So, a couple of weeks after I first saw the storefront for Monsta, they opened. A couple of folks I know actually visited and told me they weren't impressed and it was ramen and curry for the "masses". Still, I was curious so I decided to see what the grand opening business was like. I made sure to visit right at opening time and on both visits the place was empty.
The interior is bright, rather spartan, and almost "fast-foodish". And to keep up with the times, you can order via menu or order and pay via QR code. The young lady, who was quite friendly also told me that there were special promotions for "online ordering" which was also reflected on the bottom of the menu.
And there it was, Tonkotsu Ramen, regular price $12, was $10 if ordering online.
I was going to order that anyway. I also asked the wonderful Server if there was any appetizers that folks really liked and was told that customers seemed to like the Potato Shrimp ($6), so I ordered that as well.
I gotta say, the Potato Shrimp, while being on the small side was kinds cute looking. The crustacean was wrapped in a potato string and deep fried.
The shrimp was served with a "Thousand Isle-ish" dressing. The shrimp was overcooked and dry; the potato strings while mildly crisp lacked seasoning. A fairly bland dish overall.
As for my ten dollar ramen…..
Well, let's just say, this reminded me of the last time I had a bowl of ten buck ramen. That broth was thin, lacking in any nuance, super salty, as in I was chugging water for the rest of the afternoon. Another broth that is Tonkotsu in name only.
The tamago was nicely cooked and decently marinated….but sigh…..guess what? It was ice cold!
The noodles were unevenly cooked, some were overcooked and mushy side and others were hard and brittle.
The chashu had been marinated and charred. The flavor was not bad, but it was on the tough side.
Insipid as this was, it was still better than what I'd had at O-To-San, which is not saying much. Perhaps this ramen might have had a place in the day when Tajima was the only show in town; but these days, I consider it "C" level ramen.
Ok, well, the shop has "curry" in its name so I thought what the heck and returned for a follow up. The same nice young lady was working, I did the QR ordering and got the Pork Cutlet Curry Rice ($13).
This was an interesting dish. The tonkatsu was nicely breaded, quite crisp, the pork itself was moist, but mushy, and lacking in flavor. The texture was kind of strange and the taste was definitely in the "other white meat" category.
The rice was drier than I prefer and the curry which had ground meat in it was quite thin, my packaged S&B curry is richer and thicker. The seasoning wasn't too bad, and it had a hint of heat.
I liked the service, and the prices are cheap for this day and age; but to me it seemed like the food was at a "fast-casual" level and not even in the realm of "Japanese diner" or "Japanese food court" (think Mitsuwa Market Food Court) cuisine. In other words; it's more of a "Yawn-sta" instead of a "Monsta".
Monsta Ramen Curry
4344 Convoy St.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Daily 1130am – 0950pm
Well, this is about the same as Phuong Nga. The bread is very crusty which I like, though a bit more chewy than I prefer. These days, many banh mi shops don't even include cucumber in their sandwiches; but it's present here. The jalapeno was pretty mellow on this sandwich. Of course, one of my pet peeves; the cilantro was mostly stems….I already floss daily; I don't need to have my sandwich doing it as well. The proteins are sliced on the thicker side and there are less pickled veggies than before. What I really liked about this sandwich was the amount of pate. Upon biting, the pate basically oozed out…a funky, earthy, creamy, savory "puss" of the most delicious sort.
These dumplings were fairly hefty in size. The wrapper of these steamed jiaozi was on the thicker side, chewy, and too brittle.
My first thought when the bowl hit the table? What the heck is broccoli doing in this soup? The beef looked tough, but was adequately tender. The broth had a good amount of anise flavor and apparently even a more hefty amount of msg as I kept on chugging water after my meal. The soup was on the thinner side, needed more richness and beef flavor. The noodles were on the mushy side for my taste as well.
I was interested to see if things had changed much. So, like before, the Hu Tieu was in the bottom of the dish, where the savory-mildly salty and sweet sauce resides. There have been times when the hu tieu was over cooked and mushy. But gladly, this was not one of those days has the noodles had some good al dente pull to them.