Browsing Tag

tantanmen

San Mateo, CA

Himawari-Tei

Posted on October 21, 2017

On my way home after a wonderful few days in Half Moon Bay I decided to make a ramen stop in San Mateo. This is truly a foodie town. If I wasn’t focused on ramen and mind you there are more than one to choose from here I would have a difficult time deciding on culinary choices. Two of the ramen joints were closed so I decided to try out Himawari-Tei and their tantanmen. When my ramen came out I saw a pile of cilantro on top of a sea of red. I was taken aback since I am not a fan of excessive chili oil since it can be overpowering but I was hungry since I skipped breakfast in anticipation of a carb-laden lunch. The noodles were firm to bite and without the slight chewiness of typical Japanese ramen and the broth wasn’t as spicy as I imagined it would be. I like the addition of cilantro since it cut through the oiliness of the bowl. Sorry to say this wasn’t a memorable bowl for me but I definitely would come back to try their other shoyu and shio based ramen. The gyozas though were quite tasty. Until then …

Himawari-Tei
202 2nd Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94401
650-375-1005

Sacramento, CA

Ju Hachi by Taka’s

Posted on October 13, 2017

Not exactly an orthodox bowl of tantanmen. The owner of the restaurant is Japanese but raised in Brazil. I was torn to try the butter corn miso or the bacon bit tonkotsu ramen but played it safe and decided to compare Ju Hachi’s tantanmen to the competitors in the area. Ramen boy would have been the ultimate supertaster but I came with colleagues. The sliced tomato was an unusual addition along with the chopped jalapeño and the cilantro kind of threw me off my ramen game but I didn’t want to be judgmental since this wasn’t the usual bowl of tantanmen for me. Surprisingly all of the ingredients meshed well. Not quite the traditional bowl of noodles but I liked the gentle kick to it and that it wasn’t heavy. A richer broth would have given it more dimension but all in all it was a very satisfying bowl of noodles. I had no problem finishing it off. Ramen boy would have ordered this sans veggies. Just the meat, noodles and broth. I suppose that would be the true tantanmen taste test. Next time butter corn miso ramen to take me down memory lane.

Ju Hachi by Taka’s
1730 S Street
Sacramento , CA 95814
916-448-3481

Sacramento, CA

Ramen and More

Posted on May 1, 2016

This restaurant is ramen boy’s go to place near his school. He finished his day early and we had time to spare before we went to the Welcome Class of 2020 event at the new High School he will be attending this year. I was pretty sure they wouldn’t be serving any dinner and he suggested, no surprise, that we eat some ramen. I kind of got choked up thinking about this and that the next four years will quickly pass by as it has already and how many more bowls of ramen will I be able to share with him before he is off to college and beyond. I wonder if his tastes will mature as he gets older or will he order the same, plain and unadorned, kaidama (extra noodles) ramen with chashu.

So off we went to eat some noodles. Ramen and More leans toward Korean style food but with a Japanese bent. I had the bulgogi ramen with pieces of beef, a whole soft boiled egg, bean sprouts, corn, scallions and spinach in a shoyu based broth. The broth was light but still had a deep enough flavor, not oily and the noodles were springy and cooked al dente the way I like it. It’s my first time having ramen here and I noticed the menu said “we use fresh ramen noodles.” I had hoped to ask but the young waitress was rather aloof. She plopped our bowls down without much fanfare splashing broth as she did this. I was in such a good mood that I just let it go. Ramen boy was extremely chatty this evening and most of us know through experience that this is hit or miss conversation with teenagers and I was going to enjoy the experience no matter what. It’s so true that mediocre food can taste spectacular with great company and ramen boy was the perfect dinner companion.

I am not sure if I was for him though. Our waitress left us with the check but after a long wait never came back to our table to pick it up so instead I went up to her to pay the bill. She took my money and returned the change and when I gave her a generous tip she looked up at me and gave me the biggest smile ever. I could have told her that her service kind of sucked but instead I told her that she has a beautiful smile and should do it more often. Ramen boy just rolled his eyes at me as we walked out saying, “Really mom how embarrassing!” I guess it was too good to be true.

Ramen and More
807 Howe Ave
Sacramento, CA 95825
(916) 922-6227

Sacramento, CA

Shoki Ramen House II

Posted on April 25, 2016

Ramen boy was hankering for some ramen after his soccer match. The game finished late and even though we were about an hour away we thought let’s get some Shoki Ramen and why not try the new location that just opened. We got there a little before 2 pm with no wait which was great. No doubt there would be a waiting list at the R Street location and we were starved at this point. The concept for the second ramen shop is build your own ramen using the various stocks, noodle choices and toppings. This is perfect for picky eaters like ramen boy or for those with food allergies etc. The idea I guess is that the wait time would be shorter for these orders. I couldn’t be bothered with ordering everything separate and ordered the classic tantanmen with the set toppings and included an egg. Ramen boy ordered a large size of broth, 2 orders of the thick noodles and an order of minced meat. He wanted an order of chashu as well but it was too expensive totaling $17. I think he could have gotten by with a regular size of broth or possibly a small size instead. My tantanmen was good but since you can’t specify level of spiciness it was rather tame and I had to flavor it myself with the minced garlic and chili provided at the table. The DIY ramen idea didn’t really win me over. I think I rather go to the original restaurant and order as usual. In fact it’s cheaper this way than ordering every item separate. I commend their effort to cater to everyone’s tastes but they should stick with what they do best. They stand out because of this and should also consider upping their presentation of the ramen. Offering everything separate is not pleasing to the eye and once you put it in the broth it just sinks to the bottom. First impressions are everything especially with social media.  Shoki Ramen is better off keeping the menu the same and perhaps offer some new items at this restaurant like gyoza or making a bacon/chashu mazemen with green onion and topped with a fried oozy egg. Guaranteed to be a hit. In my opinion.

Shoki Ramen II
2530 21st Street
Sacramento, CA 95818
(916) 441-0011