Ramen Nakamura

Last weekend, Macy*s was having a 24-Hour Sale.  I got a lot of clothes at a great price at the Ala Moana store.  Since it was still early, I decided to visit the Macy*s location in Waikiki.  After parking my car, and browsing at the Niketown store, I got a bit hungry. 

There were two ramen shops in the vicinity, Tenkaippin and Ramen Nakamura.  My first thought was to visit Tenkaippin, however, when I got to the shop, it was completely full.  Instead, I crossed the street and stopped here.

Ramen Nakamura was also crowded, but I was able to get a seat near the kitchen.

After looking over the menu, I decided on the following dishes - fried noodles ($7.90).

The noodles were stir-fried, or wok-fried, with chicken, bell peppers, cabbage and carrots.  It was served topped with some furikake (prepared seaweed sprinkles) and a little benishoga (red pickled ginger).

(I'm not going to comment about the fried noodles as I ended up taking them home and eating them for lunch the next day.)

Ramen and small fried rice combination (US$10.70).  For the ramen, you get a choice of either miso, shoyu, shio (salt based) or hakata (whitish-colored broth made from boiled pork bones).  I chose shoyu.

The ramen was served with some mung bean sprouts, a piece of chashu (roasted pork), some menma (pickled bamboo shoots) and some fried garlic slices.  The fried garlic added some wonderful flavor to the soup.  In fact, I found myself wanting to ask for more (I didn't).  The piece of chashu was tender, though a little fatty, and the noodles were perfectly cooked.

Here is the small fried rice.

The portion of fried rice was just right.  It was a bit standard, but I liked the fact that it came with some benishoga as well.  It added just the right amount of "kick" to the rice.

The service here was great.  I didn't wait more than five minutes for my bowl of ramen to arrive at the counter.  Tastewise, the ramen was slightly better than average.  The noodles were "chewy" rather than the local "soft" style and the broth was delicious, especially with the fried garlic in it.  This is definitely one place that I'd visit again.

Ramen Nakamura
2141 Kalakaua Avenue Suite 1
Telephone:  808.922.7960

Comments

[MrsT]

Yummy..!!

[Reid]

Hi MrsT,

It certainly was. Hopefully, Typepad is in a better mood later this evening so that I can update the post. It took me about 2 hours last night to just upload the pictures. =(

[AugustusGloop]

Pornolicious! :P I see those "come slither" eyes on that plate of noodles!

And I wanna know who's the guy in the picture on the wall!

[MBS]

Ooohh...onolicious!

C'mon Reid! Commentary! Ala Moana side of Waikiki, right? Across the street from the Mitsukoshi building?

[fish fish]

Ai yar~ the pics oledi drooling. Is the 3rd pic shio yaki soba? I love~ shio yaki.

[Karen]

Hi Reid,

You make me want to whip up some ramen first thing in the morning. Wonderful pictures!

[anthony]

Ahhh yakisoba, had some the other night at the end of a big night and they hit the spot.

That cha-han looks marvellous. I just so have to start a ramen shop in Perth

[MrsT]

Hey.. Reid,
I hope you are well.. been quite a few days now.. since i last heard from you ..:)

[MrsT]

Hey.. Reid,
Glad to hear that you are well.. ;) i look forward to more post.. ;)
Food looks yummy..!

[Reid]

Hi AG,

I'm not sure who that man is. Next time I'm there I'll check and let you know. The noodles were great the next day. I'm sure they would have been better if I had eaten them while I was there.

Hi MBS,

Right next door to Burberry! =)
The food here was great! Can you believe it took me 2 hours just to post the commentary? I'm not sure if Typepad is having trouble or not.

Hi fish fish,

It is yakisoba, although on the menu it says fried noodles. Couldn't make out the kanji too well. I'm not so proficient anymore. =(

Hi Karen,

Welcome to my blog!

Ooooh. Saimin would be great for breakfast. Can you make some for me too? =)

Hi Anthony,

Yakisoba is one of life's pleasures. So simple and so tasty. I wish I could eat more Japanese food. The places here are just too expensive. The chahan was good, although a little plain. If you decide to open a ramen stand in Perth, as long as you invite me to the grand opening, I'll be there.

Hi MrsT,

I'm OK. Thank you for your concern. I'll be posting more soon...as long as Typepad is cooperative. =)

[Julia]

Hi Reid,

All the dishes look yum, but I particularly like the fried rice. It's quite plain, but it's beautifully presented and it looks like the chef has mastered the skill of frying the rice very well.

I'm surprised that you're having trouble uploading your photos and posts on TypePad. Have you informed the help desk? Don't worry about not having the time to update your blog. We'll still be here waiting patiently for your posts. :)

[Reid]

Hi Julia,

I like fried rice when it's plain and simple. In fact, when I make it at home, I usually will include only eggs and green onions. This one was delicious because it was so simple. What I really found enjoyable, was the ramen. I never thought just a few slivers of fried garlic could add so much flavor to a bowl of broth. I'm going to start adding fried garlic to my ramen when I make it at home.

I did submit a ticket to Typepad, but didn't receive a response until just today. They couldn't figure out what the problem was. It seems as if everything is OK now. It could have been a combination of Typepad and my DSL connection.

Thank you for waiting and being patient while I work through all these issues. BTW...did you get the picture of the koi I sent?

[Ian]

So, has anyone been to both this and the main shop in Ishikari, Hokkaido? I'm wondering if it's very different, menu and quality-wise. The Ishikari shop is the best ramen shop I have ever been to, hands down.

[Reid]

Hi Ian,

Welcome to the blog!

I have not yet been to the shop in Hokkaido, but might be going to Japan sometime next year. Hopefully one of my readers can leave the information here for you. Otherwise, perhaps you can visit this shop and let me know how it compares.

Thanks for stopping by!

[Pomai]

Ahh, so you've already reviewed this place. Ha ha! I've just begun my "Ramen Quest" for my food blog, as you can see if you click on the URL I provided with this comment.

I passed Ramen Nakamura just the other night (it's been there for quite a long time now) while on my way to another Waikiki restaurant and spotted the Tokyo-style Shoyu Ramen listed in the menu box on the store front. That's what I'll try when I go there SOON! Gotta' love those realistic-looking resin food displays all the Japanese restaurants have in the front.

What did you ever make of the fried noodles you took home?

Someone commented here that they have an original location in Hokkaido, so I'd assume their Ramen broth is in that style, which is noted for being more intense, sometimes leaning towards Miso in flavor. Was that your impression?

Anyway, I'm gonna' look for more Ramen-Ya reviews in your blog.. da' "ichiban" Hawaii Food Blog!

Aloha,
Pomai

[Miko]

I am Japanese and expected better quality of food. Also, very disapointed in service and billing - expensive. I found a hair in the ramen and complained. The waitress put her fingers in my oxtail ramen and removed the hair. She said "no big deal, this is oxtail hair". I don't agree. She did not offer to give me a new bowl of ramen and she still gave me a bill with the 15% tip included - what does that mean? I have lived here in Hawaii for ten years and go to many restaurants. They treat tourists badly here compared to locals. I will never go back to this place.