this page contains reviews of the various ramen dishes/places i've eaten at. each review will be in a collapsible text box, so as to minimize clutter.
chili chicken ramen.
restaurant: wagamama, boston, massachusetts, prudential center.
rating: 8/10.
excellent broth, has a kick from the chilis but isn’t terribly spicy. noodles have a perfect texture, chicken is cooked to perfection and very juicy/flavorful. only complaint is that there’s a lot of bean sprouts (which i’m not a huge fan of) but that doesn’t dampen the meal in any substantial way.
extra notes: restaurant has amazing gyoza and pork belly bao.
pork broth ramen with chicken thigh and egg.
restaurant: meiji japanese cuisine, fayetteville, arkansas.
rating: 8/10.
lovely broth, noodles absorbed broth well and proteins were cooked very well. i don’t usually eat the soft boiled egg but i tried it this time and actually it was very good! furthermore, kelp tempura was a unique ingredient that was very delicious. overall perfectly made, only complaint is that there’s a little much going on additive wise but any of the ingredients could be omitted on request so that’s more a subjective issue.
extra notes: amazing sushi (and real wasabi!)
classic tonkotsu ramen.
restaurant: ichiran times square, new york city, new york.
rating: 10/10.
easily the best ramen i’ve had so far. i’ll break it down later, but as for the restaurant itself, service was excellent - it was a single-booth style ramen bar with a simultaneously city-bustling yet home-y atmosphere, and they offer noodle refills which isn’t something i’ve seen before. as for the ramen itself, incredible flavor, noodle texture, everything. decent kick, even at the base spice level, and it somehow hits the sweet spot where the best refreshment from spice is eating more of it. the pork cutlets were super flavorful and tender, the noodles were perfect texture-wise, and the red pepper sauce added so much to the flavor of the broth.
extra notes: i do wish they had more side dishes, such as gyoza or bao, but the restaurant specializes in ramen so it’s difficult to blame them.
tonkotsu ramen.
restaurant: sakura, memphis, tennessee.
rating: 6/10.
not bad by any means, but had a lot of mushrooms which i don’t really like. noodles were pretty clumped together but still flavorful and had a good texture. broth had good flavor but lacked identity, was pretty generic. meat was good, but texture was slightly off. i did appreciate the inclusion of narutomaki, as it’s not an ingredient i see often but it’s a favorite of mine. overall not the best i’ve had, but good nonetheless.
extra notes: restaurant had great sushi, gyoza, and spring rolls.
kami tonkotsu ramen.
restaurant: kami ramen bar, memphis, tennessee.
rating: 8/10.
best ramen i’ve had in memphis for sure, and it had a fascinating composition. great flavor for the noodles and meat, but the broth was actually lacking in flavor a bit. my dad got the spicy chicken ramen and after having a bite of his, about a quarter of the way through i asked for some spicy garlic sauce which took the overall dish from a 6-7/10 to an 8/10 easily. the added heat brought out so much of the flavor that was hidden, and the broth immediately became one of the best parts. noodles were flavorful and had a good texture, pork chashu was very tender, fish cakes were good, and perhaps the most interesting part - bamboo shoots as an ingredient, not something i’ve seen before but it was pretty genius. the crunch was a nice disruption in the texture and the shoots absorbed a lot of flavor. also, the few bean sprouts i had from my dad’s ramen were very good, even though i actually don’t usually like bean sprouts.
extra notes: gyoza were crispy and very good in the sweet/sour sauce.
