Ramen – Page 14

San Diego’s Ramen Renaissance Part 1: Revisiting Underbelly

February 12, 2013 mmm-yoso Ramen

It's hard to believe that as little as 3 years ago, I was thrilled to have two basic choices for ramen in San Diego, Santouka and Yakyudori….sorry folks Tajima and Izakaya Masa just didn't cut it for me. It seems that overnight, "ramen-mania" took over…..shades of "burger saturation"! Now of course, it seems that every place is getting into the act. In fact, I've started to separate my ramen into "tiers"; the better quality, usually more expensive, richer, more complex versions are tier 1. The cheaper, get it on the run, rather generic, mostly just for nourishment versions are tier 2. I hope never to have a tier three….well maybe there is a tier 3, I can check my cupboard to see if I might have a package of the stuff in there from the last decade!

I thought I'd do a series of posts on places that have opened over the last year-and-a-half or so, part of what I call the "ramen renaissance". All these are revisits except 1…….so let's start slurping.

The last….and only time I visited Underbelly, I thought it to be over-priced and somewhat underwhelming.

I did think they were trying to serve a good product, so I thought it would be nice to see how things have progressed. I was really happy to see the folding windows/counter were securely bolted down. There's now some outdoor seating, which is a "no-beer zone" as well.

A bunch of folks asked me why I didn't mention the "no spoon" policy at Underbelly. Well, based on history with this group…the no ketchup at Neighborhood, no vodka at Craft and Commerce, the place has this "minus one" type of thing going on. They are into the Paris Hilton school of any buzz, be it negative or positive, is good. A couple of good friends of mine are big fans of this groups restaurants/bars so I always kid them about the next "minus one concept" restaurant they'll be opening…..some examples, "Madison Square Garden", where you get MSG (get it???) laden food, but no water is served, or "Origami" where beautifully folded paper representations of dishes grace the table, but no real food is served…. Okay, well, I've already spent too much time on this.

As before the drill is look over the menu, order and pay at the bar, get a number and grab a seat. At least this day wasn't too windy or cold as this corner can be pretty chilly.

I ordered the Underbelly Ramen and added Beef Brisket, so this rung in at $15…..

The standard Nishimoto Trading noodles were prepared much better this time around, actually attaining a bit of pull. The proteins, even the smoked beef brisket, which didn't taste like it was smoked last time worked well. The egg was wonderfully runny and the chashu was a perfect match of tenderness and flavor.

The broth wasn't quite as oily as my previous visit and was like the atmosphere here, served a bit too cool for my taste. It lacked that tongue-coating richness and didn't have much flavor. Dare I say…bland?

If it's all about the protein for you, I guess you might like Underbelly. Me? Well, I still think there's a hipster ramen upcharge for eating here…..

UnderBelly
750 W. Fir St
San Diego, CA 92101

It’s soup weather: Mien Trung, Ramen Yamadaya, Sushi Yaro, Roseville Cozinha

January 3, 2013 mmm-yoso Bun Bo Hue, Italian Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Ramen, Vietnamese Restaurants

Is it just me, or does it seem that the weather's a bit colder this year? Brrrrr……. It's obviously time for something like this.

Actually, it's been a hot comforting bowl of noodle soup that I've been craving. My mother nce told me that during the her pregnancy she constantly craved noodles and soup. It's no wonder I was practically screaming for saimin from the time the pediatrician slapped me on the behind!

I've been purposely passing by the local bank every morning. They have one of those clocks-slash-temperature displays. The other morning; I go to work early, it read 39 degrees! 39 degrees! I won't vouch for the accuracy of the temperature, or time (it always seems off 2-3 minutes), but it did seem mighty cold…..especially for us wimpy San Diegans. Still, it wasn't like the hail and frost in Cathy's neighborhood…..but more than enough for me to start hunting down noodle soup! Here are a few recent bowls.

Mien Trung:

When it gets cold and I need a little kick in the pants, I go to Mien Trung for a bracing bowl of Bun Bo Hue. I believe I've hit just about every place that serves BBH in the San Diego area, and Mien Trung comes out on top.

The bowls do vary on visits. Sometimes it's more spicy, there are times when I find they've gone a bit too far with the MSG. But as whole, it always hits the spot. On this day, it was the normal scalding hot that BBH should always be to take care of the shredded greens and herbs, the MSG level was rather low, the spiciness on medium low………

And it was just right for me……..

I was also lucky that I wore dark colors…..no visible little red dots after slurping up those noodles!

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

Ramen Yamadaya:

**** Ramen Yamadaya has closed

I had thoughts of going to Yakyudori for some ramen, but my last couple ramen visits haven't gone too well, and I wanted something a bit richer. It had been a while and since it wasn't a zillion degrees outside, I thought it was time for another visit. It's still fairly warm inside; great during winter, but I'm not too sure how things will be when summer rolls around.

Ordering for me was easy…well relatively, I do like the curry here, but it was a warming bowl of rick tonkotsu style ramen I was looking for. I'm not a big fan of the chashu here, but wanted to check it out again. I hedged my bets and went with the Kotteri Ramen, an extra "fatty", I like to use the word rich broth, with a side of kakuni pork. Slow cooked pork belly.

The broth had that nice tongue coating richness I enjoy….not greasy, but nice and rich. It also wasn't as salty as on previous visits. The noodles were too soft and mushy this time around….I'm toying with idea of getting them extra firn next time. The chashu is tragically tough, dry, and low on the flavor scale for me….better to go with the kakuni, which was unfortunately ice cold….guess I'll order the kakuni ramen, kotteri…..

I could go on a bit more….but I won't bore you with the minutae. It did the job, that's the main thing.

Ramen Yamadaya
4706 Clairement Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

Soki Soba at Sushi Yaro:

**** Sushi Yaro has closed

My buddy Sam has ramen and all kinds of other stuff on the menu now. For me, the best noodle soup he serves is the soki soba, an Okinawan noodle soup, served with "soki", simmered spare ribs.

The only other version I've had of this; at an Okinawan Restaurant on Oahu was a bit different and yet the same. The noodles there were wide noodles; here it's udon, but was cooked perfectly. The broth like this was dashi/kombu based. I enjoyed the spicy vinegar provided, it help to balance out the broth, which teetered on the high sodium end. There were two riblets here, though they had pretty much melted to pieces. Still, I was surprised that Sam did a pretty good job with this….I'll have it again.

Sushi Yaro
7905 Engineer Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Cioppino at Roseville Cozinha:

**** Roseville Cozinha has closed

The Missus said I should give stew some equal time. I think She meant I needed to mention the cioppino She enjoyed recently at Roseville Cozinha.

She loved it……..it had a nice zing to it, but wasn't too rich. Well flavored seafood based broth too. Nice fresh seafood.

She enjoyed the simple, pure flavors of the shrimp in this as well.

But that's not a soup or stew so I can't count it.

Roseville Cozinha
2750 Dewey Rd Suite 104 (Liberty Station)
San Diego, CA 92106

So tell me….what have you been eating to keep warm?

RakiRaki Ramen and Tsukemen

November 6, 2012 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

Forget about burgers, it seems that San Diego is going thru a bit of a "ramen renaissance", first Yamadaya opens and then a couple of weeks back I get an email from FOY (friend of yoso) "Faye" with a photo of RakiRaki, followed a few minutes later with a text from "YY" with almost the same photo. Add this to the Santouka's, Tajima's, Yakyudori, and even places like Red Noodle and Izakaya Sakura, with a couple of other Japanese/Sushi joints now serving ramen and you've got a major noodle-ish explosion going on.

I did visit soon after I received the email (thanks Faye!) and text messages.

At that time, RakiRaki was open for dinner only, as a soft opening. Although based on the crowds, I'd say that this was probably the worst kept secret in the area….plus, how can you miss the place.

At first glance I liked the look of the place, nice woods, the somewhat rustic cafe look. But after sitting at the counter my opinion changed. The seats seemed too low, making the counter quite high, which felt strange. Sort of the "little kid at the soda fountain" feeling.

Actually, a soft opening was probably a good idea as the crew obviously needed a bit of training. After I was seated, a menu was handed to me, and then they scattered like the wind. Busy putting together menus or wiping glasses while I sat waiting to order. When I finally ordered, everything snapped together and went efficiently, perhaps a little on the too eager efficient side as my check arrived a few seconds after my Tsukemen ($8.25 then, now $8.75), which I ordered since it was zillion degrees outside.

In short, this Tsukemen was quite good, rich and thick, but not overly salty like the version at Yamadaya. Nice rich flavors that hit the mark just below salty for me. The broth, though chicken based really didn't strike me as being too "fowl oriented" and I sensed a bit of a dashi-like background. The noodles really hit the mark for me, medium thick, with an excellent chew that almost closed in on a crunch.

The service, in spite of the delays and such, was very friendly, making it worth the fight to get in and out of this cursed parking lot.

I was told that the grand opening would occur on October 25th, after which they'd be open for lunch at 11, which is a great time for that parking lot. I drove by on the 26th at a bit past 11 and the place was closed. Curious, I returned; on a quiet Sunday evening. The time between visits seemed to make some difference; I was greeted at the door and immediately seated at one of the tables. Gotta watch the step in though, I saw one guy almost fall on his face tripping on it. The stools I saw at these tables had been replaced by hard wooden chairs that reminded me of the stuff we sit on in school, but at least it felt okay height-wise. I went with the "Premium" Ramen ($7.75 then, now $8.25) with pork chashu.

This broth had a much more assertive chicken flavor and was pretty salty. To me, it's sort of a "tweener", between a rich tonkotsu, this was more oily than rich, and a shio. The noodles, as on my previous visit was excellent, though the portion seemed a bit small. Loved the pork chashu, it had some texture to it with a nice soy-mild sweet pork flavor.

The service was very nice and wonderfully friendly. When I mentioned the grand opening, I was told that it was now November first. By this time Dennis (of course), had already done a post, and Kirbie had done not just one, but two posts on the place!

So just by coincidence I found (wink-wink, nod-nod) myself in the area on the first at just a few minutes after eleven and scored maybe the last parking spot in the lot. Hey, it must have been fate, right? I was again seated at the counter and watch the place fill up fast. The place was well staffed for a grand opening, which would be over-staffed. Service was a breeze….I went with the Original ($7.25) and curiosity made me add oxtail to my ramen ($4).

The broth was just mildly salty, you could make out the chicken flavor with what really does seem like "bonito-ish" tones. It was fairly straight-forward as broth goes, though a nice change of pace from the really rich tonkotsu style or the by-the-numbers shoyu/shio ramen. The noodles were a bit overcooked on this visit, but still better than what I'll usually get at "second-tier" ramen places in San Diego.

As for the oxtail. If this is the standard issue version; I'd say save your money. First, it was undercooked. I don't want it falling apart, but this was on the tough side. It was impossible to separate what meat there was from the bone, so I just had to grab it and gnaw away at the darn thing. The oxtail was good sized, but there was only one, which was also pretty bland, and not worth the extra $4.

The two young ladies who served me worked quite well together, they were both very friendly. The prices seem to have gone up about half-a-buck from the soft opening, though the menu has a few more items on it.

So what about that "front page" blurb regarding Chef Takeo Araki, etc? This reminded me of the stuff Chabuton and the like place on their menu. I just kinda get that glazed over look and move elsewhere. Alkaline water is a big trend now; just ask the Missus who "blows in the wind like a stalk of wheat" to whatever the "latest thing" is. Jyosui, the parent company of RakiRaki is a water purification company…..connect the dots? Never really heard of Chef Takeo Araki either. Still, if you enjoy the ramen/tsukemen, it doesn't really matter, does it?

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

Ramen Yamadaya

September 18, 2012 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

**** Yamadaya has closed

It's finally cool enough for me to actually do a post on Yamadaya without breaking into a sweat! I first recall reading about Yamadaya in a post on Dennis's blog. Unfortunately, I was on Oahu when they first opened. I kind of dilly-dallied for a short while, but finally made my way there….even though it was a boiling hot day.

Man was the place hotter than heck……I figured that they had just opened their doors and perhaps the A/C wasn't dialed in yet.

I was seated at the counter, which I would have really enjoyed hadn't it felt like I was being simmered instead of the chashu. The folks working here are very amiable and really took time to explain what was up to the folks who really didn't know what was up.

What was up is that Yamadaya serves up Hakata style ramen…which means that the "in" style of tonkotsu, basically a pork bone broth is featured, along with the thin and straight Hakata style noodle. Living and working close by means that I can take my time and get a "feel" for a place. So I decided to start up with the basic straight up Tonkotsu Ramen. Somehow, I talked myself into bumping it up to a combo, which goes for $14.80. That's pretty hefty for a lunch….but what the heck.

First off, I loved the noodles……I had doubts when I didn't order them extra firm, but I should not have worried. These were perfect. They do soften rather quickly, but I really didn't give it time to soften. Much better then any other place that "claims" to do Hakata ramen in San Diego. The broth was surprisingly mild, with almost no nose, just lightly salty. The egg was done well, but the chashu was terrible, lacking in flavor, dry, and my goodness, still cold! Not good eats, but I put that off to the place still finding their footing.

I also got some chicken karaage, which was pretty good, crisp, a hint of ginger, and not bad.

What I really enjoyed was the curry rice bowl. The curry had a very nice distinct flavor, with hints that seemed like Wocestershire.

The texture was nice and smooth….this is something I'll have again.

A few days later I was in the area and decided to stop in again….man, it was still pretty hot in there. This time, I went with what I had my eyes on the first time, the Kotteri Ramen($8.45). If there was any bowl of tonkotsu that would benefit from a touch of extra fat and more flavor it would be this one.

Along with confirming that the A/C in the shop was not up to the task, there were a couple of other reaffirmations; the noodles were indeed prepared well and the chashu was still dry and lacking in flavor.

The broth really benefited from the black garlic oil, which gave it a sweet-pungent lift in flavor. In fact the whole deal was getting to the upper limit of my sodium tolerance but was still good. The extra richness really gave the broth that smooth, tongue-coating richness I enjoy as well.

Nice bowl, minus the chashu……

So of course I wanted to move along a bit more….which was great since "MrZ" was thinking about grabbing some lunch. The day was a bit cooler, but it still is pretty warm in the shop. This time, to see if the kakuni was the cure to the chashu, I ordered the Kakuni Ramen ($10.95). I had thoughts of asking for it kotteri, but decided to see how the buta kakuni fared in the ramen.

Let me just say this; the kakuni is the way to go. While not as great, it was tender and well flavored…oh, and moist. I also believe that some of the braising liquid for the pork was put into the bowl as I sensed a nice background sweetness to the broth this time around.

As usual it was great seeing MrZ…and here's a shout out to the newest addition to the 'Z' family…well, I'll just call him "little Z" for now!

So, there you go, three bowls, and I've got my ramen here dialed in. As simple as Kotteri with Kakuni. We're done, right? Well, not quite….there's one more item I wanted to try. Not feeling like dealing with the heat and man it was scorcher for a couple of weeks there, wasn't it? I went during a weeknight evening. Having been here enough, I started noticing a couple of things. One of them was, it seems like only the dudes who handle the noodles have "Ramen" written on the back of their t-shirts…..I know, I'm probably just a little bit slow, duh……

Since it had been pretty hot and the shop gets pretty hot, why not try the Tsukemen, basically "dipping noodles". I got the 7 ounce noodle portion ($7.95 – carb lovers can get 14 oz for $9.95).

This was way to salty, to the point of being unpleasant. Loved the noodles, meh to the chashu, but even dipping the noodles into the shiro was not a happy time. It also got cold real quickly and the amount of fat in this started concealing and feeling kind of greasy. Again, way too salty. There were bits and pieces of pork in the bottom of the bowl, so I'm not quite sure how they make this….black garlic oil as well.

I recall talking to Dennis about this a couple of days later…..I'm sure he'll chip in his opinion in one of his posts. YY and her husband send me a text message last week telling me they were having ramen here. Before I could warn them off the tsukemen, MrQ had gone ahead and ordered it. I heard he wasn't very happy…..oh, and they told me the place was super hot! So well, we know they're really consistent, right?

Ramen Yamadaya
4706 Clairement Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92117

You can read Dennis's post here.

Kirbie's post can be found here.

Gastrobits post can be found here.

More Noodling Around – 777 Noodle House, Pho King, Santouka, Yakuyudori Ramen and Yakitori, and Yum Cha Cafe

August 27, 2012 mmm-yoso Ramen, Vietnamese Restaurants

Ooodles of noodles in mostly photos for Monday.

777 Noodle House:

This place seems to be doing some pretty good business, I love the diverse crowd. Had my usual simple bowl of Hu Tieu Nam Vang – dry. Did have a fairly lousy bowl of Egg Noodle Soup with Roast Duck Leg recently, but the Pork Intestine Noodle Soup was interesting. Intestine was prepared fine, though on the chewy side….this really smelled funky, but the flavor was good…..the broth did take on some of the intestine flavor.

777 Noodle House
4686 University Avenue
San Diego, CA 92105

Pho King:

Hadn't been back here in a while. So had my usual Hu Tieu Mi Kho….man am I getting boring and predictable.

Pho King Restaurant
4658 El Cajon Blvd
San Diego, CA 92115

Santouka:

Talk about predictable….yep, Shio Toroniku style.

Though I don't feel so bad, since a couple of weeks later I ran into Dennis here and he got his ramen…yep…toroniku style! Dennis also said he just knew he'd run into someone that day…..I guess he was getting readings on his "blog-dar"???? Funny….

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

Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori:

I gotta say….this bowl of shoyu ramen was probably the best I had here. Balanced in flavor, not too salty, the noodles were perfectly prepared….just good stuff.

Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori
4898 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Yum Cha Cafe:

**** Yum Cha Cafe has closed

I feel the place has kinda gone downhill since they opened and have not visited very much recently. However, I was in the area and hungry after shopping next door. I'd always wondered about the $3.99 rice noodle soup with BBQ pork, so I decided to get that.

I was pleasantly surprised. At least in terms of portion size. There were at least 6-7 slices of BBQ Pork, the noodles were nicely done. The soup was a step above MSG water….but in terms of value, I'd say this is pretty good.

Great stuff for the starving student set…..

Yum Cha Cafe
6933 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Bellying up to the Belly of the Beast at Underbelly

November 15, 2011 mmm-yoso Asian Fusion/Pacific Rim/Hawaii Style Fusion, Ramen

Say that fast five times! I recently had the pleasure of grabbing lunch with one of my favorite people, Candice. And as always, I had a great time as she told me about her recent travels. Of course, eventually the conversation got around to food. During that conversation Candice asked me if I'd been to Underbelly yet. Underbelly? When she explained that it was basically a ramen bar that opened in Little Italy a few bells went off. I'd heard that the owners of Craft and Commerce were opening up a ramen bar in Little Italy, but had not heard that it had opened. A part of me wasn't really excited or thrilled as I had visions of what "hipster ramen" would look like dancing through my head….which is patently wrong. I think we sometimes suffer from reverse discrimination when it comes to food, thinking that non-Asians are not capable of pulling off Chinese, Japanese, or Vietnamese dishes. And then we go home and make our lasagne, risotto, or BBQ claiming it to be darned good, the match of anything a good cook anywhere would create. I do have problems when something is dumbed down for the sake of revenue, the product is bad, or when something lacks soul and is not true to the dish it is named after. Sliced processed turkey in a baguette is not a banh mi, even if it is in fresh baked bread. There is a place that does that….it's called Subway, ok? Enough….time to put away the soapbox. what really caught my attention was when Candice told me of something called the "Belly of the Beast"…….and I really couldn't get that out of my mind.

So, of course I just had to check the place out. The shop seats maybe 30-35 people and is located on the corner of West Fir and Kettner.

The restaurant has a very slick design. The glass windows open and fold over to become counter tops for the restaurant.

There was a line when I arrived at opening, I don't think I've stood in line for lunch since my visit to Hot Dougs.

Often times, great form has functional pitfalls. If you happen to sit on the street side of the counter be careful as the counter will tilt if you lean on it….like what happened to the poor guy sitting a couple of feet from me who almost fell off his seat as the counter tilted….he did save the glass of flowers and his dignity though. I'm hoping that the folks here will find a way to secure those dual purpose panes of glass before someone has a few too many local craft brews and upends an entire counter of hot ramen on customers.

The drill here, at least for lunch is much like Santouka, you stand in line, look over the menu, order at the bar, and end up with a metal numeric placard to identify you. The menu is focused, not a mishmash of mixed parts which I like. The topiary of Chairman Mao is not focused and I'm wondering what part it really plays in the theme of the restaurant. I thought it kind of bizarre….

This uber al fresco theme is a mixed plate as well. It's going to be great eating here during the fall and early spring when the weather is still cool and crisp enough. It was kind of breezy where I was sitting, and though I enjoyed it, the folks sitting facing Kettner quickly retreated. I hope the place has some plans for when it rains….

OK, enough about all that stuff, how was the ramen. I got the Belly of the Beast ($13) with the additional of Pork Belly Chashu ($3)…..$16, or about three usual lunches for ramen. It's served in a large white bowl, but only comes up about 3/5 way up the bowl. In other words, this place ain't for the Santouka price and portion haters.

First things first, for me the broth was super oily, even beyond that bowl of Kotteri broth I had a Daikokuya years ago that seemed to wrap around my tongue and not let go. This one is for those who think they can drink straight nuoc beo (beef tallow), as it is indeed rich. If you think regular tonkotsu broth is over the top, this is on another planet. In spite of how rich it was, the broth was pretty mellow and really seemed low on the sodium scale. The noodles would be fine for many, but was a bit overcooked for my taste. I'm glad I ordered the pork belly chashu, in my opinion it was much better flavored than the two beef cuts….I couldn't taste any smoke on the smoked beef brisket(though it was super tender), nor could I make out any savory beany sweetness from the hoisin glazed short rib. The pork belly was cooked well, not falling to pieces, but still velvety enough to melt in my mouth. Oxtail dumplings sound like a great idea, but just like when I tried kalua pork won tons (these were pretty much won tons), lack of a contrasting texture made these kinda mushy.

The boiled egg was excellent, the yolk a golden orb that called to me. It could have been more aggressively soaked in a stronger flavored sauce, but perhaps not, as I could make out the wonderful flavor of the yolk as a ate it.

In the end that broth did me in as I couldn't bring myself to finish it. I'm thinking that perhaps having the kimchi version might do better as perhaps a bit of acidity or pungency might help cut the oil in the soup.

In the end, I appreciated the effort. Even though they are kind of off target for me (remember, I'm more hip-replacement than hip), I don't think they're doing anything that resembles something from the "springroll of the month club". Perhaps time will tell, heck, I didn't enjoy Santouka when they first opened, they needed to iron out a couple of things to bring it up to snuff. So maybe in a couple months…..if I can find a seat…..

UnderBelly
750 W. Fir St
San Diego, CA 92101

More Noodling Around: Tajima Noodle House, Izakaya Masa, and Pho Cow Cali

February 21, 2011 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Pho, Ramen, Vietnamese Restaurants

Since it's still pretty darn cold (by our spoiled San Diego standards) and rainy here, I thought I'd get in another round of noodles…….

Tajima Noodle House:

Sadly, my last couple of visits to the original Tajima on Convoy have been the same. I've been underwhelmed by the broth, which wavers between too salty and bland. Still, I decided to drop by recently in the middle of one of our rainstorms…… I mean really, if it didn't hit the spot this time…..

Hedging my bets, I went with the Shoyu Kakuni Ramen…. the basic shoyu ramen with Buta Kakuni (braised pork belly) and Chashu in it. If I didn't care for this…….

And it didn't. On this day, the broth was seriously flat. The sweetness from the buta kakuni (which could have braised a bit longer) just emphasized the lack of richness. The Chashu was pretty dry, but not as bad as what I had at Gunco recently. The egg wasn't aesthetically perfect, but was nicely cooked.

I actually came back a few days later…. I didn't bother taking photos, and had the Shio Ramen, which was better, but not by much.

It's kind of sad actually. You'd think that with Yakyudori up the street, that Tajima would step up. I will say this; on my two visits, I really enjoyed the pleasant service. First by a young lady whose name I believe was Yoshimi. On the second visit, it was a friendly young man named Tony. Both were excellent……

One thing I am sure of…… I'm sure that the ramen tastes better at 2am in the morning…. having it during lunch with unimpaired tastebuds, maybe not so much.

Tajima Japanese Restaurant
4681 Convoy St., #1
San Diego, CA 92111

Izakaya Masa:

Spurred on by Dennis of A Radiused Corner, I returned to Izakaya Masa for another shot at the ramen. Dennis had told me that Masa now serves a Shio ramen. I was also told to order my noodles "barikata", or extra firm.

The ramen prices here are good, $6.95 a bowl, though the portion size isn't huge. Here's my Shio Ramen:

As always, the Chashu here is tender, but not falling to pieces, if a bit mild in flavor. The noodles were much better when ordered extra-firm, though I still wish that being from Fukuoka, the folks here could serve some real Hakata style noodles. There used to be a shop in Honolulu, run by an older woman called Hakata Ramen……though her broth wasn't very good, I got my first taste of Hakata style noodles which she had brough in from Fukuoka. The broth was slightly rich, much better than what I had before, but the shio (the salt) used for the ramen left an unpleasant taste in my mouth. I think the ramen here is slowly getting better…… but like Tajima, this ramen is probably better after a couple of beers……

Still, I love how this tiny restaurant is put together……..

Izakaya Masa
928 Fort Stockton Dr
San Diego, CA 92103

Pho Cow Cali:

I've always thought that Pho Cow Cali (even when it was Pho HoaCali) was one of the most consistent Pho shops in San Diego.

So I don't know what happened on this day……..

The meat, as always was good, the beefy flavored brisket tender, but not crumbling, the flank had some chew, but wasn't tough, the tripe decent, and the tendon slightly chewy, but good. The broth and the garnishes on this day weren't very good. The soup was lukewarm and almost flavorless, and it seemed that I got the last handful of bean sprouts which were broken into pieces, the basil was turning black. As I mentioned elsewhere, the two things that PCC had over Lucky was consistency and the meat. I'm pretty much a soup guy, and if the soup ain't good…..

Hopefully, this was an off day……..

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

So I came home today to find our living room a mess…… towels strewn about, stuffing from disembowled doggy toys everywhere……. and in the midst of it all was Sammy…. giving me his best pathetic "you know I'm innocent until proven guilty" look. (Do you notice that piece of stuffing material on his nose? Hmmm……)

Noodling Around: Santouka, Yakyudori, Izakaya Sakura, Gunco, and a special gift from Dennis.

January 31, 2011 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

Here are a couple of bowls of ramen from (fairly) recent visits…. plus what was a nice little bonus (for me) at the end. Since I've posted on most of these places before, I'll keep the verbiage to a minimum.

Santouka:

Still our favorite. The Missus likes the Miso Ramen, which I feel is much too salty. I stick with the Shio Ramen.

And as I mentioned in a previous postit has to be "toroniku", with the special fatty pork on the side.

The pork is wonderful with just a quick dip….steep it in the broth and it'll fall to pieces. This has become comfort food for the Missus, the rich pork bone based shiro seems to fix the Missus right up when She's feeling a bit under the weather. At close to ten bucks, it ain't cheap, and it's not everyday ramen….. but it sure fixes us up!

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

Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori:

I'm not sure if others have noticed this; but having been here six or seven times, I've found the ramen to be better when Nabe-san is in the house. My three previous visits had been a bit disappointing, but this bowl of Shio Ramen made up for it all.

The broth was nice and savory. I've been told that Yakyudori uses a special salt for this brought in from Japan. I'm not sure about that, but this was delicious. Just rich enough, the noodles done perfect for my taste; firm, but not hard. The one item that has always been perfect on my visits is the boiled egg. The chashu was tender, not too rich, but good overall. As I finished my bowl, I let out the "aaaah" of satisfaction.

Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori
4898 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Izakaya Sakura:

Izakaya might be one of my favorites, a long time fixture on our rotation. I don't think I'll be standing in line for the Shio Ramen here however.

The noodles were a tad over-cooked for my tastes….which could be remedied by ordering it more firm. The broth however, was pretty mediocre……. I recall Dennis mentiong how thick the broth was here. I guess they've gone in the opposite direction…. this was waaaay "assari" (thin) and plain salty. It seems that you'll be playing ramen roulette here due to the inconsistency……

Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St #121
San Diego, CA 92111

Gunco:

Speaking of my buddy Dennis; we recently had a bite, or should I say bites in Chula Vista. we started with fish tacos from Mariscos El Pescador, followed by a visit to Hogetsu, ending with some ramen from Gunco. I've never really had great luck with the ramen from Gunco. But this time, the Shio Ramen I had was not bad…. perhaps Dennis has some major ramen "ju-ju" going on.

The broth was a bit low on the "richness" scale for me, but the shiro was pretty good, if a bit too heavy handed with regards to ginger. The noodles were cooked perfectly. The chashu is still too tough and dry, though. I'm finding that the ramen here seems to get better on every visit…..

Gunco Ramen
305 Palomar St
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Speaking of ramen…. and the always generous Dennis. Having just returned from Okinawa and Japan (please check out his posts). Dennis had a gift for me. Being the ramen-maniac that he is is Mr Radiused Corner made sure to check out the Ramen Museum.

And ever thoughtful, Dennis had a box of various ramen from the museum for me!

It has been pretty cool in the evenings recently, so the Missus and I decided to do a sampling of the ramen.

I'm including notes Dennis gave me along with our observations about the various ramen….so here goes. From the top to the bottom.

Box 1 – Komurasaki:

According to Dennis: "I heard kumamoto style tonkotsu is usually on the lighter side compared to Hakata (cousins). As for slangs for firmness in these thinner straight noodles there's Barikata which many people get and even Harigane ("steel wire") which is firmer still. The firmest would simply be to ask for Nama (raw) where the noodles swim in the boiling water for a mere 15 seconds or so. Again these terminology for noodle firmness only applies to the Fukuoka/Hakata/Kumamoto tonkotsu ramen."

This was light alright…….. the broth was a wonderful shade of pale, but we found this bland. I only cooked the thin Hakata style noodles for only 45 seconds, and that was still too much as it really got mushy quickly.

Box 2 – Harukiya

From Dennis: "one of my favorite shoyu ramen. very old school with a good dose of dried fish. I think they're one of the permanent fixtures in the raumen museum (most shops rotate). It was too fishy for my gringo friend I took with but I personally wish more places made shoyu's like it."

Check out the fat content in that package!

Man that broth smelled really strong, like I was boiling a pot of anchovies! At first taste, the broth had a good fishy punch. But a funny thing happened along the was….. the more we sipped, the more we enjoyed. This one grew on us.

I gave the noodles a three minute cooking and it was perhaps a bit longer than needed.

Box 3 – Ideshoten

Per Dennis: " I believe it's technically a tonkotsu-shoyu. It wasn't my favorite of the day (tried it there) but has a lot of character. remember loving the noodles."

This one came with a little bag of dried green onions.

More shoyu to my tastes, I'm not a fan of the noodles which are not as firm as I enjoy.

A nice middle of the road ramen.

Box 4 – Sumire

Dennis says: " Intensely miso. They came to mitsuwa's fairs a few times. might be a bit salty for some and I think I already warned you about the amount of fat."

This was my favorite of the bunch (the Missus preferred the Harukiya).

Loved the menma….. best noodles of the bunch as well, they held up well.

As a whole, I'm not a big fan of miso ramen, but I loved the flavors and the richness of the broth. I guess I'm going the next time Sumire is at Mitsuwa!

I need to thank Dennis again for giving the Missus and I our own little ramen adventure! Yoso-generous!

Thanks so much Dennis!

Guess the revisits…plus one

November 16, 2010 mmm-yoso Chinese BBQ, Chinese Restaurants, Japanese Restaurants, Loco Mocos, Pizza, Ramen

*** Update 11/18, 0800 - The contest is closed……. there was only one person who guessed all six restaurant correctly. Congrats to Hao! The answers are all at the end of the post. And just for laughs I gave an eCup to the person who did the worst as well.

I haven't done one of these in a while……. I'll send a Peet's eCup to the first five folks who email(link upper right) me the correct guesses of the following revisits.

For the following three, list the dish and the restaurant:

1. This one is kinda hard, but not that hard……

Someone once mentioned lucious eyebrows…….

2.. This one is the easiest.

How about some drippy yolk porn……

3. This dish used to be much better when the restaurant was under previous ownership…..

But things have been getting better as the folks making the food have been gaining more experience.

For next three, you can just name the restaurant.

4. This "little little" place used to be in a different location.

5. I've never posted on exactly this dish, but guessing the restaurant should be pretty easy.

6. OK if you can't guess this one……. well, I'm not sure what to say…..

Easy, right? That's it, get those six and be one of the first five to email me the correct guesses and you'll get a Peet's eCup….. But let me ask you, are you a gambler? Would you go double or nothing? If you guess the name of this dish correctly, along with the previous six, I'll make it two eCups…… get it wrong, and you get nothin'(be accurate – as in what kind of meat etc, or the Chinese name would be even better)……. A couple of hints, it's not from a restaurant in San Diego, and it is delicious……

I'll let things go until the morning of 11/18

Just remember, send me the guesses via email, a valid email so if you're correct I can send youthe Peet's eCup. One guess per email address please.

Good Luck!

OK, here are the answers:

#1 – It's Beef Sate Noodle "Dry" from Tan Ky Mi Gia.

#2 – The Kaloko Moco from Island Style Cafe……

Everyone who played got that one right. At first, I was a bit apprehensive about a Loco Moco with a crepe as it's base….. but here it really works.

#3 – Is The Noble Chef.

Since the new owners have taken over, my favorite dishes have been slowly getting better, as the guy behind the wok station gains more experience.

Our favorite dish here in the past was the Shrimp with XO Sauce Fried Rice. It still lacks the punch it once had, and Wok Hay (spirit of the wok) is still lacking.

Don't get me wrong, it's a good fried rice; just not as good……

#4 – Is Sieu Sieu BBQ, which literally means "small small"…..

I had gone to Barbecues Galore to try and purchase more Ono Kiawe Charcoal. I was told by the manager of BG, that a "well known" BBQ Manufacturer had bought the company and then took the charcoal off the market because it was competing with items in their product line. I'm not going further than that since I can't confirm this info. I may try purchasing the charcoal on the Ono Charcoal Website.

#5 – Is Yakyudori Ramen and Yakitori.

I'm not sure if they still serve it, but Tonkotsu style ramen was being served in limited quantities during lunch.

#6 – Is of course Pizzeria Bruno. Everyone who played got this correct as well.

That last dish is Mi Zheng Rou, also called Fen Zheng Rou….. rice steamed pork. More on that in a later post.

My thanks to everyone who humored me and played along!

COMC: Hakata Ramen from Izakaya Masa

August 19, 2010 mmm-yoso Japanese Restaurants, Ramen

I know, I know, a ramen post on the hottest day of the year…. have I lost it or what? But this post is from all the way back in May…… there are so many COMC (Clearing out the memory card) posts, and I'm trying to catch up.

I hadn't been to Izakaya Masa in quite a while. In fact, the last time I visited, Masa was still serving lunch. For some reason, I always appreciated the place when it was still Teriyaki Cowboy. I always knew what to expect, decent, reasonable, semi fast food Japanese. When they became Masa, I found the lunches to be reasonable, but for some reason, I've never thought the place to be worth the special trip for dinner.

So when I read Dennis's post after returning from China regarding Izakaya Masa's weekend lunch, and the Hakata Ramen in particular, I made sure to drop by. I had heard about Masa's Hakata Ramen from several acquaintances, as well as "sammusubi" in a comment on my Ramen Comparison post. Not much had changed at Izakaya Masa, things look basically the same.

A bowl here is priced reasonably at $6.95, and you can get various combinations (with gyoza or fried rice, or both) from $8.50 to $10.50.

I decided to kinda go my own way, and started with something I think Masa does well. Chuka Kurage (Jellyfish Salad – $3.95).

Normally a great dish to have with drinks, I enjoy the refreshing vinegar-soy flavor, and the nice crunch.

Of course I went for the Hakata Ramen ($6.95):

The Tonkotsu style broth, usually the product of rapidly boiled pork bones, resulting in a rich, milky looking broth, was on thin side, missing the tongue coating richness I enjoy. I love regular straight up shio or shoyu ramen; but this is tonkotsu broth so my expectations are different. There was a strange, almost metallic tinged aftertaste that made me think that perhaps a "base" was being used to perhaps help things out? The chashu tasted a bit on the mild side, but were sufficiently tender and moist.

From my experience, one of the signatures of Hakata Ramen are the thin and straight noodles, these noodles had a decent "crunch", but were thicker than what I would consider Hakata style noodles to be.

Overall, this was a decent bowl, priced right, but not outstanding. Still, it's nice to have options in the Mission Hills area. Funny thing, just like Dennis, most of the folks who recommended the ramen from Masa to me personally, usually consumed it while, ummmm…. how should I say it? Well perhaps the lyrics to this song say it best:

"I'm just a little impaired
I know, right now you don't care
But soon enough you're gonna think of me….."

And heck, it's probably better than a greasy California Burrito from Santana's up the street right? Right?

Izakaya Masa
928 Fort Stockton Dr
San Diego, CA 92103