'Ono Kine Grindz

Wagamama - London, UK

A lot of people recommended Wagamama so I was particularly interested in trying the food here.  I visited the location in Bloomsbury which was right around the corner from the British Museum.  Little did I know that this was the original location and that it opened in 1992.  The shop did brisk business and for some reason or another, I left the restaurant feeling a bit disappointed.  The food did not live up to the hype.

Duck gyoza (£4.95)

Tori kara age (£4.20)

Chicken tama rice (£6.95)

Wagamama ramen (£7.40)

Wagamama
4 Streatham Street (this visit)
various locations throughout London
London, UK
Telephone: 207.323.9223

Goma Tei Ramen Restaurant

Within the last couple of years, the area around Ward Warehouse and Ward Centre has been a flurry of activity.  New condos are coming up as well as stores and restaurants.  The first of these to be completed was the small building which houses a new Starbucks, Jamba Juice and the Wahoo's Fish Tacos place.  Meanwhile, work begins on the site that will house a new Whole Foods store and I believe construction has already begun on the PF Changs that will also be located in the same area.  The activity is not only confined to currently empty spaces though.  Ward Centre has also gotten some new tenants in where the old Scoozies was.  Besides Red Pineapple, which opened before the 2005 holiday season, there is this place, Goma Tei, which only opened about a week ago.

Upon entering the restaurant you'll notice the blond wood tables and counter as well as the black wood stained chairs.  The restaurant is clean and modern, and was fairly empty at dinner time, with only two seats at the counter and one table being occupied.  Perhaps word hasn't gotten out about this place yet.

After looking over the menu, I made an inquiry with the waitress.  It seemed as though the restaurant specialized in tan tan ramen, which, according to the menu, is a "Japanese style soup broth with spicy sesame flavor".

So I ordered #5, chicken tan tan ramen (US$7.50).

On the menu, it said that this was made with the restaurant's ban ban ji chicken and veg. garnishes.  When the bowl arrived, there was a pile of choy sum on one end of the bowl, and a pile of sliced white meat chicken on the other.  Well, I don't quite remember what the ban ban ji chicken was (I should have taken better notes), but I'm sure it didn't mean dry and flavorless -- which is exactly how I found this chicken.  The soup, however, was thick and flavorful, with only a hint of spiciness.

To go along with the ramen I also ordered a side of gyoza (5 pieces, US$4.95).

The gyoza took way too long to come out of the kitchen and when the plate arrived at the table, they were already starting to get cold.  There was just enough filling inside the wrapper, but if you ask me, these seemed a lot like the gyoza that's found in the frozen section of the supermarket.  Average.

On another visit, I decided to try the tonkatsu tan tan ramen (US$8.95).

The broth was the same as the first time (how I wished it were spicier) and the ramen was garnished with both choy sum and chopped leeks.  The piece of tonkatsu was quite big, filling up almost the entire surface of the bowl.  It was still crunchy when the ramen arrived, but I felt it could have been tenderized a bit more -- it was a bit tough when I bit into it.

Being that Goma Tei has only been open for about a week, I feel that they still have time to improve.  If the food stays on course, then they could be in for some real trouble.  While the ramen was quite good (the broth could use a bit more spice), it's the toppings that need a bit of work.  The service was good, but it could have been because it wasn't too busy.  The ramen is a bit expensive though, so I'm still a bit unsure if my initial impression warrants a return visit.

Goma Tei Ramen Restaurant
Ward Centre
1200 Ala Moana Boulevard
Telephone:  808.591.9188

Ichi-Ryu Noodle House

If you'll believe me, I'll tell you that it's been a little cooler than normal around here lately. Because of this, I've been eating lots of soups and soupy noodle dishes -- saimin, won ton noodle, pho and ramen.  About a week or so ago, I went out for a bowl of noodles at Ichi-Ryu.

Located about 5 minutes drive from my apartment, Ichi-Ryu is located on the corner of South King and Pensacola right across the street from McKinley High School and down the block from Bac Nam.  Inside, a small television sits atop a refrigerator and a set of curtains separates the dining area from the kitchen.  And most times, when I am driving by this place, I peer inside and find that all of the 14 seats around the oddly shaped counter are occupied.

On the night I was here it wasn't too bad.  There was a couple to my left, enjoying a couple of bowls of noodles, and on my right, this man and his son sharing split a bowl between the two of them.

After looking over the menu and placing my order, I was given a small dish of kim chee.  By the way, am I the only one who noticed that quite a few ramen shops are run by Koreans?  I enjoy this because I like to add the kim chee to the ramen.

About 5 minutes later, my piping hot bowl of won ton ramen (US$5.50) was set down on the counter.

A half dozen, thick-skinned won ton floated in a shoyu based soup.  The soup had just a little too much shoyu in it, which made it too salty.  The won ton had just a small amount of ground pork filling, but there was quite a bit of ginger mixed in and that made the won tons quite enjoyable.  To round out the garnishes was a slice of kamaboko (fish cake), chopped green onions, lots of thin stips of nori and a thick slice of lean, Japanese-style chashu.

To go along with my ramen, I ordered the gyoza set (4 pieces, US$1.50).

Cooked using the traditional steam-frying method, the gyoza had a tender skin and just the right amount of ground pork filling.  Again, like the won ton, the homemade gyoza was seasoned with a lot of ginger which gave them a wonderfully sweet-spicy flavor.

On a previous visit here, I had the chicken katsu donburi (US$6.00).

The bowl that this was served in was a lot smaller than the bowl the ramen came in, but I have to say that this was the perfect portion size.  I was satisfied, but not stuffed.  There were a few pieces of chicken katsu mixed in with egg, then topped with a slice of kamaboko and a small pile of benishoga (red pickled ginger).  I found that there was a bit too much sauce on this and I also felt that it could have been cooked a little longer.  The rice ended up being really wet -- almost like sauce was poured over it.

A cozy neighborhood noodle shop that serves decent food with prices to match -- who could ask for anything more?  In addition to all of the above, the service is better than average and the food was delivered piping hot in just about 5 minutes.  I guess that's why this place is crowded everytime I pass by.  I'm just hoping that the next time I'm here, I can snag a space at the counter without having to wait.

Ichi-Ryu Noodle House
1103 South King Street
Telephone:  808.591.8033

Rai Rai Ramen

A late night at the office led to dinner at Rai Rai Ramen with a couple of friends.  I had heard quite a number of things both good and bad about the food here, but I decided that I needed to find out for myself.

When we arrived at 8:30 pm, there was only one other person here and by the way she spoke with the waitress, she seemed to be a regular here.  The shop was clean and brightly lit and there were menus on all the tables under glass which made for easy reading.

After looking over the menu, two of us decided to try the kim chee ramen (US$6.50).

When the ramen arrived, I was pleasantly surprised to see that there was a lot of kim chee in the bowl.  This was my first time eating kim chee ramen, so I was quite excited to see what it would taste like.  Let's just say that after the first few sips of the broth, the excitement went away.  I don't know if it was the kim chee, or if it was the broth itself, but it was quite salty.  The kim chee gave the broth a bit of sour spiciness, which was OK.  I just don't think it worked well with the miso-based broth this time.  The two of us agreed that the kim chee ramen was not something we would order again.

My other friend at the table decided to have the mabo tofu yakisoba (US$6.25).

I've never had yakisoba with mabo tofu before and neither had my friend, but then again, that's why this was interesting.  I was told that the mabo tofu was not spicy enough, but that it went quite well with the yakisoba. 

The three of us also decided to split a six piece side order of gyoza (6 pieces US$3.25; 4 pieces US$2.50).

After mixing up some dipping sauce with vinegar, shoyu and hot chilli oil, I was ready.  These gyoza were plump, nicely filled and steam fried just right.  The filling, which was made of minced pork was quite tasty, however, I felt the gyoza skins were just a little on the thick side.   

The ramen here at Rai Rai wasn't bad, but it wasn't outstanding either -- it was just so-so.  Maybe I can be blamed for the choice that I made, but I honestly think that if you do something, you should do it well.  The mabo tofu yakisoba was OK, but could have used a lot more heat (according to my friend).  The gyoza was also OK, but could have been prepared with a thinner skin.  The prices were on par with most of the other ramen shops in town (or maybe slightly lower) and the service was OK as well.  This was definitely a dinner that left me wanting just a little more of everything.

Rai Rai Ramen
760 Kapahulu Avenue
Telephone:  808.737.3877

Kiwami Ramen

Recently I've been craving ramen.  When I get this way, two things happen.  The first, is a planned shopping trip.  The second, is a planned shopping trip to Waikiki.  Waikiki is loaded with ramen shops, and good ones at that.  I guess it's because of all the Japanese tourists that come to visit.  Previously, I stopped in at Tenkaippin, and Ramen Nakamura.  Tonight, I didn't feel like eating at either one, and went searching for another place.  Entering the food court at the basement level of the Waikiki Shopping Plaza, I came upon this sign.

Turning the corner, I saw the entrance to Kiwami Ramen.  I started by looking at the menu that was posted outside the shop next to the front door.  The prices seemed to be quite reasonable, and the place was full of Japanese (usually a good sign).

There were no tables available for us to sit down at, so instead, we had a seat at the counter.  Most of us in the shop had just arrived and were waiting to place our orders.  After reading the menu more thoroughly, I placed my order and waited.

About 5 minutes later, my mini shio ramen (US$5.25) was delivered.

According to the menu, the clear broth was seasoned with Hawaiian salt and scallops.  After a couple of sips, I came to the following conclusion -- the broth was very lightly flavored, and it was not salty.  The noodles were thin and done perfectly in the Japanese style, which means they were still firm.  Most often times, the noodles will be cooked a bit longer to appeal to locals, but not here.  The toppings that were included at no charge were menma (pickled bamboo shoots), chopped green onions and corn.  This was quite good and I ended up finishing the entire bowl of broth.

Along with my mini shio ramen, I also ordered a medium charsu (roast pork) rice (US$3.50).

When the bowl arrived, I was pleasantly surprised.  I saw two pieces of sliced charsu and quite a nice pile of cubed charsu as well.  The charsu was on a bed of white rice, then garnished with a "tasty" baked egg and topped with some chopped green onions. The marinated egg was tasty and delicious.  The charsu, while not melt-in-the-mouth tender, was lean, moist and slightly sweet.  Instead of just serving the charsu as is, they included a bit of sauce which made this taste even better.  In fact, I finished the entire bowl of rice because of it.

Since I never go to Waikiki alone, I brought a friend along who ordered the shoyu "AO" ramen (US$7.50).

I took a sip of the broth and found that unlike traditional shoyu based ramen, this was also quite light and not too salty.  The broth had a nice flavor with a slightly spicy kick to it, most likely because the bowl was full of mizuna (Japanese mustard greens).

The ramen here at Kiwami was much better than I anticipated.  The light stock was a welcome change from the heavier, and often times, saltier stocks found at other ramen shops.  The service was excellent, with our ramen being delivered about 5 minutes after our orders were placed.  The prices here were quite reasonable for the quality and quantity of food provided.  Recommended.

Oh, and one other thing that I forgot to mention.  Prior to handing us the bill, our server asked if we were Hawaii residents, to which we replied, "yes".  When the bill arrived, we had discovered 15% deducted from the cost of each dish.  How's that?

Kiwami Ramen
Waikiki Shopping Plaza
2250 Kalakaua Avenue Space LL102
Telephone:  808.924.6744

Tenkaippin Hawaii (天下一品)

Tenkaippin Hawaii is the local outlet of a Japanese ramen chain.  It has actually been on my short list of places to revisit, but because it's usually so crowded, I haven't really had a chance to eat here again.  Last night, I just happened to be in Waikiki on a shopping trip with a friend when we decided to stop by.

It was about 9:30 pm and I was so happy that the shop was actually empty.  We proceeded to the table in the far corner and just as we sat down, a couple entered the shop.  A few minutes later, more than half the tables in the small shop were occupied.

As I looked over the menu, I decided to snap a picture of the various condiments that were on a small tray on each table.  Some of the more common items were black pepper, shoyu, hot chilli oil and vinegar.  I didn't see any shichimi togarashi, but there was a container, in the middle of the picture, that was filled with chopped garlic and chillies!

I ended up selecting the "C" set (US$10.25) from the combination menu. The price quoted is the price with assari ramen.  Also available in the "C" set were the kotteri ramen (US$10.45) or miso ramen (US$10.65).

The assari ramen consists of a bowl of ramen noodles, topped with one piece of homemade char siu, some menma (bamboo shoots), and lots of chopped green onions.  Over all of this is the piping hot chicken stock and shoyu based broth.  The broth, which also seemed quite peppery, was very delicious.  It was light and full of rich chicken flavor.  The homemade char siu, on the other hand, was a disapointment.  It was dry, tough and fatty.  It lacked that melt-in-your-mouth quality which makes Japanese-style char siu so different from Chinese-style char siu.  The noodles, while cooked in the traditional Japanese style, firm and with quite a bit of bite, just didn't do it for me.  Maybe it was the texture of the noodles.  Disappointing.

Included in set "C" were 3 pieces fried chicken.

(Sorry this one is so dark.)

The chicken took more than 10 minutes to be delivered to my table!  In fact, by the time it arrived, I was almost finished with my bowl of ramen.  Alongside the chicken was a mound of chopped cabbage that was topped with some vinegar-based dressing.  Although well-fried, crispy and still juicy, the fried chicken lacked any real flavor.  There was just the slightly hint of garlic flavor.

Meanwhile, my friend ordered the "B" set (US$9.65) from the combination menu.  This time, it was with miso ramen.  Also available in the "B" set were the kotteri ramen (US$9.45) and assari ramen (US$9.25).

Previously, I had tried the miso ramen, but I took a few sips of the broth here so that I could comment on it.  Using chicken stock as a base, this one had a nice amount of miso added to the broth.  In fact, I would have to say that the amount of miso was just right -- not too overpowering.  The miso ramen came topped with lots of mung bean sprouts and green onions. 

Included in this set meal were 3 pieces gyoza.

Gyoza are Japanese dumplings that are normally filled with pork, garlic, cabbage, ginger and green onions.  These were nicely sized and seemed to have been cooked using the traditional steam-frying method.  I tried these on an earlier visit, and felt that something was missing.  These weren't as flavorful as they could have been.

After I finished my meal, I asked myself if I really made a wise choice by coming here.  Although the ramen broth was delicious and well-flavored, it couldn't hide the fact that the noodles weren't as good as I was expecting.  The gyoza was just so-so and the fried chicken was almost flavorless.  For the same price, I can think of many ramen shops within a mile of this place that would have left me feeling more satisfied.

Tenkaippin Hawaii
2132 Kalakaua Avenue
Telephone:  (808)926-1100

Jimbo's Restaurant

A while back one of my readers mentioned that I should do a post on Jimbo's, and well, here I am.  Since a friend of mine had asked about this place as well, I brought him along.

Once inside, we took the table next to the kitchen and looked over the menu.  The interior of the restaurant was dimly lit and filled with lots of dark wood furniture.  There were quite a few people here, at about 2:00 pm, but the place was not as crowded as I had anticipated.

Jimbo's is known for their homemade udon noodles, so I decided to have the nabeyaki udon (US$9.10).

Nabeyaki udon is traditionally cooked and served in a donabe (earthenware) pot.  I don't know if this pot was a traditional donabe pot or not, but most of the times that I've eaten nabeyaki udon here in Hawaii, it came served in a pot similar to that in the picture above. 

This bowl contained lots of thick, homemade udon noodles that were perfectly cooked.  The udon noodles were topped with pieces of boneless chicken thigh, vegetables, a poached egg, one piece shrimp tempura, one piece eggplant tempura and one piece kamaboko (fishcake).  It was all swimming in a piping hot bowl of broth.  The broth, or dashi, tasted like it was shoyu based and it was nice -- not too salty and not too fishy.  The best part of this dish for me were the noodles.  Thick, slightly chewy, with just the right texture and doneness.

My friend on the other hand had the spicy beef yaki udon (US$7.25).

The udon noodles were stir fried with string beans, carrots and beef, then topped with some green onions, benishoga (red pickled ginger) and some spicy sauce.  While it looked tasty to me, I was told that this was just OK and not something to be ordered again.

I would definitely come here again for the hot udon, and I'd most likely want to try the cold udon dishes here too.  The service here is efficient, my bowl of udon arrived in about 3 minutes, and the wait staff is helpful.  The prices here are on par with most other saimin/ramen shops in town.  The main reason for coming here, though, would be for the perfectly cooked, homemade udon noodles.

Jimbo's Restaurant
1936 South King Street
Telephone:  (808)947-2211

Jimbo's Menu   
Requires Adobe Acrobat

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

Sumo Ramen & Curry

A couple of weeks ago, I was at Market City Shopping Center having dinner at Gina's B-B-Q, as I was leaving, I noticed Sumo Ramen & Curry.  The shop had not yet opened, but I made a mental note to come back and try it after it had opened. 

A few days ago, one of my co-workers told me that she had eaten at Sumo Ramen & Curry and that the food was pretty good and quite reasonably priced, so I decided that I would drop by.

Upon entering there is a long entryway which leads to an open seating area in the back.  The shop was well lit and had some nice pastel-colored tiles on the counters, on the walls and on the tables as well.

There were two guys cooking and two girls serving food.  After glancing over the menu, I decided to have the Spam® katsu curry combo (US$6.95).  Included in the combo was Spam® katsu curry, a mini charsiu ramen and four pieces of gyoza.

First to arrive was the Spam® katsu curry.

Two pieces of Spam® luncheon meat had been coated in panko flakes (Japanese-style bread crumbs) and deep fried.  The Spam® "katsu" was served on white rice with some fukujinzuke (pickled vegetables) and curry sauce on the side.  The Spam® katsu was something different and not all that bad.  The curry sauce on the other hand was a bit too sweet for me.  I added some shichimi togarashi to the dish, but it didn't really help.  If you like your curry on the sweet side, then this is definitely the curry for you.

Next to arrive, was the mini charsiu ramen.

As the waitress put the bowl on the table, I could smell the bonito in the broth (dashi).  Thinking that this bowl of ramen would have some great flavor, I quickly had a taste.  Boy, was I mistaken.  The broth, while smelling really good and strong, tasted quite bland.  I added some shoyu and shichimi togarashi to the bowl to give it a bit more flavor and kick.  The charsiu was also a bit of a disappointment.  It was tough and dry, not melt-in-the-mouth tender like it should be.

Last to arrive was the gyoza.

The gyoza was very nicely steam-fried.  The bottom was just crisp enough to give this some crunch.  It had just the right amount of filling and the gyoza skin was just the right thickness.  This was not the best gyoza that I've had, but it was decent. 

Sumo Ramen certainly gives a lot of food for the money, making this a good value if you're hungry.  The Spam® katsu curry, gets high marks for its concept alone and is sure to appeal to locals looking for something new and different ways to try Spam®.  Taste-wise, although the gyoza was OK, the curry sauce and the ramen's dashi, were both just average.

Sumo Ramen & Curry
Market City Shopping Center
2919 Kapiolani Boulevard Suite 104
Telephone:  808.737.1868

Restaurant Yamagen

There are a lot of hole-in-the-wall restaurants here in Hawaii.  Many are undiscovered gems that do their best to remain hidden.  One of these places is Restaurant Yamagen.  Located in a non-descript brown box, you wouldn't know you were here, until you actually were here.  From the road, this looks like someone's residence.

The sign is small and can barely be seen when it's dark.  In fact, I never knew this was a restaurant until just recently.  Stepping inside makes me feel like I'm back in Japan, slurping ramen in a small shop in some dark alleyway.  Full of dark wood, dim lighting and a few Japanese decorative objects like this...

(I can't really recall the name of this contraption.  If any of you can, please help me before I go crazy!)

You can choose to sit at this table, which is actually one of only 4 tables available inside the restaurant or you can sit on one of the four stools located at the counter along the wall. 

Soon after I sat down at the third table in from the door, a couple came in and sat at the last remaining table, then two more couples walked in and sat down on the stools at the counter.  The place was already full and there were people still trying to walk through the doors.  Luckily, they have some outdoor seating as well in a converted carport.

The menu here has quite a number of choices - soba or udon, ramen and donburi.  Short, sweet and to the point.  Tonight, I decided on a Japanese classic, oyako donburi (chicken and egg rice bowl, US$6.50).

To start, the waitress brought me a bowl of wakame soup (clear seaweed soup) and some tsukemono (pickled vegetables).

The soup was steaming hot.  The dashi (stock) had a hint of bonito and was slightly salty.  Inside the bowl were pieces of seaweed and green onions.  There was something else in the bowl, that I thought were either thin ribbons of egg or slivers of tofu, but it was neither.  I'll have to ask next time I go there. 

The tsukemono was actually hakusai zuke (Chinese cabbage pickles) and had just the right amount of salty, vinegar-y flavor.  This one was also interesting in that I noticed a lot of ginger in it as well.

After tempting my taste buds with the complimentary starters, I received my okayo donburi.

After sprinkling on some shichimi togarashi (a mix of ground chili, sesame seeds and other spices), I was ready to eat.  Tender pieces of boneless chicken thigh were simmered with egg, onions and green onions until set.  It was then topped with some kizami nori (dried seaweed strips). In my opinion, the egg was cooked a little bit too long.  I like it to be a bit "runny-er".  The flavor, though, was better than average with just the hint of sweetness and a fair amount of shoyu-flavored saltiness.

Yamagen is one of those places that you are bound to love.  The food is excellent, the prices are reasonable and the portions are more than adequate. 

Restaurant Yamagen
2210 South King Street
Telephone:  808.947.2125