03 - Manpuku - Berkeley

Manpuku Japanese Restaurant - 2977 College Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705, (510) 848-2536

Date of Visit - June 13th, 2008

Ramen in the bay area really caught on in the last couple of years. People usually associated Japanese food with sushi and Teriyaki chicken, but these days my friends would make plans to speed down to San Mateo to get good ramen. What's the appeal of noodles in broth with chashu pork and sliced fish cakes? Maybe it's the soup.

Ramen actually started in China, but what we associate with ramen now is strictly Japanese. It's really different from what you get from packages of Top Ramen. For instance we catagorize ramen into flavors like beef, chicken, and seafood. But in Japan that's unheard of. It's actually broken down by the soup, in which it's broken down by the region. There are four major ones: Tonkatsu (pork bone stock), Shio (salt flavored), Shouyu (soy sauce), and Miso flavored. Not only that, but it's also split up into regions like Sapporo, Tokyo, Kitakata, and Hakata. My favorite being Hakata Ramen (from Fukuoka, which is the new name for Hakata), and yes, Manpuku serves this.

Anyways, away from the history lesson, Manpuku was packed. I went there with the girlfriend because I craved curry rice. I'm not going to give you a history lesson on that, but I do like it once in awhile. The place started about two years ago and you frequently see students lined up out the door. Parking is scarce, but you'll be fine if you take some side streets. Inside is actually quite similar to ramen stalls from Japan, except of course, the waiters are Korean. And it's small, less than 6 tables plus a counter. You pay before you eat, I like that actually.

The food came slowly, but it was good. I think it was good because I really missed curry rice. It came with chicken cubes, potatoes, and red radishes. I think it would've been good if they put in sliced apples, something I remembered from Japan. The girlfriend had the Winter Ramen, which was supposedly spicy, but not enough for her tastes. She thought it was alright. I remember ordering the Hakata ramen there, but it was not too good; too many unnecessary vegies. It's hard to make good Hakata ramen outside of Japan. Still, for ramen in the bay area, it's decent, close by, and it's cheap.

Note: 1.) sushi is pretty good, but if you're getting individual plates, it's sold by single pieces. 2.) Manpuku means "I'm full" in Japanese, often used with a childish nuance.

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