Ramen Yamadaya

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San Francisco must have heard my whining and whimpering of more ramen spots in the city because Ramen Yamadaya is one of the many upcoming ramen restaurants opening here in SF.  The interior is a little odd to say the least, but once you get over that, its a nice option to have for those chilly SF nights.

A side order of yamadaya topping comes with wood ear fungus, bamboo shoots, green onions, pork belly, egg, and slices of seaweed.

The yamadaya ramen has a nice salty, fatty taste to it.  Not the best bowl of ramen, but its definitely a better version of the whats available in the city now.  One odd thing about this bowl of ramen is the noticeably thinner noodles.  The jury is still out on if I like the thickness of the noodles, but it does slurp well.

Tsukemen has been gaining popularity here in the city and its nice to know that its available here if you dare to try the dipping style ramen.  I love how there are slices of fatty pork soaking in the dipping broth.  I've noticed for tsukemen there are two groups that exist - those that absolutely love it (Chef David Chang falls into this category) and those that eek out an "eh" when they have it.  I'm part of the latter.  While I do enjoy a good bowl of a ramen, I've never had a tsukemen that's worth the extra dipping effort.

Address:                  Ramen Yamadaya
                                 1728 Buchanan St.
                                 San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                        ramen/Japanese

Popular chomps:      yamadaya ramen
                                  tonkatsu kotteri ramen
                                  tsukemen

Chomp worthy:         yamadaya ramen  

Monta Ramen

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Even though I had eaten at a lot of places on this Vegas trip, most of them (Raku, Sweets Raku, Kabuto) just so happened to be located in the same plaza.  Monta Ramen is located just a couple doors down from Raku.  Not to be a spoiler to this post, but out of a pretty great lineup of restaurants in this plaza this was probably my least favorite meal of the trip.
Due to the multiple visits to this plaza, I had my eye on the huge lines every time I ate at a restaurant in this plaza so I knew I had to head out here before the restaurant opened to secure a spot in this tiny restaurant.  The line wasn't too bad.  Arriving 15 minutes before the restaurant opens will secure you a pretty good seat in the first seating.  Both the wait and the menu reminded me a lot of Los Angeles's Daikokuya (see post HERE). 

The kimchi fried rice only comes in one size.  Its a shareable size if you decide to eat ramen as well as a rice dish.  There are small bits of pickled vegetables amongst the mound of rice.  Its not really a Korean style kimchi fried rice as you can tell from the color (the korean style is more red in color from much more kimchi as well as a fried egg on top).  The kimchi taste is very light.   

The only other pork bowl I've had is the absolutely #1 fantastic one at Daikokuya so this one obviously pales in comparison.  If you've never had Daikokuya's version then this can make for a decent pork bowl, but side by side to Daikokuya's its missing the sweet sauce that ties it all together.  Also, there is a noticeably skimpy portion of meat in the bowl.

Even though the menu says that Monta offers miso, shoyu, and tokotsu ramen, they actually offer a spicy tonkotsu ramen as well as a kuro (black garlic) ramen.  I opted for the traditional tonkotsu ramen.  The bowl comes with noodles, bamboo shoots, 2 slices of pork, green onions, wood ear, but surprisingly no egg so obviously I had to add the egg to make a proper ramen bowl.  Another odd thing about this bowl is the noodles are really thin.  Almost like Chinese chow mein noodles found in won ton soup, which threw me off a bit.  While the broth does have a fatty pork flavor, it doesn't have that complexity of a good tonkotsu ramen broth.  Better than the most bowls in the San Francisco, but not in LA or the South Bay area. 

Address:                 Monta Ramen
                                5030 Spring Mountain Rd. Ste 6
                                Las Vegas, NV
 

Type:                      Japanese/ramen

Popular chomps:    tonkotsu ramen 
                                kimchi fried rice
                                pork bowl 

Chomp worthy:       nothing       

Waraku Ramen Izakaya

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Like in the movie Tampopo, I'm always searching for the perfect bowl of ramen.  Its a little difficult to find in the city, but I still hope. 

Tsukemen is served as like a deconstructed ramen.  A side of thick noodles with a side of hearty broth.  The broth is a mixture of tonkatsu and a fish based broth, heavy on the fish.  I found the broth to be much too salty even by ramen standards.

The house made tonkatsu broth is rich and milky.  Its a decent bowl of ramen, but the thick noodles throw me off here.

The tan tan noodles are a seasonal special item.  True to tan tan men style, the broth is spicy, but this one is made with chicken stock.  There was lots of spicy ground pork mixed with crunchy bean sprouts, cilantro, and green onions.  The noodles are a little thicker than normal, but still had a nice chewiness.

Address:                  Waraku Ramen Izakaya
                                 1638 Post St.
                                 San Francisco, CA 
 

Type:                        ramen

Popular chomps:      tan tan noodles
                                  tonkatsu ramen
                                  tsukemen
                                  takoyaki

Chomp worthy:         tan tan noodles
                                  tonkatsu ramen  

Iza Ramen

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Every Saturday and Sunday for lunch (11:30a - 3p) Blowfish Sushi turns into the ramen pop up Iza.  Even though the closing hours end at 3, you need to be there before 1 in order to get your name on the list before it closes.

The tori chili bowl had juicy fried chicken covered in a sweet, spicy sauce.  Its no Daikokuya shredded pork bowl (see post HERE), but its a nice side dish to the main attraction.

I really wanted to try both the iza ramen and the tsukemen, especially since I've been watching David Chang talk about tsukemen in Mind of A Chef, but the tsukemen was all sold out for the day.  Next time!  At first glance, it looks very similar to Ramen Dojo's broth (see post HERE) with the drizzle of garlic oil on the peppery, milky broth.  The broth is dense, but not as rich and salty as most ramen broths are.  The vegetables are pickled and gives a nice contrast to the broth and dense noodles.  I loved the extra char on the slice of chashu.  Not the best bowl of noodles, but probably one of the better bowls of ramen in the city.  I was disappointed the egg wasn't more runny. 

Address:                  Iza Ramen
                                 2170 Bryant St.
                                 San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                        ramen

Popular chomps:      tsukemen
                                  iza ramen
                                  goat cheese gelato

Chomp worthy:         iza ramen     

Ramen Izakaya Goku

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San Francisco's choices of ramen spots are medicore at best.  For any decent bowl of ramen I usually have to head out to the South Bay or to the Peninsula, but Ramen Izakaya Goku has to be one of the better bowls of ramen I've had in the city so far.  Fun fact:  Goku supposed means "hella"in Japanese, which seems to be quite fitting since we are in the Bay Area.  While it also calls itself an izakaya, it is far from that.  It does offer a couple small plates and appetizers on the menu, but I'd categorize this more of a ramen spot than an izakaya.

A bowl of seasoned crispy noodles are given when sitting down for munching while you wait.  It reminds me of eating ramen straight out of the package when I was a kid.

The bbq kobe beef ribs seem to be popular here, but while the meat is very tender some parts of the meat are a bit too chewy and hard to eat.  Also, the sauce is a little too salty for my taste.

The wasabi fries are pretty much exactly what they sound like.  The fries are similar to McDonald's fries, but more crispy and sprinkled with wasabi powder.  It doesn't have the surprising punch that normal wasabi has, but it does have a nice kick.

The ramen comes with a choice of spicy option: cool, mild, medium, extra spicy, and goku (hella) spicy.  The chasu tonkotsu ramen comes with the largest slice of chasu I have ever seen in ramen.  It reminds of a thick piece of steak.  Each bowl comes with a boiled egg, bean sprouts, Kikurage mushrooms, bamboo shoots, and green onions.  The noodles are a little thicker than normal ramen noodles and a little on the mushy end.  I prefer my noodles a little more chewy and al dente.  The broth, however, is quite delicious.  Rich, fatty, salty, and everything you expect in good ramen, except without the MSG. 

The kakuni tonkotsu ramen mimics the same hearty, fatty, broth that the tonkotsu has.  Glorious globs of fat float around this delicious bowl.  The piece of Kakuni braised pork is tender and juicy, but unusually large.  Still the biggest gripe is the soft noodles, but hopefully next time I can just ask for firmer noodles.

Address:                      Ramen Izakaya Goku
                                     3232 16th St.
                                     San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                            Japanese/ramen

Popular chomps:          kakuni ramen
                                      tonkotsu ramen
                                      wasabi fries
                                      octopus balls
                                      fried burdock
                                      clam ramen
                                      bbq kobe beef

Chomp worthy:             kakuni ramen
                                      tonkotsu ramen   

Hakata Ramen Shin-Sen-Gumi

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Southern California is so lucky with all their ramen choices, especially with most of the choices being top notch.  Hakata Ramen Shin-Sen-Gumi is probably one of the top five ramen spots in LA and rightfully so, I'd rank it in my top three in California.  One of the best things about Hakata Ramen Shin-Sen-Gumi is you can customize your ramen however you like it.  Side note - most ramen places do allow you to make these custom choices, but not in the openly inviting way that Hakata Ramen Shin-Sen-Gumi does.  Once seated, you fill out a paper deciding the size and type of order (half or regular;won ton, Hakata style, yaki), firmness of noodle (soft, normal, hard/chewy), soup broth (light, normal, strong), and strength of soup oil (light, normal, thick).  It definitely takes a couple times to figure out your perfect combination.

The Hakata ramen looks a little sparse in toppings with only green onions, slices of pickled ginger, and a slice of pork to decorate the ramen bowl.  But the soup - wow, delicious!  It doesn't have quite the depth of flavor that Santouka (see post HERE) does, which is my #1 favorite ramen in California, but it does have a hearty flavor.  My custom combination was regular broth, dense noodles, and normal soup oil.  Next time I think I'll kick up the broth even more with the "strong"soup base option.  Loved the chewiness of the "dense"noodles.  For those that have watched how to make a perfect bowl of ramen in Tampopo, the ramen broth is so delicious it makes you want to drink every last drop!

There a few sides and appetizers to choose from.  The crispy pig ear was crunchy and perfect for dipping into the flavorful broth.

Of course, what's ramen without the egg.  Two choices of eggs, but apparently, I ordered the hard boiled one instead of the regular soft boiled egg.

   The plate of sliced pork was a little sad and dry, but a dip in the broth made this meat salvageable.

Address:                 Hakata Ramen Shin-Sen-Gumi
                                132 S. Central Ave.
                                Los Angeles, CA
 

Type:                       ramen/Japanese

Popular chomps:     crunchy pig ear
                                 hakata ramen  

Chomp worthy:        hakata ramen
                                 crunchy pig ear       

Ramen popup @ Hopscotch

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Every Friday starting at 11p (that usually runs until 2a!),  Hopscotch does a ramen pop up, which isn't far off from their normal dining fare.  With only a handful of tables and some bar seating, there is a small wait for a table here.

The diner-esque feel with the high stools on the counter to the checkered floors sort of reminds me of Nombe in the city.

There are only a few options for appetizers on the menu:  panko potato korokke, seaweed salad, kimchee, and edamame.  The only thing that looked interesting was the potato korokke.  I'm no stranger to these deep fried balls of potato, but this one didn't have much flavor.

I was a little bummed that there was no tonkatsu ramen on the menu.  The only ramen choices were: shoyu, miso, and veggie.  I'm a little doubtful on how flavorful veggie shoyu can be so the other two ramens were the main choices of the night.  The shoyu ramen comes with jidori egg, nori, negi (green onion), bean sprout, bamboo shoots, and bok choy.  For additional $4, you can add chasu pork belly, spicy braised beef tongue,  jidori egg ($3), and extra noodles ($2).  The noodles are cooked al dente, which is a good thing.  The egg surprisingly came with three halves, which made me wonder what happens when they end up with an odd number of bowls.  The broth was too light and lacked any depth in flavor, but the pork belly was decent.  Not exactly the style of pork that is usually served in ramen.

The miso ramen uses a pork broth with braised pork chili paste and sliced chasu pork belly.  Spicy braised pork tongue was added to this bowl, but didn't look or taste like I expected it to.  The pork tongue was shredded up and very salty.  With all the pork and beef ingredients, I was surprised that this bowl was also quite flavorless.

The dessert was probably the best thing of the whole meal, but that doesn't say much.  The matcha (green tea) ice cream showed no restraint with the bitterness, which I loved.  Also, usually not a fan of red bean, but the hard, sweet red beans (azuki) was a nice contrast to the creamy ice cream.

Address:                 Ramen popup @ Hopscotch 
                                1915 San Pablo Ave.
                                Oakland, Ca
 

Type:                       American

Popular chomps:     shoya ramen
                                 miso ramen
                                 matcha ice cream 

Chomp worthy:        nothing     

Kirimachi Ramen

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Kirimachi Ramen is a little farther and outside of my normal radius for lunchtime eats, but I had been meaning to tackle this ramen spot with hopes of discovering at least 1 good ramen spot in the city.  The location of this ramen joint is random.  It's in right in the middle of North Beach's strip clubs and bars.  It's odd, but I've scoured more random areas for food. 

The menu at Kirimachi Ramen.

The shoyu ramen intrigued me since it was made with Sun Marin Farms chicken broth.  This is one of the few times I've seen ramen advertising their use of local ingredients, but that's the norm on menus in San Francisco.  Toppings include bamboo shoots (my favorite!), green onions, bean sprouts, fishcake, and mushrooms.  The broth was light, but too light for my taste in that it lacked much flavor.  Pretty unmemorable bowl of ramen, except for the chewiness of the noodles and the runny inside of the slow cooked egg. 

The tonkatsu ramen had a nice, rich color to their both.  Toppings include slices of pork, fishcake, slow cooked egg, green onions, bean sprouts, and mushrooms.

        

Address:                   Kirimachi Ramen
                                  450 Broadway St.
                                  San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                         Japanese/ramen

Popular chomps:       soft boiled egg
                                   kuro ramen

Chomp worthy:          soft boiled egg     

Ramen Underground

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The weather is seemly getting warmer in the city, but Ramen Underground was crowded with people getting their slurp on.  The place is really tiny so you'll most likely have to share a table with another party. 

Ramen Underground serves up the usual miso, salt, and even a tomato ramen.  Daily specials like tonkatsu and habanero ramen are limited to 50 bowls a day.

It's hard to find good ramen in San Francisco.  The closest is usually San Mateo or even San Jose.  Santouka (see post HERE) in San Jose is my benchmark here in California.  The tonkatsu ramen at Ramen Underground is milky and rich.  The pork belly and soft cooked egg are extra, but a nice touch with your ramen.  The noodles are chewy and dense and probably the best thing in the bowl.  Not the best ramen I've had, but probably one of the better ramen options in the city.

Spicy Miso Ramen at Ramen Underground-  2013 7x7 SF's Top 100 Eats

The spicy miso ramen has a intense red color from the chili flakes and chili oil, but its not spicy at all. One of the oddest thing about the ramen at Ramen Underground is the addition of thinly sliced mushrooms.  I've never seen that before and didn't feel like it added anything to the ramen.  The pork belly (kakuni) was too fatty and the meat chunks were a little dry.  Also, the slow cooked egg ended up a little too cooked in my ramen.  Admittedly, I'm not a huge spicy ramen fan even though I love all things spicy.  I actually think the spicy ramen at San Mateo's Ramen Dojo (see post HERE) serves up a better bowl.

updated - Working my way through the 2013 7x7's SF big eat 100 things

Address:                  Ramen Underground
                                 355 Kearny St.
                                 San Francisco, Ca
 

Type:                        ramen/Japanese

Popular chomps:      spicy miso ramen
                                  tonkatsu ramen
                                  kakuni

Chomp worthy:         tonkatsu ramen     

Men Oh Tokushima Ramen

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There's always a huge stir about ramen spots in the city.  The Richmond district seems to be a breeding ground for ramen these days.  Having been spoiled by delicious ramen in the South Bay, I've never found one in the city that comes close to my beloved Santouka (see post HERE).  I have yet to be wowed by any ramen in the city.  The Men Oh Tokushima Ramen is a chain from Japan whose second branch has made a appropriate presence in the Richmond district of San Francisco.  The first being in Union City, where a lot of other ramen spots seem to sprout up.  Truth be told, I did hear of this ramen spot opening in Union City, but there were no raves so I assumed it was another bogus ramen spot (ahem...Ajisen Ramen see post HERE).  For some reason, Men Oh Tokushima opened to rave reviews in SF, so I had to check it out for myself.     

I didn't plan it, but I happened to show up on grand opening weekend and their first lunch.  Good thing that ramen was half off that weekend because the service had major kinks.  Not only that the layout has two extremely large communal tables that take up most of the space and is odd for a ramen joint. 

The Tokushima don reminds me of the shredded pork bowl at Daikokuya (see post HERE), but doesn't quite make the cut.  Its still probably the best pork and rice bowl in the bay area.  The tokushima don has both the chasu and the butabura topping the short grain rice drizzled with a sweet-salty sauce.  The size is a little bigger than most don options at ramen restaurants, but this simple bowl of pork and rice made a pleasantly surprising starter to the ramen meal.

The tokushima ramen has a rich, but light flavor.  It's not even close to the complexity of Santouka's broth.  Its quite clear with a salty flavor.  Topped with bamboo shoots, sliced of the signature thinly ribbon cut pork as well as the fatty pork slices, this ramen tastes distinctly different than other ramens I've had before.  Overall, its one of the better bowls of ramen I've had in the city, but nothing that would make me declare that my search for good ramen in SF is over.  One noticeable difference in this ramen is that the noodles are straight and somewhat softer.  They lack the chewiness and bounce of standard ramen noodles.  They remind me of thin Chinese noodles that have soaked up too much sauce.  In other words, not a good thing in my book when slurping up ramen.

The murky, fatty broth indicates one thing:  fatty, porky broth that is synonymous with tonkatsu ramen.  There were no globules of fat in this tonkatsu ramen, which worried me a little.  Fears affirmed when I took the first sip,  the broth that lacked the richness and depth of the familiar tonkatsu ramen.  Again, not a fan of the noodles, especially in a rich broth.

 

The Tonkushima comes with a raw egg, which is probably not for the faint of heart, but definitely heightened the taste.  Stirring the raw egg into the soup creates a thicknesss to the broth that helps to coat the noodles with more flavor.  I highly recommend it with the egg.  Don't worry, the egg is stamped with a "P" to indicate pasteurization.  

Address:                Men Oh Tokushima Ramen
                               5120 Geary Blvd.
                               San Francisco, CA
 

Type:                      Japanese/ramen

Popular chomps:    Tokushima ramen
                                tonkatsu ramen
                                spicy tonkatsu ramen
                                tokushima don

Chomp worthy:       Tokushima don        

Daikokuya

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I have been eagerly waiting to eat ramen at Daikokuya for a while now.  I've actually never eaten ramen in Southern California before, even though Santouka also has a branch there.  So up to this point my favorite ramen has been Santouka (see post HERE), located inside San Jose's Mitsuwa Supermaket.  
Prepping myself for a torturous wait, I stood outside on a Saturday 15 minutes before opening only to find that everyone that arrived wtihin the 1st hour of opening got seated right away.  If you do arrive there when Daikokuya is open, make sure you put your name on the clipboard in the front.

 Daikokuya only does one type of ramen here and that's their Daikoku ramen.  It's a rich tonkatsu (pork) flavored broth with the only option of adding the kotteri flavor (back fat) to make the broth richer.  The bowls here are pretty large, but they also offer a half size portion. 

For a couple dollars more, Daikokuya offers some combination rice bowl options with your ramen.

The tonkatsu broth is milky and thick with small globs of fat floating around.  Usually, I don't prefer beansprouts in my ramen, but there was only a small handful so it didn't obstruct my noodle slurping too much.  A couple slices of pork are hidden right below the surface of the broth along with a soft boiled egg.  The broth has a milky pork taste with a medium sodium level compared to Santouka, which is richer and salt laden.
The ramen here is really good, but I love the super saltiness and rich flavors from the broth at Santouka.  I find that the broth at Santouka has more complex flavors, whereas the broth at Daikokuya is hearty and milder.  Also, nothing beats the melt in your mouth special pork at Santouka.  The pork at Daikokuya is a little on the tough side compared to Santouka's.   

The noodles here are perfect.  It has just the perfect spring and bounce when chewing.  I love how you can tell a good noodle house by the lack of conversation and loud slurping. 

The shredded pork bowl was an combo option with the ramen.  The shredded pork name is a little misleading because they are actually chunks of pork on top of the fluffy rice.  At first glance it looks like nothing special, just pork on top of rice.  Its so much more!  Each piece of pork is somewhat fatty and partly crispy.  Just thinking about it makes my mouth water.  Every scoop is something different, either a juicy pork flavor, or a crispy bit of skin, or a sweetness of the ginger or green onion.  I almost like this better than the ramen.  Its so simple, but so perfect.  

Address:                       Daikokuya
                                             327 E 1st.
                                             Los Angeles, CA

Type:                               ramen/Japanese

Popular chomps:  shredded pork bowl
                                             Daikoku ramen (with kotteri)

Chomp worthy:       shredded pork bowl
                                             Daikoku ramen (with kotteri)