Category: Ramen

We’ve been going to Tajima since we first moved to San Diego back in 2000. I used to enjoy the Menchi Katsu(breaded deep fried ground/minced meat – in this case beef) Curry, now long gone from the menu, the various Ramen, and the Missus had always enjoyed the Okonomiyaki(a savory type of Japanese pancake).

Since an Ownership change a few years back, the menu has been expanded to accommodate a large variety of Izakaya style dishes(think pub grub/tapas style dishes) and Westernized Japanese dishes. Since I’ve started to make Okonomiyaki at home, the Missus hasn’t expressed a desire to eat at Tajima. So most of my visits have been for Ramen at lunch.

On this day, I had my favorite dish at Tajima, the Chashu Ramen($8.95):

The broth for the Chashu Ramen is Tonkotsu style, which is the whitish long boiled pork bone broth. While not as rich and velvety (nor as oily for that matter) as the version from Daikokuya in Little Tokyo(Los Angeles), it is still the best version of Tonkotsu style broth that I’ve had in San Diego. Though the broth is much darker in color than almost every other version I’ve had, it is not overly salty, and on the mild side, with a nice amount of oil.

The Char Siu on this visit were 3 slices of mildly flavored pork belly, accompanied by some slices of bamboo shoot, a boiled than marinated egg, bean sprouts, and a piece of nori.

Though thick noodles are available, I usually stick with the thin noodles(you can get more noodles for $1). The noodles have a nice pull and texture, but could stand to be a bit more chewy. I love that boiled egg…..

On some days, I want more of a "blank slate", a very mild broth, so I’ll have the "Ramen"($6.95), which in the case of Tajima is a Shoyu Ramen:

The broth is a mild Soy Sauce based broth to which I usually add a nice scoop of garlic paste, and some Shichimi for some zing. Speaking of the garlic paste; on a previous visit a gentleman with some obvious olfactory problems dumped 3 spoons of the garlic paste into his ramen….taking a sip of his soup, his eyes opened wide, exclaiming "Holy crap, this isn’t mustard"…..he-he-he.

As previously mentioned…I love that boiled egg. A nice hot bowl of Ramen on a rainy day, very few things better than that.

On this day, I needed my fix of Umami, and ordered this:

In case you can’t really identify it, let me help you:

It’s the Marinated Baby Squid($3.95), a salty-pungent-winey-slightly sweet offering, with a mild Shiokara-like flavor. The julienned basil added a nice clean flavor to this dish.

On a recent visit I managed to drag the Missus along, and being quite hungry we tried a few of the appetizers, along with a main course.

We started with the Tako Wasabi($3.95):

This was pretty good, more on the sweet side, than salty. The Missus enjoyed it, and even thought it was better than the version at Sakura!

The Tuna Tataki($6.95):

Looked fairly nice, but the fish was tough, the ponzu watery, and weak in flavor, and the fried garlic only added a bitterness to the dish.

The Chicken Karaage($3.95):

I love Chicken Karaage, in fact I love Chicken Karaage so much that it only needs to fulfill one of two criteria. Either it’s nice and crunchy, with mild flavor, or it can be cold and have a nice salty-soy-slightly-sweet-mildly gingery flavor. This version was on the soggy side, which would be fine if it was loaded with flavor. But as you can tell by the color………

The Miso Nabeyaki Soba($8.95):

Hardly any miso flavor, and soggy noodles. The shrimp tempura was fine, nice and crisp.

Minchi(Menchi) Katsu($9.95):

Aaaaah, minced meat, breaded, and fried, how can that be bad? Honestly, not a bad version, nice and crisp on the outside, and not oily at all. The patties had a good amount of filler which kept it moist, and the onion flavor came through. The "butter noodles" are not my favorite thing, and the Hijiki(seaweed) had not been cooked long enough and was like eating wood. The Menchi Katsu came with a bowl of miso soup(okay as miso goes), rice, and a combo Demi Glace – Katsu Sauce, that was too sour for my taste.

OH, before I forget…one of the really great things about Tajima is the late night Ramen! Check check the hours:

Yep, open till 3am Thursdays through Saturday(Convoy location only). And it’s a good thing; for now, I think I’ll stick with the ramen at Tajima. Don’t forget to try the Okonomiyaki!

Tajima Japanese Restaurant
4681 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

and now

4411 Mercury St
San Diego, CA 92111

Ever since we moved to San Diego, I’ve been searching for a good Ramen Shop, not that Chopstix or Tajima is bad. But I want something along the lines of Daikokuya or one of  Shin-Sen-Gumi’s Ramen Houses. During a recent visit to Hogetsu Bakery, I asked the Friendly Lady there about a a place I’ve passed on every visit. Gunco Ramen:

I was told, that the clientele and style was "very Nihon", and to give them a try. So that very afternoon I paid Gunco a visit. The first thing I noticed when I entered was that Gunco, and Kanpai, as basically one restaurant, separated by a doorway. They even have 1 menu.

The Server was very nice, and brought me my tea and ice water immediately. I decided to order something that I hadn’t had in years; Champon($7.50).

Now, the variations of Champon I’ve had in the past, were basically a fiercely boiled pork-chicken bone broth, very rich, topped with stir fried vegetables, and some boiled seafood, usually shrimp and squid. Champon itself, was supposedly invented in Nagasaki, and Chinese in origin; created by a Chef originally from the Fujian Province named Chen-Pingshun, in a restaurant called Shikairou. Or so they say……. Today, the Champon, was a bit weak in flavor, not rich at all, causing all the stir fried vegetables and seafood to be flavorless. The one saving grace were the noodles, which were a perfect ‘al dente, both elastic and mildly chewy.

And despite the rubbery shrimp(pretty much a norm for champon IMHO), I enjoyed the dish enough to give Gunco another try.

On my return visit, I was seated on what I think is the "Gunco" side, facing a "Bar Counter".

Again, the service was excellent, and a Gentleman, who I think is the Owner, engaged me in some conversation, starting with the familiar(to me) question; Are you Korean? "Ummm, no…"

On this visit I ordered the Tempura Appetizer($5.50), and the Hakata Ramen($5.40). To my surprise, the Ramen arrived at my table first:

I’ve had what was described as "Hakata Ramen" once before, in a now defunct Restaurant in Honolulu. The broth was Tonkotsu-style, that is the deep-boiled whitish pork bone based broth. The noodles, which were supposedly imported from Hakata, were quite thin, and very straight. This variation had basically the same broth as the Champon, but today the broth had much more flavor, and a nice quantity of oil. The interesting addition of "gari"(pickled ginger), added a nice palate cleansing element to the ramen. The two thin slices of Charshu, though a bit fatty, had some flavor. The noodles were exactly the same as the Champon, and again I enjoyed them.

Though the bowl of Ramen was on the small side, I still rather enjoyed it, though I wished that the broth had a richer "tonkotsu-shiru" flavor.

As I was in the process of eating my Ramen, my tempura arrived:

All in all quite mediocre and forgettable, and a bit undercooked(except for the broccoli, which was scalded), the batter being very pale. Not worth the $5.50. Kind of sad, on my last visit, I saw an Older Lady demolishing a very delectable looking plate of tempura.

What was interesting was a "side door" to my left. Apparently, the tempura was made in the "Robata and Sushi" restaurant next door, also part of the Gunco/Kanpai "complex".

Overall, great service, reasonably priced food. Though it seems "Your Mileage May Vary" here.

Gunco Ramen
305 Palomar St
Chula Vista, CA 91911

Kanpai
301 Palomar St
Chula Vista, CA 91911