What's Best: Ramen

garylkoh

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Sep 6, 2010
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It's not even Friday yet..... and I'm tired already. So - a food post.

After I first brought one of my very White American friends to a Ramen meal, he confessed to me later that he thought that I had fallen off my rocker. To him, ramen was a 10 cent packet of instant noodles that you ate when you were hungry had no choice. He equated it to his daughters' college dorm staple, and to bad food. After that first meal (we waited 45 minutes to get in), now every time we meet in the San Francisco Bay Area, he looks at me when it gets up to meal times and says, "Ramen??" with a hopeful grin.

The best "instant Ramen" is the Sun Noodle brand that we get here in the Pacific Northwest at the nearest Uwajimaya supermarket in the chilled foods section. In Southern California, it's available in the Mitsuwa Marketplace. To this foodie and ramen connoisseur Sun Noodles is much more than an instant meal - it's the best ramen you can cook at home. How good is it? How about good enough that patrons would queue up for if your restaurant served it? Not all of these Ramen Shops would admit to using Sun noodles, but thanks to investigative reporting, we know at least 29 shops that do.

http://eater.com/archives/2014/07/23/ramen-shops-sun-noodles-usa.php

And for the real ramen commoisseurs - here are the 21 best Ramen shops in the US.

http://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/best-ramen-shops-ramen-noodles

My goal with Genesis is to find customers near each of these shops so that I can try them all, and see if any of them are as good as my favorite Ramen shop in the world - in Ikebukuro, Tokyo.

Ramen.jpg
 

Andre Marc

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Mar 14, 2012
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It's not even Friday yet..... and I'm tired already. So - a food post.

After I first brought one of my very White American friends to a Ramen meal, he confessed to me later that he thought that I had fallen off my rocker. To him, ramen was a 10 cent packet of instant noodles that you ate when you were hungry had no choice. He equated it to his daughters' college dorm staple, and to bad food. After that first meal (we waited 45 minutes to get in), now every time we meet in the San Francisco Bay Area, he looks at me when it gets up to meal times and says, "Ramen??" with a hopeful grin.

The best "instant Ramen" is the Sun Noodle brand that we get here in the Pacific Northwest at the nearest Uwajimaya supermarket in the chilled foods section. In Southern California, it's available in the Mitsuwa Marketplace. To this foodie and ramen connoisseur Sun Noodles is much more than an instant meal - it's the best ramen you can cook at home. How good is it? How about good enough that patrons would queue up for if your restaurant served it? Not all of these Ramen Shops would admit to using Sun noodles, but thanks to investigative reporting, we know at least 29 shops that do.

http://eater.com/archives/2014/07/23/ramen-shops-sun-noodles-usa.php

And for the real ramen commoisseurs - here are the 21 best Ramen shops in the US.

http://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/best-ramen-shops-ramen-noodles

My goal with Genesis is to find customers near each of these shops so that I can try them all, and see if any of them are as good as my favorite Ramen shop in the world - in Ikebukuro, Tokyo.

View attachment 16610


Oh no you didn't Gary!

My wife and I are pretty much Ramen obsessed.

And yes, many Americans have absolutely no clue what Ramen really is
and how big it is in Japanese culture. My wife recently took a co worker
to lunch who was ASTOUNDED at we he encountered. The pork, the soft
egg, the complex broth etc.

It has been taken to artisan levels here in San Diego.:D
 

JackD201

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Apr 20, 2010
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I'm blessed that a click from my home course is a ramen place with a chef formerly from Okku Kei :D I think I know what I'm doing for lunch. Just outside our village gate we have Santoku, a franchisee of the famous Hokkaido chain.

Pork Marrow broth is my hands down favorite.
 

Andre Marc

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I'm blessed that a click from my home course is a ramen place with a chef formerly from Okku Kei :D I think I know what I'm doing for lunch. Just outside our village gate we have Santoku, a franchisee of the famous Hokkaido chain.

Pork Marrow broth is my hands down favorite.

Same here! Santouka is a quarter mile away. It's my go-to place.
 

amirm

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Apr 2, 2010
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Seattle, WA
Great post and topic Gary. I must say, for years and years I went to Japan and always avoided Ramen for the reason you mention. I just thought it was cup of noodle :). Then one day we had no choice and went to one and I realized my mistake all those years :).

I had not heard of Sun Noodle. I will pick some up.

BTW, have you noticed the new and very nice Ramen places which have opened recently? This is the last place I tried and I could swear I was back in Japan: http://www.santouka-usa.com/
 

garylkoh

WBF Technical Expert (Speakers & Audio Equipment)
Sep 6, 2010
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BTW, have you noticed the new and very nice Ramen places which have opened recently? This is the last place I tried and I could swear I was back in Japan: http://www.santouka-usa.com/

Yes. We queued up for the soft opening in Bellevue :D We were wet and cold, but it was something that we HAD to do to celebrate the opening of the first Santouka in the state of WA.

Santouka Soft Opening.jpg
 

puroagave

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Sep 29, 2011
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we've got santouka in LA, but its dwarfed by older, established (read: well-reviewed) ramen dives around the city which makes the 'thrillist' suspect. not one LA haunt is listed but you've got cities featured that are not known for even a significant asian population, let alone any semblance of a "little tokyo", then again the writers name is GENTILE, lol. I'm partial to Chinese lamian in all it's variations (taiwanese beef noodle, for one) from which japanese ramen is copied. i find the Nihon version not matching the depth of flavor of the chinese soups (but ramen never lacks salt, ramen it seems can never be too salty:b).
 

JackD201

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Ok, I'm off! Kurobota cheeks in marrow broth with leek oil here I come! Later guys!
 

asiufy

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Jul 8, 2011
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It has been taken to artisan levels here in San Diego.:D

Good to know! Recommendations, please :)

I never had proper ramen until I went to Japan. The HK variety was tasty too, but it was a little less "refined", in a way... Or maybe it was just the place I went to...


thanks,
alexandre
 

Johnny Vinyl

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May 16, 2010
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I'll have to check out T&T Supermarkets (an Asian grocery chain now owned by Loblaws) for some Sun Noodles.
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
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Manila, Philippines
we've got santouka in LA, but its dwarfed by older, established (read: well-reviewed) ramen dives around the city which makes the 'thrillist' suspect. not one LA haunt is listed but you've got cities featured that are not known for even a significant asian population, let alone any semblance of a "little tokyo", then again the writers name is GENTILE, lol. I'm partial to Chinese lamian in all it's variations (taiwanese beef noodle, for one) from which japanese ramen is copied. i find the Nihon version not matching the depth of flavor of the chinese soups (but ramen never lacks salt, ramen it seems can never be too salty:b).

I love chinese variants as well. I'm partial to cantonese soups because of the clear clean broths but once in a while I go for northern soups which have richer broths made from beef and lamb. There's a place on my folk's street where you can watch them making the noodles by hand. Then there are the dishes from chinese migrants to south east asia. I swear, having Laksa after a hard night of drinking has saved me from a bad hangover more than once! Over here we have a noodle soup called Ba Choy. I'm not sure westerners would like it much as it uses a lot of stuff like liver, gizzard, tripe and the like then it's topped with scallions and crumbled pork rind. Your cardiologist would not approve! What can I say, I'm a noodle nut. I love all noodles and pastas which Marco Polo brought back from China or so the story goes.
 

Johnny Vinyl

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
May 16, 2010
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Calgary, AB
I love chinese variants as well. I'm partial to cantonese soups because of the clear clean broths but once in a while I go for northern soups which have richer broths made from beef and lamb. There's a place on my folk's street where you can watch them making the noodles by hand. Then there are the dishes from chinese migrants to south east asia. I swear, having Laksa after a hard night of drinking has saved me from a bad hangover more than once! Over here we have a noodle soup called Ba Choy. I'm not sure westerners would like it much as it uses a lot of stuff like liver, gizzard, tripe and the like then it's topped with scallions and crumbled pork rind. Your cardiologist would not approve! What can I say, I'm a noodle nut. I love all noodles and pastas which Marco Polo brought back from China or so the story goes.

Ok, so maybe I won't seek out those Sun Noodles after all! :eek:
 

Ronm1

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I'm more of a Pho fan myself. Not that it matters much. The local place I go to just consistently gets the broth right.
 

WLVCA

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I was reading this thread earlier today and decided to have ramen for lunch. I am a Pho fan but realized I'd never eaten an authentic ramen before. Googled and found a spot not too far away that had good reviews on Yelp.

Ordered the tonkotsu ramen and it was quite good. Really enjoyed it.

Great topic !
 

treitz3

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Dec 25, 2011
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I love Thai food as well as Ramen based meals (want to learn to make some more recipes myself)....because of this thread, I was able to find a top rated ramen joint here in Charlotte. Musashi Japanese not too far from me. Must go try soon!!! I'm freakin' cravin' it BAD now because of this thread. Thanks!

Tom
 

puroagave

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Sep 29, 2011
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I love Thai food as well as Ramen based meals (want to learn to make some more recipes myself)....because of this thread, I was able to find a top rated ramen joint here in Charlotte. Musashi Japanese not too far from me. Must go try soon!!! I'm freakin' cravin' it BAD now because of this thread. Thanks!

Tom

now we're talkin' ive got three words for you: Tom Kha Gai (?????????)
 

garylkoh

WBF Technical Expert (Speakers & Audio Equipment)
Sep 6, 2010
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Seattle, WA
www.genesisloudspeakers.com
now we're talkin' ive got three words for you: Tom Kha Gai (?????????)

+1

That is awesome with Ramen, but I've never found a restaurant that served it. My wife makes a mean Tom Kha Gai, and we routinely use it as the Ramen stock.
 

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