I know, I know, a ramen post on the hottest day of the year.... have I lost it or what? But this post is from all the way back in May...... there are so many COMC (Clearing out the memory card) posts, and I'm trying to catch up.
I hadn't been to Izakaya Masa in quite a while. In fact, the last time I visited, Masa was still serving lunch. For some reason, I always appreciated the place when it was still Teriyaki Cowboy. I always knew what to expect, decent, reasonable, semi fast food Japanese. When they became Masa, I found the lunches to be reasonable, but for some reason, I've never thought the place to be worth the special trip for dinner.
So when I read Dennis's post after returning from China regarding Izakaya Masa's weekend lunch, and the Hakata Ramen in particular, I made sure to drop by. I had heard about Masa's Hakata Ramen from several acquaintances, as well as "sammusubi" in a comment on my Ramen Comparison post. Not much had changed at Izakaya Masa, things look basically the same.
A bowl here is priced reasonably at $6.95, and you can get various combinations (with gyoza or fried rice, or both) from $8.50 to $10.50.
I decided to kinda go my own way, and started with something I think Masa does well. Chuka Kurage (Jellyfish Salad - $3.95).
Normally a great dish to have with drinks, I enjoy the refreshing vinegar-soy flavor, and the nice crunch.
Of course I went for the Hakata Ramen ($6.95):
The Tonkotsu style broth, usually the product of rapidly boiled pork bones, resulting in a rich, milky looking broth, was on thin side, missing the tongue coating richness I enjoy. I love regular straight up shio or shoyu ramen; but this is tonkotsu broth so my expectations are different. There was a strange, almost metallic tinged aftertaste that made me think that perhaps a "base" was being used to perhaps help things out? The chashu tasted a bit on the mild side, but were sufficiently tender and moist.
From my experience, one of the signatures of Hakata Ramen are the thin and straight noodles, these noodles had a decent "crunch", but were thicker than what I would consider Hakata style noodles to be.
Overall, this was a decent bowl, priced right, but not outstanding. Still, it's nice to have options in the Mission Hills area. Funny thing, just like Dennis, most of the folks who recommended the ramen from Masa to me personally, usually consumed it while, ummmm.... how should I say it? Well perhaps the lyrics to this song say it best:
"I'm just a little impaired
I know, right now you don't care
But soon enough you're gonna think of me....."
And heck, it's probably better than a greasy California Burrito from Santana's up the street right? Right?
Izakaya Masa
928 Fort Stockton Dr
San Diego, CA 92103
perspiring just looking at these photos! will take a look back in a couple of months when I'm fahreezing ;)
Posted by: kat | Thursday, 19 August 2010 at 09:47 PM
LOVE jellyfish! Just realized it's been far too long since I've had some. Of course, now I'm totally craving it.
Posted by: Marie | Thursday, 19 August 2010 at 10:37 PM
Hi Kirk, I have friends that live near by and we come for dinner often. It's true the food seems to taste better with a few beers in you, ha ha. I always thought they were pretty good at execution, cleverly thrifty with the use of ingredients that would make Sandra Lee proud. But I can't believe they claimed the noodles to be hand made, well at least they did at one time..
Posted by: Dennis | Friday, 20 August 2010 at 07:22 AM
LOL Kat!
Hi Marie - Yes, good jellyfish is very refreshing! I hope you get some soon.
Hi Dennis - I have friends who love Gyoza..... unfortunately, though the food is prepared adequately, it's not a destination for me.
Posted by: Kirk | Friday, 20 August 2010 at 07:52 AM
There are just some things that taste better when impaired. And I've never let sweltering heat keep me from a bowl of ramen. Lucky for me considering how hot it gets out by me.
Posted by: Carol | Friday, 20 August 2010 at 08:35 AM
they really do have an excellent jellyfish salad, always get it when we go there. I love the fact that they are right up the street from me and they do a pretty good job on most of their dishes. No need to drive far(or at all) for good Japanese food.
Posted by: Lynnea | Friday, 20 August 2010 at 09:08 AM
I was actually in the mood for ramen today. Wish I checked your blog before I settled for something else haha. Also, I actually tried Jellyfish Salad for the first time at Dumpling Inn a few days ago. It was really good! Great post as always Kirk.
Posted by: Darwin | Sunday, 22 August 2010 at 12:54 AM
Hi Carol - You're a tough one....I couldn't manage ramen on a hot day like yesterday.
Hi Lynnea - That jellyfish is quite good.
Hi Darwin - The jellyfish at Dumpling Inn is about the only thing I enjoy here.
Posted by: Kirk | Sunday, 22 August 2010 at 03:10 PM
Definitely, a tonkotsu ramen is better than a greasy burrito!
By the way, House of Annie has moved to its own domain, http://www.houseofannie.com. I'd appreciate it if you changed the link in your blogroll to point to the new site instead of the old ChezAnnies on BlogSpot. Thanks!
Posted by: Nate @ House of Annie | Sunday, 22 August 2010 at 06:45 PM
Hey, I am a huge ramen fan and was delighted to find Izakaya Masa recently (plus it's open late). I think it's the best ramen in SD but would love to know which was your favorite.
Posted by: Jon | Monday, 23 August 2010 at 07:18 AM
HiNate - Thanks for the heads-up, I've made the changes.
Hi Jon - Personally, I like the Tonkotsu style ramen from Santouka, just the Shio version though, as I found the miso ramen too salty. For straight up ramen Yakuyudori does a pretty solid job. I have an entire category for ramen, if you'd like to peruse.
http://mmm-yoso.typepad.com/mmmyoso/ramen/#tp
Thanks for taking the time out to comment.
Posted by: Kirk | Monday, 23 August 2010 at 08:02 AM
Hey Kirk, thanks for the shoutout in the blog! I'm honored!
Unfortunately, I think Izakaya Masa's quality control has been on hiatus. The past few times I've had the Hakata Ramen, I was disappointed. The broth is lacking, maybe a new chef? the noodles tend to be over cooked too. The pork seems undercooked.
I switch my vote for Ramen to Yakyudori overall. Perfect al dente noodles, and the best pork (melts in your mouth like the special pork included in the $10 Ramen at Santouka: perfect ratio of meat to fat). Shio and Shoyu reign supreme there, but Miso is still the best at Santouka (just add some extra water). The Miso at Yakyudori is way saltier than Santouka!
Posted by: twitter.com/sammusubi | Monday, 23 August 2010 at 03:45 PM
another thing: try the green vegetable gyoza! I think there's edamame in it . . . kind of reminds me of spinach tortellini!
Posted by: twitter.com/sammusubi | Monday, 23 August 2010 at 03:48 PM
Hi Sammusubi - Thanks for keeping up to date, I appreciate all the recommendations. I know folks love the Gyoza at Masa, but I've just never been that impressed.
Posted by: Kirk | Tuesday, 24 August 2010 at 07:49 AM