mmm-yoso!!!

Eating to Beat the Heat - Revisits to Buga, La Miche Kabobgee, and Santouka

Well, it cooled down for a bit, got warm again, cooled off, and then it's Monday and quite warm again......and it's not really the temps, but rather the humidity that's kind of bothering me. Man, to think I was born and raised in Hawaii. Crazy.

Anyway, here are a few revisits.

Buga:

I just looked at my last post on Buga and it's been exactly one year! Strange; I thought it had been longer than that. I wanted some bi bim naengmyun and Buga is right off the 805; so I thought it would be a rather quick and easy meal.

I got there right at opening time so the place was empty. Strangely, it stayed that way for my entire visit. Even though I got out in 25 minutes, it was pretty strange to see the place completely empty.

And no; I didn't order the "Internal Organs Special"; which would have been too much for me anyway.

I got the Bi Bim Naengyun as planned.

The last time I had Bi Bim Naengmyun at Buga it was a bit strange. It was water and quite soupy, a far cry from the drier, more spicy version that used to be served here. What I got this time was a bit different as well; it seemed like a bowl of regular Naengmyun in a typical dongchimi - based soup topped with the usual spicy gochujang based sauce for bi bim naengmyun. It seemed like a hybrid of sorts; which actually wasn't too bad. It still had the spiciness along with the bracing - refreshing - sour - Asian pearish soup. The noodles were perfect; stretchy, but not hard. Enoguh to bring some sweat to the brow, but also cool me off at the same time.

Sadly the panchan was mediocre; really lacking in punch, with no fermented tones at all....it was all quick-kimchi and a too sweet potato salad.

Buga Korean Restaurant
5580 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92117

La Miche Kabobgee:

We usually head to La Miche Kabobgee when the temperature rises; to get some of the mezes we enjoy. So, one evening I headed over to grab some take-out and the place was closed.

I noticed the sign posted on the door with limited hours posted.

It seems that the really nice gentleman who owns the place had some heart surgery.....which had me a bit concerned.

So I dropped by during a lunch service.

I was happy to see him working. Moving a bit slower perhaps, but he was still the very mellow, and gentle guy I recalled. I chatted with him for a minute before this large party came in. He's doing better and is almost back to full speed. I'm glad.

The menu has fewer mezes than before; I think it's a bit of an abbreviated one; but there were still a couple of items I had previously enjoyed, starting with the Muhamarah.

I really enjoy the combination of flavors in this red pepper - walnut - pomengranite "dip" which is thickened with bread. Though it's much less spicy and tangy than I recalled; it's still a winnah' with the fresh pita that arrives scorching hot. I've learned that it's better to just eat all of the bread as it just isn't as good a few hours later.

I also got the Makanek; these little sausages had a wonderful snap, the ground veal is nicely seasoned, and that lemon based sauce is quite bracing!

This was a nice meal and it was good to know Nabih is doing well. So well, that La Miche will be back to normal hours in September.

La Miche Kabobgee
9350 Clairemont Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92123

Santouka:

In my last "eating to beat the heat" post; Junichi mentioned the Hiyashi Chuka from Santouka. I had actually had the Hiyashi Chuka from Santouka once before and had not been too impressed. But man, that was eight years ago! So, I figured it was time to try it again.

I wasn't certain that Santouka had the Hiyashi Chuka, but sure enough it was the summer special. I could tell it had been a very long time since I'd had this; it was $8.50 then; it's now $12.50. So, I guess its been going up by 50 cents a year?

Anyway, I ordered my noodles and had a seat. A few minutes later my number was called.

Well, if anything, Santouka gets points for consistency in presentation, as this looked basically the same as what I'd had eight whole years ago. At that time Dennis of A Radiused Corner (we miss you man!), called it a "tease" when it came to the proteins.

Those two thin slices of toroniku look rather lonely on that pile of noodles, huh? The provided toppings were rather "sparse"; though if you're carb loading, you've got your dish!

The "sauce" was weaker than I recalled, not as dashi forward and the sour tones were muted. I ended up mixing in all that mustard to help give things some "umph".

The noodles were nicely prepped and well chilled; so no issues there.

And as much as I like carbs and Santouka (remember us hunting down the original store in Asahikawa as few years back?), I'm not the biggest fan of the Hiyashi Chuka here.

Santouka Ramen
4240 Kearny Mesa Rd(In the Mitsuwa Marketplace)
San Diego, CA 92111

Things seem to be cooling down nicely as I'm finishing up this post......so maybe cooler weather is in store.

Trying to Beat the Heat - "Cold Ramen" at Karami Ramen and Gyokai Natto Don at Izakaya Sakura

Man, that humidity was pretty nasty last week, wasn't it? Well, here's something new I tried and also an old favorite for you.

"Cold Ramen" at Karami Ramen:

So, "FOY" SomTommy sent me an email in the middle of 90% humidity week asking me if I had tried the Cold Ramen at Karami Ramen. I mentioned that over multiple visits; Karami had never been a favorite of mine and that I haven't really found a "go-to" version of Hiyashi Chuka in San Diego. ST replied back that Karami was serving ramen, with cold noodles and a cold broth! Hmmm.....

So, before doing some shopping at Nijiya, I decided to see what this "cold ramen" was all about. And yes, there was a sign on the door that said Cold Ramen - $9.90.

It was pretty quiet during my visit. Considering that this was noon on a weekend and the strip mall was packed; it seemed strange. But maybe not, since it was still quite warm and muggy out.

The young man who served me was pleasant, the service prompt, no complaints there.

As for the "ramen".

So yes, this was nicely chilled. In fact, I bit into a couple of ice cubes. On the bright side; there would be no complaining about one of my pet peeves; the ice cold tamago….as it was cold, with a good shoyu flavor. Speaking of shoyu flavor; i'm certain the temperature really affects the tastebuds as this was super salty. It could have used some sour - savory - sweet tones to help things along. It became a bit much and I couldn't finish it. The chashu was also nicely flavored and tender. The menma was routine. For some reason, I really enjoyed the corn....I think the cold heightens the sweetness of the corn. It was my favorite part of the dish.

So, ST, I know Karami is a favorite of yours. The price at $9.90 is reasonable. This wasn't bad, but I'm not sure I'd have it again. Thanks for letting me know about it though.

Karami Ramen
3860 Convoy St
San Diego, CA 92111

Gyokai Natto Don at Izakaya Sakura:

Yes, it's that time again, yet another post on Izakaya Sakura. To be perfectly honest though, I think Sakura has not aged well...the service has been spotty and on occasion, the food has been a bit off. And so; it's been nearly a year since my last visit. It was during another hot spell and I got one of my two "hot weather" go to dishes at Sakura, the Ebi Kakiage Udon. This time though, I decided to retry what used to be my other warm weather favorite, the Gyokai Natto Don. The last time I tried it in September of 2017 it was mediocre; a ton of rice, barely any fish.

So, how's the 2019 version of the dish?

While still not quite hitting the same highs as when Sakura didn't have a sign (ChrisR - I still remember when you said it was "an end of an era"); this did hit the spot. Meaty magura and toothsome ika; with a few pieces of shiromi (white fish) thrown in; fermented goodness from the slimy-stringy natto; pungent wasabi, umami from the seaweed, textural pungency from the scallions......still a bit to much rice for me these days; but what the heck, I was hungry. The miso soup was good, the agedashi tofu held form and didn't breakdown and get mushy......

Just what the doctor ordered.

Maybe I need to return more often?

Izakaya Sakura
3904 Convoy St Ste 121
San Diego, CA 92111

Well, at least it's cooled off a bit today. And looking at the weather elsewhere, you know how much we love Paris, but the mercury hit an all time high there this week at 108.7! Sheesh!

Hope everyone kept cool over the last week. What have you been eating to "beat the heat"?

Little Sakana (Mira Mesa)(lunch)

mmm-yoso!!! is a blog about food.  Cathy is writing today while Kirk is at work on some important projects.  

We've been in this Mira Mesa neighborhood a lot lately, either meeting someone at the Starbucks or dropping into Hong Kong BBQ or R&B Filipino Cuisine. I had noticed Little Sakana while meeting clients at the 'new' Crab Hut (post to come) and finally had a few chances to drop in for lunch.   
We have tried to arrive near opening (11:30) to avoid crowds.  
One visit, we shared a cucumber salad appetizer ($6). Lightly dressed with rice vinegar and sesame oil and interspersed with krab, this is quite large and refreshing. 
 The seven piece Assorted Tempura ($8) was a great way to 'test' the frying technique here.  Two shrimp and five different vegetable pieces (onion, squash, carrot, sweet potato and broccoli) were each crispy, not oily and went perfectly with the tempura dipping sauce.  The 12 piece fried calamari appetizer ($7) was filling and also properly fried.  The breading was crunchy, squid pieces fat and juicy and the Sriracha based dipping sauce was not overpowering. 
 The Shrimp Yakisoba lunch ($12) came with a choice of soup or salad and three beef potstickers.  Plump shrimp, plenty of fresh vegetables (red and green bell pepper, onion, broccoli and cabbage) and not much in the way of yakisoba noodles (which were so very good).    The Chicken Katsu Curry such special ($13) was also very fresh. This time, with miso soup and the same pot stickers (nice thin dumpling skin and quite a lot of filling).  The katsu fry was, again, proper-light, crispy, non-oily, leaving the chicken moist.  The curry sauce with the beef, potatoes, carrots and onions had a bit of sweetness and rich flavor that I crave on chilly days.  
  The Assorted Sashimi Salad ($15) could easily be shared.  This photo doesn't do it justice.  The lettuces are mixed and lightly coated with the sesame based dressing.  The fish includes raw tuna, seared tuna, hamachi, salmon and shrimp.  The salad is topped with a seaweed salad.  The large quantity of fish is interspersed throughout the lettuce.  Will order again. 

All in all, a very nice, large restaurant serving really good lunch specials and appetizers.  There are all sorts of weekday specials noted at the front door and apparently the sushi rolls and alcoholic beverages are a draw for most people (I really don't research places until writing a post; we drop in). There is also an 'All You Can Eat' option for both lunch and dinner.  A more or less 'traditional' menu which we will try again.  

Little Sakana 8270 Mira Mesa Blvd, Ste E. San Diego 92126 (858) 860-5000 Open Sun-Th 11:30-10, Fri 11:30-11. Sat 11:30-10:30 Website 

Revisits - HiroNori Craft Ramen and Sushi Yaro

A couple of revisits for a busy Monday

HiroNori Craft Ramen:

I had meetings in the Hillcrest area; which conveniently finished at 1130. Sometimes things just work our right. I had wanted to revisit HiroNori since my first couple of visits in March. I was seated at the counter by one of the cheerful staff and of course I ordered the Shoyu Ramen, which I really enjoyed during a previous visit. I guess I really liked the flavor of barrel aged shoyu used for the tare.

So, how would it fare four months later?

The noodles were every bit as good a on my previous visits, with a meaty chew, the chashu tender and "porky", the ajitama was warm and seasoned well. The menma; bamboo shoots were too cold though. The broth was interesting; still good, the tongue feel was excellent for shoyu ramen; still it didn't have that level of complexity; the lightly sweet-umami I enjoyed previously. It was also a bit too salty this time around.

Don't get me wrong; this is still my second favorite ramen in San Diego. But, having had this before, I expect some consistency and this wasn't quite as good as what I'd had previously.

HiroNori Craft Ramen
3803 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103 
Open Daily 1130am - 9pm

Sushi Yaro:

Well, I hadn't been to Sushi Yaro since our office moved to the UTC area. First off, Sammy stopped doing lunch service, second, well life had just been too busy.

So, a few weeks back, wondering how the place was doing, I decided to head on over.

And ordered my typical sashimi; which delivered. I especially loved the engawa.

I know, you go into Yaro and see all the really "interesting" rolls.....which is not my thing. But they always have some good fish on hand for old fogies like me.

This hit the spot!

And, as a super bonus, my good friends Candice and Quanito dropped by for some beer as well! Just like old times. I've missed you my friends!

Sushi Yaro
7905 Engineer Road
San Diego, CA 92111

Honolulu - Ahi Assassins and Walking Around Shirokiya Japan Village Walk

Our first full day back from Lana'i was spent doing a bit of shopping. And of course we wanted to get some grindz. Since we don't visit "Home" very often these days; it's quite easy to fall into the "I gotta get all my favorites" mode....just like the previous evening when we hit up the Alley.

On this day though; I wanted to try someplace new. I'd heard about a newish shop that opened up in Moiliili. One that serves fish from the waters around the islands; Ahi Assassins. Funny, when I read the address, I thought, where the heck in that small strip mall are they? Well; the shop is on the second floor. Just look for the Fish Flags!

There's something wonderfully "neighborly - old school" about this place. Like a small hole-in-the-wall that could have been in your neighborhood in the islands growing up.

There are several poke on offer....when it's gone, it's gone. Kind of reminds me of Ray's Café before they moved to Kalihi (btw, we miss you Reid! Hope all is well), when they were on the corner of Smith and Beretania. They had a hand written sign that said; "when the door is open we open, when its closed, we closed". But I digress.

Anyway, the really friendly guy behind the counter got us trying....well, just about everything.

We ended up spending like almost fifty bucks here on poke!

If you're keeping score; from the top left clockwise; The "Secret", basically a riff on Shoyu Poke, a bit sweet, perhaps a bit too salty, the ahi had a real good texture. The "Lunatic" a mayo-less (yay!) version of spicy poke, a bit too salty, with nice touches of garlic. It wasn't too spicy and the Missus didn't care for what She said was "too chewy and overly sauced". The Hawaiian, very traditional definitely my favorite, great balance with regards to salt - onions, though I really couldn't make out the inamona. Excellent texture with regards to the fish on this one. And, for the Missus, a very typical sriracha-mayo based spicy ahi.

Could not fault the quality of the fish; though some of the preparations seemed a bit over done for us. Still, I'd gladly return.

Ahi Assassins
2570 South Beretania St. #204
Honolulu, HI 96826
Hours:
Mon - Tues 10am - 5pm
Wed - Sat  10am - 6pm
Sunday     10am - 2pm

We actually took our fish down to Ala Moana Beach and just had a nice lunch.

Leaving Ala Moana Park I noticed these window washers working on I believe it's Waiea. Sheesh....talk about a spooky job! Definitely not for me!

One of the reasons we headed down to Ala Moana Beach was to do some shopping at Ala Moana Center. After buying some "stuffs"....well, we weren't through with shopping, but had pretty much done enough for the day, I wanted to check out another newish place that I had read about in the Star-Advertiser and then in post by Kat. Shirokiya, now how's that for a blast from the past, opened up it's own version of a Japanese Food Street called the "Shirokiya Japan Village Walk". So, we just wanted to check it out.

No, we didn't eat here on this trip, but it was fun exploring. We actually did return the next day to pick up some stuffs from Foodland Farms. But as always, so much food, so little time.

Thanks for stopping by!

Buta Ramen

Back in April I noted that ramen was coming to Linda Vista, as "Buta Ramen" was taking the place of Coney's.

Which had me wondering if we'd finally hit the saturation point for ramen in San Diego. Anyway, I drove by our first weekend back from vacation and noticed that Buta had opened. So, I decided to see how the ramen here was.

The place has that modern-slightly hipsterish look.

The Ramen on the menu has what I guess is thought of as clever names for the versions of ramen; the Shoyu Ramen is called "Soul You", the Tonkotsu with sesame is "Tahini Old School" and so on.

The young lady who I think is one of the owners and the young man at the counter were very nice; I believe they're Thai? It didn't sound like they were speaking in Vietnamese.

Anyway, as is my M.O. I ordered the Chicken Karaage ($5), there's a garlic version, but I thought I'd just go with the standard, just to see how things measured up.

This was not bad, slightly crunchy, moist dark meat, with just a touch of ginger, though it could have used more flavor as it was pretty mild compared to versions I enjoy. It needed more soy - mirin - sake.

And of course the Tonkotsu ($9); sorry I just couldn't bring myself to say "Tahini Old School".

The chashu was tender and had been nicely simmered as the porky-soy tones came thru quite well. From there; it was downhill. The egg was nicely cooked, but had no flavor. The noodles, straight, almost Hakata style noodles were over-cooked. The broth; sigh, what's with these bitter-salty-metallic tasting soups? Are they getting their obviously processed tare at the same place? Much like Kimae, the broth was oily rather than rich, and lacked that nice collagen, tongue coating texture. And it was so salty that I could not make out any traces of sesame paste.

That karaage wasn't bad though....so I returned this past weekend.

And started with the Agedashi Tofu ($5); which came with the Tsuyu on the side.

Which might not be a bad move as it preserves the fried crispness of the tofu. I did not enjoy however, the fact that it was ice cold and basically tasted like the typical bottled stuff you can get at Nijiya...in other words quite salty. The tofu was garnishes with some katsuobushi and was decently fried. I prefer my agedashi tofu to have a light crispness; this was more hard and crunchy.

I also ordered the Shoyu (sorry - like the tonkotsu; there's no way I could order a "Soul You" ramen).

The chashu again was good; perhaps even better than what I'd had on my previous visit. The broth; while not rich enough for my taste wasn't overly salty, with a decent soy sauce fragrance and flavor; fairly one dimensional, but much better than the tonkotsu broth. Sadly, the noodles were even more over-cooked than on my previous visit....literally mushy.

I'm thinking that Buta might do well here serving USD students and the such, as the prices aren't too bad. As for me; well, I place Buta among my lower second tier ramen places like Isshido and Kimae. Can't say I didn't expect this, but I always hope for the very best meal. Hopefully this isn't the best that Buta can do....I'll check back in a few months.

And if you get the chance, check out the menu on their website; it has "Agidashi", bean spourt, and memma sprinkled among the dishes and descriptions - hopefully they'll get that fixed.

Buta Japanese Ramen
5201 Linda Vista Road
San Diego, CA 92110
Hours:
Open Daily 11am - 10pm

Paris - A Revisit to the Louvre and Ramen at Hakata Choten (Opera Location)

On our first visit to Paris, the Missus overwhelmed by the Louvre. You could spend years there and still not see it all. So, much like revisiting Pere Lachaise, we decided we needed to return to the Louvre. This time, we'd have a bit more focus. There was no need to see the Mona Lisa again. I got advanced times tickets for 9am and this time we needed to use the pyramid entrance.

Right in the pyramid, before the stairs was a work called "The Throne" by Kyoto based artist Kohei Nawa. It was on display from July 2018 thru February 2019 to mark the 160th anniversary of French - Japanese relations.

This time we spent most of our time checking out the Department of Egyptian Antiquities. Here are some of what we saw.

The golden funerary mask of Khaemwaset, son of Ramesses II.

This impressive statue of the god Amun protecting Tutankhamun.

Amenophis IV - the shadows made it look kinda spooky.

Time just flew by.....by the time I saw Luini's "Salome with the Head of St John the Baptist", I was getting kinda hungry......

It was just past noon....it was chilly and drizzling. We were a few blocks away from the area of Paris dubbed "Little Tokyo" for all the Japanese restaurants and shops. Ramen seemed like the perfect thing on a day like this one.

I had a listing of three places; the first being Kotteri Ramen Naritake, but when we passed there were two pans in the window with all the skimmed soup scum, which kinda turned the Missus off. So we walked a bit further up rue des Petit Champs to one of the locations of Hakata Choten (the other shop is near Les Halles). The Missus really wanted some tonkotsu style ramen that we even braved the 25 minute wait outside for a seat.

We were seated at the small counter....so, the first thing was the staff were all Japanese. Secondly, man....ramen here is not cheap. I went with the Ajitama Tonkotsu which was 13 Euros ($14.50/US). The Missus got the Tonkotsu Ramen Noir avec Ajitama - this one had black garlic oil and was 14 Euros ($15.75/US).

She loved Her ramen; with the nice rather sweet and pungent black garlic oil.

I was more than happy with my straight up tonkotsu ramen. The broth had a good amount of rich and creamy "collagenic" goodness, though a bit light in porkiness.

The egg was decently cooked and nicely served....that would be the yolk while a tad past perfect, was warm. I didn't expect much in terms of flavor, but it had been marinated nicely.

The noodles were cooked nicely, good pull and chewiness.

The Missus thought the ramen here is better than anything in San Diego. I thought that Menya was better. But even after spending thirty bucks for two bowls of basic tonkotsu, we were satisfied. Decent ramen in Paris....who knew. Though I'm thinking we need to hit up Ippudo next time.

Hakata Choten
53 rue des Petits Champs
75001 Paris, France
Open Daily 12pm - 3pm
           6pm - 10pm

We took our time on the 2 mile walk back to the apartment. It was definitely time for a nap!

Thanks for stopping by!

Kimae Ramen

Are you tired of Ramen yet? Well, I hope you have room for one more....or maybe not.

Kimae Ramen opened up at the end of October by the same owner as Poki (poke...please poke, ok) One N Half. It's located in La Jolla Village Square right next to Daphne's and two doors down from a location of PONH.

I finally made it here at the end of December and really liked the lay-out of the place.

The staff, while not particularly friendly, were quite professional on my two visits.

The menu is printed on what is basically a paper "fan" and hangs on the wall around each table. There are four basic ramen with Spicy versions of the Signature, basically a chicken and pork tonkotsu, the Miso, and also have a Veggie and Spicy Seafood ramen on the menu as well. The other side of the fan has appetizers, rice bowls, and drinks.

So, being the old, boring, fuddy-duddy that I am, I went with the Signature Ramen ($10 - of course).

The presentation was nice, but the broth wasn't as hot as I enjoy. It also lacked depth and richness. No fragrance, no tongue coating texture, sorry to say it was like they used packaged tare, as it was salty and had a "tinny" finish.

The tamago….the egg hadn't been marinade properly and was bland and the yolk was ice cold.

The noodles were over-cooked for my taste and the wood ear was cold and really hard. The chashu looked good, but was rubbery and lacked flavor.

I was starving so ate all the noodles and stuff, but couldn't bring myself to have any more of that broth. You know, I thought we had hit "critical mass" with regards to ramen when Karami and Ryoma opened. I was even more sure after mediocre ramen at Yamachan and Isshido opened. But HiroNori gave me hope. I'm now certain we've hit saturation point....

After this rather sad bowl, I wasn't going to even do a post on the place. I really didn't feel like getting another bowl of ramen from Kimae….at least for a while.

But, about 2 weeks ago; Faye did a post on Kimae. Where she tried the chicken wings and enjoyed them. And since I really enjoy wings; well, I thought I'd give them another try.

But no ramen for me. Looking over the menu; well, I got the Crispy Chicken ($8) and finally also went with the Unagi Rice Bowl ($8), basically Kimae's version of Unadon.

The bowl came with a side of the "signature broth"; which was even more salty this time around. I left it as is. The kabayaki no tare (sauce) seemed water down and rather weak, more salty than sweet, very little savory tones...if it's bottled stuff, it's not a good brand. The four slices of Eel hadn't been broiled long enough and lacked the hint of a crisp exterior, it looked like they'd just opened a package, sliced a couple of pieces, and dumped it in a bowl.

I did enjoy the rice, mixed well with furikake and diced veggies. But that was about it.

Soon enough the chicken wings arrived. This was interesting as it resembled some of the double dipped Southern Fried Chicken I'd had in Atlanta when I worked there during the late 90's.

The first wing I ate had a very nice "crunch" and while slightly crumbly was not nearly as hard, nor dry as Furaido. It was super moist, though sadly was lacking in seasoning. And that mustard sauce, which lacked enough "umph", that would be some distinct flavor....pungent, sweet, salty, spice......was so bland. I actually had to add salt and togarashi to the wings....something I almost never, ever, do.

Next up was the drumette. I bit into it and got some flavor all right...a weird bitter, almost offal like flavor......freezer burn. Look at all that black marrow leakage. I was done.

So, the wings, well, it has potential, but really needs some flavor....or bring your own sauce, or whatever. I'm hopeful that drumette was an aberration. At least I hope it is. I took the other four wings back to the office....after the first bite, Calvin dumped half a bottle of Sriracha on it. At least the other four pieces didn't seem to have any off flavors.....

In the end, the concept and design is nice. The portions and price are right. Service was good and professional. But that's just the lipstick and I actually want the pig and this didn't do it for me. Calvin actually asked me if I'd rather eat here or at Tajima....he was shocked when I told him Tajima. Heck, maybe I'd even go to Ajisen before Kimae (though I might go back here before Yamachan). I think I'm done with new ramen places for a while.

Kimae Ramen
8657 Villa La Jolla Drive
San Diego, CA 92037
Hours:
Sun - Thurs 11am - 10pm
Fri - Sat   11am - 11pm

 

HiroNori Craft Ramen

Have you hit the max hyperbole regarding ramen in San Diego? There seems to be a new place opening every week. In fact, after my last couple of visits to a recently opened ramen shop in San Diego I was kinda done. But then HiroNori opened in San Diego and "FOY" SomTommy sent me an email saying he'd actually waited in line for over an hour in Irvine for the ramen which he enjoyed. And soon after "Reza" sent me an email telling me he had the ramen in Santa Clara and thought it was equal to what he had in Japan.

Ok, so they got me......

So, HiroNori is located in what I consider the revolving door of restaurants in Hillcrest....which used to be, if I recall, an L&L , Naked Pizza, and if I recall, some iteration of a Brazilian BBQ over the last couple of years.

I gotta say the name of the place ("Craft Ramen") had me thinking of hipster ramen. When I arrived, the folks here were really eager to please, very friendly, so nice......

My Server on this visit, "Jennifer" was so sweet. Except she kept calling it "tonkatsu ramen". The first three times was fine, if a bit painful, the fourth time, had me cringing, to the point I had to humbly correct her....I felt so bad, but like I told her, everytime she said it, it just was so painful to my Japanese soul. Luckily, she was so very nice and told me, "I'm still learning, so thank you very much!" Whew.....

I started with the "Crispy Chicken", which is basically the karaage….I wish they had the Japanese name for things on the menu.

I was surprised at the portion size which was quite generous. This was pretty good, it was lightly crisp, and there was a nice umami; soy-upfront ginger flavor going on, and was quite moist. Not bad at all.

Of course I naturally went with the Tonkotsu Ramen.

This was a decent Tonkotsu, though not as rich as I enjoy. Slightly porky, I think it could have been richer. Som Tommy had told me that his opinion of the broth was that it was lighter than what he had in Irvine.

The egg was nicely done; and "gasp", not cold! Soft, with a good soy sauce flavor; it was quite good. The Chashu, while being a bit milder than I preferred was tender, and actually had some nice soy based porkiness. The blanched spinach added a nice slight bitterness to things.

Most of all; I enjoyed the "thick noodles" which did a good job of trapping the broth.

This was actually better than what I expected.

So, because I try to check things out more than once before doing a post I returned a week later. This time, I ordered the Shoyu Ramen. Let me just say, in my mind, this is the way to go here.

I won't go into the thick noodles (cooked perfectly), chashu, nor the ajitama, which was the same as before. The menma (bamboo shoots) were fine as well. What I will say is that the shoyu broth was excellent, just edging on the cusp of being too salty, but there was a lot going on; a nice nuttiness, really complex flavors. It was thick and rich; perhaps even more than the tonktosu broth. I was told that the shoyu used to make the broth was aged for over two years, which accounted for the complexity.

So, here's me seal of approval. This doesn't happen very often.

I will be back.

What I find interesting is that HiroNori decided to enter the ramen market in one of the most ramen dense area in San Diego; and one that is not very discriminating. It will be an interesting study to see how they do with all of a competition. The place never filled up on any of my visits while folks from the OC told me there are often waits of over an hour long at the shops there.

I hope they do well; like I said in a previous post "there's always room for good ramen". And I think HiroNori fills the bill. Service was excellent, we'll see how they do over time.

HiroNori Craft Ramen
3803 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103
Open Daily 1130am - 9pm

Isshido Ramen (Soft Opening)

After a bit of a wait, Isshido Ramen finally opened in the middle of last month and is in soft opening mode. Since the opening; I've been able to visit three times.

Located in the former location of a Submarina; I read that the owners are from Fukuoka, home of tonkotsu (Hakata) style ramen. So, I was intrigued; especially since the place was basically right across the street from Menya Utlra's Mira Mesa shop. Calvin was also quite excited to try the place out; so we headed on over. In an interesting development, we were seated, then told that the kitchen wasn't quite ready so there would be a 20 minute wait. Well, lucky for us; we had some extra time on this day.

The shop is nice sized; 45-50 seats; wood paneling, you get it, right? The ramen menu features nine variations....but of course you know what I was going to try, right?

We were thoroughly starving by the time our orders were taken; so we ordered a couple of appetizers.

Starting with Chicken Karaage.

Very light in color; more crumbly than crisp, for some reason the flavor profile reminded me of RakiRaki's karaage, except more mild in flavor....it had that hint of curry/turmeric or something similar, but really needed a good squeeze of lemon. At least the chicken was nice and moist.

I was also curious about the Potato Salad as I do enjoy a nice Japanese style (mashed) potato salad. I inquired about the portion size and the really nice (all the young ladies working here are very nice and eager to please) Server about the serving size. She walked over to the window; came back and made a circle with her hands about 3 1/2 inches in width. So I ordered it. What came out was this.

Jesus; almost twice the width! The young lady brought this and looked at us sheepishly and said, "I'm sorry, this is way bigger than they told me". Well, at least it wasn't smaller, right? This really needed more salt; and even more mayo as it was more mashed potato than salad. Still, it was not bad.

And then there was the Signature Paitan ($11.95); in this case it's a tonkotsu broth, so no chicken involved. Because of the description, I expected a milky white broth, which was not quite what I got.

The broth was salty and there was a strange unpleasant bitterness to it. We pulled several pieces of burnt garlic from our spoons which probably contributed to the flavor. I also would have preferred something a bit richer as well. The egg looked lovely; but was ice cold and really salty. The chashu was a bit on the waxy side; but tender enough, with a nice shoyu-mild sweetness.

I had expected the typical Hakata style noodles; but these were firm, slightly curly, and prepared well.

Overall, pretty mediocre, and definitely in need of some refining.

There was one, kinda gimmicky ramen on the menu I wanted to try, so I returned a week later. This time, all the folks waited outside until 1114 to be let in. One of the guys recognized me from Menya and asked me how it compared. I told him, I'd only been here once, but I thought it was not in the same league, especially with attention to detail.

So, I got a seat and ordered the Truffle Shio Ramen ($12.95).

Holy smokes; the shio ramen, at least on this day was way more "kotteri" than the tonkotsu I had. This is supposedly made with a truffle tare; but I could barely make out the fragrance of truffle. Large slices of oyster mushroom were torched like chashu to replace the pork; but while the texture was decent; it was really bland, and lacking the woodsy-lightly sweet flavor typical of this type of mushroom. They need to do something with the slices of mushroom than just slice and torch it so it can stand up to the broth. The sautéed button mushrooms had some earthy-buttery flavor and did well in this bowl, as did the crunchy menma (bamboo shoots). Perhaps some adjustments to the marinating liquid for the egg is due, as it was again super salty.

The noodles were a bit different this time; thinner, more straight, and over-cooked. So, no, I couldn't be bringing the Missus here.

And as I was leaving, the guy who for some reason remembered me from Menya said: "you're right, this ain't no Menya Ultra".

And so, this would have been the post, except that I had lunch with one of my ex-coworkers who was around for a meeting and really wanted to try Isshido. So I relented and we made our way over. This time, they had their act together and opened on time.

Though I really didn't want more ramen, I decided to stick with the other side of the menu.

Unfortunately, because we're still in the soft-opening period, all the bentos and fried rice aren't available. So, I ordered what I could.

I ordered some Gyoza.

Brittle wrappers, very moist, but super salty filling; I wouldn't be surprised if these weren't made inhouse.

Since it was a cold and rainy day, I also went with the small Oden ($6.95), which was quite a bit for the price.

So, let's imagine you bought some Hon Tsuyu; instant broth mix, and then put in half the water you were supposed to...in other words; it was so salty as to be undrinkable. The daikon had obviously been soaking in this and was super salty. The fish cake though, had not been exposed for too long and thankfully were edible and everything was hot. The young lady asked me why I didn't finish this dish and I told her it was way too salty.

And my dining companion was equally disappointed in the ramen.

I like the young people working here. I hope they get things straightened out.

Also, I took a gander at the website for Isshido and noticed this:

"Our story begins in Hakata Japan with our Master Chef, Mr. Ishida, who grew up in Hakata mastering the ramen recipes and tastes of his hometown passed down from his family for centuries. After 20 years of diligent study and mastering his recipes, he has brought his family’s legacy to the United States for the first time with Isshido in San Diego,CA."

Strangely, all the folks working the ramen line on my three visits were the same, they looked no older than maybe late 20's, early 30's. So, I'm figuring either "Mr Ishida" is not around to train, QC, and get the systems straight....or maybe one of these guys (all of which spoke perfect English) started their "diligent study" when they were maybe 7-8 years old?

Perhaps I'm mistaken; but if you visit, let me know if Mr Ishida is there!

Too bad, because in spite of the influx of ramen shops, there's always room for good ramen. Especially since I think we'll soon hit critical mass with regards to ramen shops.

So, I'll check back in a couple months and I'm hoping for some better ramen.

Isshido Ramen
8250 Mira Mesa Blvd
San Diego, CA 92126
Hours:
Wed - Mon 11am - 3pm, 430pm - 9pm