Revisits - Menya Ultra (Mira Mesa) and Ramen Menma - Basso Drillman Oceanside

We're slowly getting to ramen weather here....so a couple of ramen revisits might be in order.

Menya Ultra (Mira Mesa):

Calvin wanted to take me to lunch before my trip, so he got to pick...….it was easy for him; he wanted to try the Mira Mesa location of Menya Ultra. Calvin had been singing the praises of MU on Clairemont Mesa since he first tried the place. While I had the broth had not sustained its excellence over time. Of course he didn't know any better. So, when we got to MU, I told him he was in for a treat as the owner, Takashi Endo was working in the kitchen area.

And this was indeed quite good; even better than usual.

The broth was a bit richer and full bodied, the fragrance, a nice funky tonkotsu, the flavor mild and not too salty. The noodles were perfect; the ajitama, nicely done and not cold.

A really well done bowl....things are better when the boss is around.

Menya Ultra
8141 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126

Ramen Menma - Basso Drillman Oceanside:

The Missus had to work the weekend before we left on our trip. I decided to head on back to Oceanside and Ramen Menma - Basso Drillman. I'd enjoyed the noodles in their Aburasso Ramen and wanted to try out the Tsukemen….and of course that Chicken Karaage I enjoyed.

Sadly, they weren't serving he Tsukemen on this visit. So, I ended up ordering the "Red Hot Miso Ramen Deluxe".

While not being particularly spicy; I preferred this to the rather bland shoyu ramen. It wasn't overly salty; with some decent savory tones; the thickness of the broth was pleasant, if not overly rich. The chashu was nicely seasoned if a bit on the "waxy" side with regards to texture. The menma, which I enjoyed last time still had that nice woodiness; except that it was ice cold....ditto the egg; which was also on the overcooked side for my taste. The noodles were also past the nice chewy-al dente ("katame") texture I prefer as well. Not bad.....

I was really looking forward to the chicken karaage.

Which sadly did not live up to the level of my previous two visits. First off, notice that one piece had been sliced to check for doneness....just seeing this made me rather sad as it meant whomever was making this wasn't familiar with frying the karaage up. And yes; the sliced piece was very dry and as you can see by the photos, so were the other pieces, of which the batter was also hard instead of crunchy. While on previous visits; the flavor of the marinade had danced on the edge of salty; this went over that line as well and was really salty.

Man, what a bummer....I really enjoyed the karaage on my previous two visits.

Service was efficient, the ramen decent, but to me, this really wasn't worth the drive up to Oceanside; so I'm not sure if, or when I'll make an effort to return.

Ramen Menma - Basso Drillman Oceanside
509 Mission Ave
Oceanside, CA 92054

Comments

[Jason]

Have you tried the Miso ramens at Menya yet? Been there 3 times so far and finally tried the Negi Miso ramen and enjoyed it more than the standard tonkotsu.

[kat]

at least the egg wasn’t cold

[Kirk]

Not yet Jason....I will next time. Thanks for the rec!

At least Kat!

[Junichi]

Bummer about the karaage. I went in October for the first time and it was good then. Will check out the ramen next time.

[Kirk]

I was really bummed about not having the Tsukemen Junichi....the karaage added insult to injury.