Restaurant
4681 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

OK, so those were an interesting three days….. As I figured Raki Raki was my favorite and Tajima my least favorite. Still, it was a fun little comparison.

And as an added bonus – here's the trailer from God of Ramen:

Revisits: Grandma’s Tofu & BBQ, Homestyle Hawaiian, and Santouka

August 28, 2014 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Korean Restaurants, Local Kine Stuffs in San Diego, Plate Lunch, Ramen

Some revisits for a sizzling Thursday.

Grandma's Tofu & BBQ:

The Missus was craving Jokbal Bossam and it had been a while since we've had it here, so the timing seemed perfect. I do wish they'd choose something other than napa cabbage, but other than that, this was porky goodness. In spite of the name, it's dishes like the jokbal bossam, heukyumso jungol, kimchi dolsot bi bim bap, and on good days the seolleongtang that works for us here.

The panchan on this day was good. I think folks have gotten used to the "quick kimchi" style panchan, and this sometimes is a bit too fermented or salty for its own good.

Grandma's Tofu & BBQ
4425 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111

Homestyle Hawaiian:

Not much to say about this than I need a nap after eating this.

If you want more, you can read one of my previous posts on the place.

Homestyle Hawaiian Island Style Food
7524 Mesa College Drive
San Diego, CA 92111

Santouka Ramen:

Santouka, that chain that originated in the coldest city in Japan, Asahikawa, has long been my go-to ramen spot. As with many places I eat at, there's one item I usually order. Here it's the shio ramen – toroniku style.

After going to all the major ramen shops in San Diego back in February 2013, Santouka still was my favorite. the rich, stick to your ribs broth, the nice firm noodles, and the pork which, when "on" has a wonderful, almost smooth texture with a nice pork flavor.

I know, it's really hot out….but on this, a cooler day, it hit the spot.

Still my favorite and I think Jinxi also agrees.

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

Go Go Sushi and Ramen (Mira Mesa)

August 25, 2014 Cathy Japanese Restaurants, Ramen, What Cathy Eats!

Thanks for stopping at mmm-yoso!!!, a food blog. Kirk and Ed(from Yuma) are enjoying the cooling weather today. Cathy already has done so.

The little space right next to HMart on Mira Mesa Boulevard has changed business owners at least twice since 2012. Since The Mister and I try to have a bit to eat before shopping, we stopped in for quick bites.

The full menu as well as a Specials Board is out front. The two times we were here, the Specials were the same…The interior has been redone and is not as jarring (when the space was Po and Pho, florescent lights were almost too bright for my old eyes). Complimentary edamame was served. A better soy sauce is the only condiment on the table. For the first visit, The Mister's order came with miso soup (mine didn't) but the nice waitress brought me a complimentary bowl. That was nice. It was good; pretty standard. The Mister ordered the 'Lunch Special' bento box ($6.95 and included a beverage; regular $7.95 without beverage)). Teriyaki chicken (a more citrus rather than sweet flavor sauce), California roll and tempura vegetable along with rice and salad. The nicely grilled chicken and sauce was plentiful, the California roll was fresh (warm rice; good) and the tempura was properly fried…salad dressing was tasty. Because of the hot day, I had decided I wanted a salad and ordered the "Hawaiian Poki" ($9.95)(that's how it is spelled on the menu), which was wonderful. A good amount of fresh, properly marinated tuna on top of a seaweed salad, topped with crushed macadamia nuts. This was very satisfying. We also ordered the mixed tempura side ($4.95) which included two pieces of shrimp as well as broccoli, onion, zucchini and sweet potato all breaded and fried properly.Next visit, I wanted to try the calamari salad ($7.95). It's listed as an appetizer. The size was a disappointment. You can see only five small strips of fried squid and it wasn't really enough for me, much less to be shared. There was plenty of lettuce…but still.. one thing I would not order again. Many people here during each visit were ordering sushi rolls from the five pages or so of their listings on the menu. However, the table placard caught our interest.The tonkatsu ramen with a side of tonkatsu. ($7.95 + $2). The broth was very rich and deeply flavored; the BBQ pork pieces were meaty and moist; I especially liked the egg; the noodles had a nice tooth and this was well made. The side of tonkatsu was fried by the same guy who did the calamari pieces for my salad… too thin, too crispy…

We will have to try more of the menu but, for the most part, we're happy with what we have tried. Here's a link to Mary's post, when she came here just after Go Go opened last July.

Go Go Sushi and Ramen 9430 Mira Mesa Blvd San Diego 92131 (858)530-8600 open 11-9 daily (closes 9:30 on Fri and Sat)

Noodling Around: Revisits to Ramen Yamadaya and Hinotez

May 4, 2014 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen, Vietnamese Restaurants

We had a nice period of cooler weather before things turned really hot. It has been a pretty warm year, so we never had any period of real "noodle weather", so when things cooled down, I tried to make the most of it.

Ramen Yamadaya:

**** Ramen Yamadaya has closed

The first place I hit up was Ramen Yamadaya. We left less than satisfied on our last visit back in November. I ordered my usual, the Kotteri Tonkotsu, noodles extra firm, with garlic on the side. Things were better this time around, the broth nice and hot, the rich soup coating my tongue….and belly. Noodles were decently firm, and overall, this was a nice bowl. I guess our last visit was a fluke….I hope.

Ramen Yamadaya
4706 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

On another note, the sign for the downtown location on Broadway is finally up. Still not much sign of activity and it's been over a year….but at least it's progress.

Hinotez:

I actually had been thinking of going to Yakyudori, but my meetings had run long…..try and get into Yakyudori, or any number of ramen shops on "the Mesa" at noon. I really didn't have the time, nor the internal fortitude to wait in line….so where to go? Well, I've never encountered a wait at Yakyudori's sister restaurant, Hinotez. I will say that in my experience, the ramen at Hinotez never really stood up to the Yakuyudori name, but since my choices were limited……

Like my experience at Yamadaya, the Shio Ramen ($7) here was better than on previous visits.

I actually hedged my bets by also ordering some Chicken Karaage, which were nice and lightly battered, but was on the tough and chewy side.

The ramen was pretty good, the nice mild sweetness of the salt was there, the noodles were wonderfully chewy. Not a fan of a chashu, which was dry, but at least it wasn't cold like on my last visit. The broth had a nice layer of fat floating on the top….this was a vast improvement since my last visit.

Hinotez
7947 Balboa Ave
San Diego, CA 92111

Two for two….nice!

I think we've got some cooler weather coming up this week, what are planning to eat?

Revisits: RakiRaki and Curry Rice Hinotez

May 1, 2014 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

Well, if the heat doesn't get you; I guess the wind will……

I feel for the folks who owned the two vehicles that were hit by the falling tree.

Even though it was hotter than the surface of the sun out, I wanted some noodles, so I decided to head to kodai-kōkoku ummm, RakiRaki.

I may joke about all the self promotion and internally generated hype that adorns almost all the surfaces of this place, at the least it makes an almost halfway decent tsukemen. I've kinda struck out with Sichuan Liang Mian, so I decided to change things up a bit. Also, I figured, quite correctly that RakiRaki would be pretty quite.

Of course, things started out with a welcomed bottle of Pure Alkalized Water, which is now labelled, just in case you didn't know….because what could that colorless liquid that tastes like water possibly be?

As for my Original Tsukemen ($8.95)….as opposed to the Spicy Tsukemen….or the Rikimaru Miso Tsukemen…or the Rikimaru Spicy Tonkotsu Miso Tsukemen, or….well, you get it.

I really like the firmness of the noodles here and this was right on the money. I did notice a couple of things…the slice of lime was dried out like it had been sliced quite a while ago and left sitting and while this was the most "chashu" I've ever had here….the place has been notoriously chintzy with protein, it was basically tiny pieces, like all the leftover stuff at the bottom of the pot. The broth seems to have changed a bit; it was less salty than I remembered, not a bad thing, and had an almost citrus like finish to it, like someone had added ponzu to it. I still think it's over priced, but it suited my needs on this hot afternoon.

RakiRaki Ramen and Tsukemen
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

**** Curry Rice Hinotez is now Yakitori Taisho

One thing about working in an office with no windows is that your wrapped in that "bubble" with no idea of what is going on outside. So I walk outside and it's like a zillion degrees….well at least a 100 or so. The world was still rather dark when I entered the office and I had the idea that I should go back to Curry Rice Hinotez to see what was going on. Even though it was rather hot, I decided to follow thru……to find out that it doesn't look like anything is going on here; same one item….same version of curry (pork)….which tasted the same when I ate it at my desk.

Man, I'm wondering how long they can go one like this? They were prepping a bunch of stuff behind bamboo curtain, but I guess none of it is for this location.

It would be nice if they switched things around a bit……..still, this wasn't bad at all.

Curry Rice Hinotez
5185 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117

Ramen Izakaya Ouan

February 12, 2014 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

**** Ramen Izakaya Ouan has closed

A few months ago, Yu Mei Ya's outpost in Hillcrest closed. I had been there only once and wasn't too impressed, it seemed a far cry from its namesake in Encinitas.

Izakaya Ouan soon rose in its place. Coming on the heels of the closing of Tecchan, Ouan seems to have some good timing. Seeing that my last few meals at Izakaya Masa was far from satisfying, I thought I'd give Ouan a cautious try, so I headed over for lunch.

The place was empty for the entire duration of my visit. The folks here are somewhat distant, but professional. I saw something on my menu that I enjoy, Vegetable Kakiage, basically mixed vegetable strips in tempura batter, when made well, like the version at Izakaya Sakura, is light and satisfying, a textural delight. So I got the Vegetable Kakiage Don ($7.50) plus some Ebi (shrimp $3.00).

First off, the miso soup was watered down quite a bit. The rice was on the dry side, but the vegetable was very nice, light, well fried, great crunch, though the tsuyu was a bit too salty. The shrimp was ok, the batter a little too gummy and shrimp kind of small for my taste. At over $10, this was nowhere near as good as Sakura's $8.50 Ebi Kakiage Soba/Udon……but hey, we're paying the Hillcrest premium for this, right?

Still, this was good enough for me to want to check them out for dinner…..and my good buddy Candice was nice enough to join me.

We started with the Tako Wasabi with Lemon Zest ($4.50).

Even though this seemed like Nishimoto Trading type Tako Wasabi, the lemon zest really helped to add a nice dimension to the dish, it really raised the flavor. This unfortunately was the best item of the night.

Things didn't go that badly downhill with the Fried Skate Wing…..a simple basic deep fried engawa seasoned with salt and togarashi.

This was fine, though a couple of the pieces were on the gummy side with regards to the batter….seems like temperatures weren't quite under control.

Since I love chicken wings, I ordered the Spicy Miso Marinated Wings ($6.50).

This wasn't very spicy, the flavor of the aka miso wasn't tempered making this salty. Also the wings were tough. After the first one, I stopped paying attention and was having a great time chatting with Candice….until I looked down and noticed that the last wing I ate was bloody red…….ick. I know, I have eaten chicken sashimi, but that was by my own choosing…….

The Shio Koji Lamb Chop ($14) was tragic, rubbery and tough, lacking in the umami I expected.

Koji, Aspergillus Oryzae, a mold formed by fermentation and used in making soy sauce and sake is supposed to be an umami enhancer. In this case all it left was a mild sour taste on the tough lamb.

The final item we ordered was called Spacey Ramen ($12.95) on the menu. Apparently, it had pork, chicken, wood ear, truffle, etc, etc……

This is a good example of fusion gone bad…….the "sauce" had the texture of a very greasy bolognese sauce, drenched with a rather unpleasant amount of truffle oil. The noodles were fine, but the whole greasiness of the dish and the over-powering faux truffle fragrance just killed the dish for us. We could barely get past a couple of bites……

In the end, I felt really bad for inviting Candice to dinner, only to experience this. It would be one thing if the place was super busy, but they were only half full. Sadly, it seemed like they were jusy going through the motions. Just take a look at the menu….it says they serve their ramen with "tonkatsu" not tonkotsu, chicken based broth. Oh the power of the single letter………

Still, being the glutton for punishment that I am; I had a hard time believing that a place that had more than few people recommending it to me would be so bad. So I made one final "safe" lunchtime visit and got the Ouan Black Ramen ($9.25) with a poached egg ($1.50).

The standard issue noodles were perfect, the broth fine (no it's not black garlic oil like Yamadaya, just some oil with black sesame), if a bit too "thin" for my tastes….though it could be because it's, ahem, "tonkatsu" style!?!?!?! The chasu was ice cold and the "poached egg" apparently an attempt as something sort of like onsen tamago, was overcooked as the yolk was fully cooked and solid. Again, that bugaboo about not attending to details, which seems to be sort of the theme here. Overall, not too bad, but at almost $11, I'll take Toroniku at Santouka or Yamadaya anytime at that price point.

Ouan actually makes Izakaya Masa seem great, even though my fellow food blogger Dennis (hope you're back posting soon, we miss ya') calls them the "Sandra Lee" of Izakayas.

Ramen Izakaya Ouan
3882 4th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103

Noodling Around: Mien Trung, Pho Lucky, Santouka, and Ramen Yamadaya

November 7, 2013 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen, Vietnamese Restaurants

I believe I've mentioned that over the last couple of years, rice has been replaced as my starch of choice by noodles. Never has it been more apparent than over the last two hectic, busy weeks at work. Sheeesh….and like I've also said before, I don't think this blog would still be in existence were it not for Cathy and Ed from Yuma. Who always come to the rescue.

Anyway, long days, meant more than my fair share of long strips of dough. Here's a round-up.

Mien Trung:

There's nothing like a spicy, sweat inducing, end to the day….and soup is good too! Mien Trung just does Bun Bo Hue right for me; spicy, salty, sour, is the formula. The soup is always hot which welcomes the shredded veggies and herbs. When the broth does edge toward salty, a touch of lime tames the sodium.

The Missus still enjoys the Bun Rieu, though She take umbrage to Mien Trung's switching of the noodles for the Bun Rieu to the wrong style.

Mien Trung Restaurant
7530 Mesa College Dr
San Diego, CA 92111

Pho Lucky:

I wanted a real bowl of Pho Bo Kho after the lack luster version at Spotted Cow, even though I had to wait a couple of weeks.

This bowl had twice the meat, twice the flavor, and was cheaper than the food court equivalent.

Oh, and there was a fire sale on tendon on this day….must have been a "Lucky" one for me.

Pho Lucky
9326 Mira Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92126

Santouka Ramen:

A cold snap means that the Missus is looking forward to ramen. Her favorite is still Santouka's Shio Toroniku Ramen with Egg, not cheap, but totally comfort food. This one with Chasu Gohan added.

Ramen's popularity has spawned one good thing….folks understand ramen now. I hardy hear all that whining about how ramen is so expensive compared to pho. Well, I still hear it sometimes, perhaps I've just gotten better at ignoring it.

Santouka Ramen
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd
San Diego, CA 92111

Ramen Yamadaya:

**** Ramen Yamadaya has closed

I gotta ask….what happened here?

We ordered the Kotteri (extra rich) Tonkotsu and got this, watery and bland. A far cry from what I had just a couple of weeks ago. This was rather insipid and barely past lukewarm in temperature.

The chasu has improved and the kakuni pork was pretty good too. But the main reason we choose Yamadaya is for the broth.

This was disappointing……

Ramen Yamadaya
4706 Clairement Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Raki Raki Revisited – Waylaid by a ramen burger

September 24, 2013 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Burgers, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

I had promised myself a return visit to Raki Raki to have the Tsukemen back in November when the weather got a bit warmer…..well, if the record heat we had recently wasn't a sign from some divine being….in short, it was tsukemen time.

But a funny thing happened on the way to my noodles. I believe I'm usually hype free and don't really follow fads. Yep, I'm just your usually fuddy duddy, boring kinda guy. But in a moment of temporary insanity I ordered this:

A ramen burger…….or should I say a "Dream Come True California Ramen Burger" ($9.75)

Even I have those moments it seems….after eating this I mumbled "what was I thinking" to myself as I walked into the psycho parking lot on Convoy. Hopefully not too loud….

The burger is 100% angus beef, over-worked and cooked to death as it's tough as leather. The flavor is nice and beefy. All of the juices from the burger seemed to have collected in the greasy, bland, flaccid, mushy bunch of noodles used as a bun. The fry job on these was lousy as it fell to greasy pieces after two bites. I had imagined something like crispy "cake noodle" like I get back home, this was not very good. The "crisp" rolled pork slice they call "underbelly" was more like hard and the edges burnt and bitter.

The sweet potato fries were light and mildly crisp, with good flavor.

But man, who you gonna sue for this oil spill?

This was like something dreamt up in a college dorm room after a couple hits of the cash crop. For a more mature point of view, perhaps you should read Kirbie's post on the ramen burger.

I sent out texts and photos to my friends, then had a moment of paranoid reflection…….first Yes! Pingo and now a ramen burger…what's going on? What next…a Harley, porn 'stache, and a couple of tats? Maybe this was that male menopause I'd seen my friends go through? Yikes!

I needed to fix this……which I did by returning for the Standard Tsukemen ($8.75).

It was as before, noodles with a nice texture, perhaps a bit over-priced for what you get, and the broth edged on the too salty side.

But most importantly, this seemed like a return to normalcy. At least for now….

RakiRaki Ramen and Tsukemen
4646 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Noodling Around: Revisits to Pho Tay Do, Santouka, Minh Ky, and having something that’s “just wrong” at Pho Cow Cali

June 23, 2013 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Pho, Ramen, Vietnamese Restaurants

Somewhere at about the half-way point during our trips, the Missus always asks me, "are you missing anything?" And usually, it's noodles. Strangely, on our last vacation we ate so well that I only started missing noodles, at the end of our trip……yes, I realize we were in Rome and all, but it was Asian noodles, in any form….

Anyway, here's a short collection of revisits…..

Pho Tay Do:

**** Pho Tay Do has closed

I first posted on Pho Tay Do back in 2010, Cathy followed up a year later. For some reason my mind just blanks out places in this strip mall; I'm not sure why.

I actually hadn't been back here in over a year and was wondering what the state of the Bun Mang Vit – The Duck and Bamboo Shoot Noodle Soup was.

There were a couple of tables occupied when I arrived, but the interior was pretty dark. I guess they're trying to keep the energy bill down.

I ordered the Bun Mang Vit which arrived in the blink of an eye.

I don't know how business is, nor how the current state of the economy or anything else is affecting this place, but in terms of what I had it seems to have fallen.

The broth wasn't hot and had very little flavor. There was hardly eny of the earthy reconstituted dried bamboo and maybe 2/3 of the noodles of the bowl I last had here. The portion of dipping sauce was smaller and though it still has a nice hint of ginger, it too tastes watered down.

The slices of duck are smaller and very dry. Even though the place never provided an abundance of herbs in their greens, this was just about all cabbage……

This was pretty sorry overall and a mere shadow of what I'd had in previous visits. Sad…..

Pho Tay Do
5296 University Ave
San Diego, CA 92105

Santouka (for the zillionth time):

Yeah, I know…I won't even post the links. A couple of weeks back, I took my coworker, "YZ" to Yamadaya, I was interested in what She thought.

On this visit, the pork cheek was spot on, tender and full of flavor. The noodles were done perfectly as well. Hard combination to beat.

So when I quizzed Her, the opinion was pretty much the same as ours. Pork and noodles Santouka, broth Yamadaya. So I guess it depends on what you're in the mood for, right?

The Missus asked me if the perfect ramen existed? I could only shrug my shoulders……

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

Minh Ky:

Yes, Beef Sate Noodle – Dry, again:

Needless to say….it delivered as expected.

Minh Ky Restaurant
4644 El Cajon Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92115

Pho Cow Cali:

Before we left on our trip, the Missus was strangely craving Pho….something that rarely happens as I'm the Pho eater in the family. The craving lasted for a couple of weeks and there's just so many times you can go to Pho Lucky. The Missus can be a rather hard nut though…..once She finds something She likes it's hard to convince Her to try something else. I did explain to Her that Pho Cow Cali's protein was better and that they had Filet Mignon Pho!

Which was just fine for Her….however, once She saw this on the menu:

She determined that I just had to have the Com Tam Dac Biet….without com tam (broken rice). And so it came to pass that I had mine with brown rice.

First, let me explain that I'm not a fan of brown rice. Then to add insult to injury, they charge you $1 more. Of course they probably don't sell too much brown rice, so this took forever……it was also very low quality. The Bi was good, the pork chop and cha ok, the brown rice, just wrong. Nuff said….I tried it once.

Pho Cow Cali
9170 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126