48 - Santouka's Ramen - San Jose

675 Saratoga Ave., San Jose, CA 95129, (408) 446-1101 (Located inside the Mitsuwa super market).

Last visit - July of 2010

(Image from Yelp.com) The hardest thing in getting right for a great bowl of ramen is getting it all to balance well. Santouka does almost everything right, from the noodles all the way to the little piece of pink and white fish-cake left floating around in the bowl. I always save that for last. It's definitely been awhile since I've had that authentic a taste in ramen, and Santouku sends me back to Japan with the first spoonful of the rich miso flavored soup. The chashu is chunky and tender, and evenly cured so that even the fat parts are tasty. The noodles do not cling together and gives a resilient bounce every time you lift them from your chopsticks. I have to say that this place does a great representation of good ramen noodles. You'll have to check it out if you're in the south bay. It's a bit pricey, but worth the extra buck or two.

OK, one gripe. Why do they give out such a cheap plastic spoon instead of setting a batch of actual soup spoons? Oh well, nobody's perfect.

42 - Izakaya Restaurant - San Jose

Last visit - November of 2009

1335 N 1st street, San Jose, CA. 95112, (408) 452 - 8751

Izayaka's website

We came here after a short road trip and we were a bit sick, as well as tired and hungry. The place is quite easy to find, right after the freeway junction and there is plenty of parking for a Sunday night. We got in there and it was tiny! But in a good, homey way. There was one waitress, two sushi chefs, and a person in the back. That was their entire operation, but it was quite efficient.

There were a couple of Japanese customers and people started coming in as we sat at the counter. The chefs spoke Japanese, and he reminded me of an old retired samurai in movies. He took my order of Maguro, Ika, Spicy Tuna, and Tamago rolls, while my girlfriend ordered the curry rice. The curry was a bit slow, but it really hit the spot for our trip. It was sort of like a comfort food for me, and my girlfriend said it helped her itchy throat. The Spicy Tuna was a bit too spicy, but the other rolls were good. I also tried their Chicken Teriyaki because they advertised as a "teppan" (iron pan grill) place and it was really good too.

They did a good job at the Izakaya, and I think they do that often. It's like a hole-in-the-wall, but their food is above par. If I go again, I'll try the grilled steak, Japanese style. This place seems like an all-around good find!

38 - Ajisen Ramen - Fremont

47890 Warm Springs Blvd., Fremont, CA., (510) 353 - 1133

Last visited - September of 2009

(Image from http://www.ajisensf.com/)

We went here by accident. I wanted to find Kuro-Ramen and instead we saw this on Yelp and got excited. We've had Ajisen at two other places before, Los Angeles and Melbourne, Australia. What a weird coincidence, we thought.

To disclose, this was supposed to be a light meal before a night of gaming and cocktails at Dave and Busters at the Great Mall. It turned out to be a lot more food than we thought. We found the place after a drive through the quiet city parts of Fremont. It was a starry night and we opened the moon roof to get a better sight of the sparkling sky. Boy was that a stupid idea, the smell of Fremont's garbage dumps could be smelled from afar.

We arrived at the restaurant and were seated by a young Chinese girl. I wasn't expecting a Japanese person, but she did have the usual "irashaimase" greeting from the Ajisen Ramen franchises. The Japanese beer posters and the giant banner that said "Kumamoto tonkotsu" style reminded me of Japan's ramen shops. We ordered our ramen, two beers, and a plate of their kara-age fried chicken. She took our order and we saw the cooks in the back making our order. They had an air of pride in their work. At least they dressed the part, like izakaya chefs in Japan.

The food came and it was pretty tasty. The noodles was not soggy and the broth was rich with flavor. I went for the miso and my girlfriend went for the volcano. She usually goes for the spicy stuff. Our ramen was good and the fried chicken was good too. It came in six giant pieces: each of them equal to the size of three chicken McNuggets stacked together. It became a hearty meal. We slowly enjoyed our meal, and listened to Jpop music coming from overhead speakers. It was a nostalgic treat!

34 - Katana-Ya Ramen House - San Francisco

430 Geary Street, San Francisco, CA. 94102, (510) 771-1280

Last Visit - June 2009

I first went to Katana-Ya to meet some old college friends I haven't seen in years so the event over-took the food. I enjoyed it, but the cramped seating kind of got to me. I'm used to this in Japan, but sometimes I prefer the giant booths you'd find in a regular Denny's restaurant. But the ramen was good and I did find it reasonable to go again.

On my second trip I went there and tried the spicy ramen. That was pretty awesome. The flavor was rich and the broth was thick with lots of seasonings. There really isn't much to say about it because many other people would've told you by now that Katana-ya is THE BEST RAMEN place in San Francisco (or the Bay Area as alleged by some). Go there and you can't go wrong with the food.

But anyway, on my second trip I appreciated the decor a bit more too as the meal proceeded. The room only fits like 10 tables and it creates a narrow pathway for the waitresses to move around. The chef looks like he's really Japanese, but I didn't want to make conversation with him. There is a counter for patrons to eat ramen in and behind the counter they hung a giant gilded Japanese screen. It was actually gorgeous and I felt it out of place for a Japanese restaurant. What made it even more weird were the christmas lights and the gaudy halogen light bars. I wasn't sure if I was in a Tokyo street vendor or an esoteric Japanophile's basement. There actually was a pair of Katana blades there too. To complete the look they should've added a train set like Izakaya Mai's. Either way, it was entertainment for the amount of time it takes you to finish ramen. The people come and go quick, so you'll have a fun time people gazing also. All in all, a winner for the people of San Francisco.

31 - Ramen Halu - San Jose

375 Saratoga Ave, Suite M, San Jose, CA. 95129, (408) 246-3933

Last visited - September of 2009

www.ramenhalu.com

(Ramen Halu at night, image from my own library) When you go out craving something to eat and end up getting something different, your judgment of a place will never be too objective. Here's the story, we drove down all the way to San Jose hungry for some "whole shibang" shrimp from the Boiling Crab, but when we got there the wait was two and a half hours. That's right, the girl said 2.5 HOURS! We couldn't wait that long, so we got two pounds to go for a later time and went to Ramen Halu for the first time.

The place was mentioned by my friend months earlier and I told her that I'd check it out if I was in the San Jose area. I guess I found the time to do so that night. The drive there was not too bad, but you'd never expect a ramen place on Los Gatos ave. So Ramen Halu is nestled between an Indian supermarket and a cash checking place. From across the way you can see a Casino and a hoff brau restaurant on its diagonal. When we drove in the parking lot we thought we went to the wrong part of town, nevertheless I heard Japanese folks speaking outside a small store front, and sure enough there was a Ramen restaurant.

The service is laid-back in Ramen Halu, they seem to have some really greenhorn waiters that take their time in cleaning off tables and checking up on the tables. The theme of the restaurant is beaches and surfing. The little eatery was lined with surfboards and they give you the check on a conch shell. And like the theme suggests, the waiters reminded me of chilled out surfers serving you on their own time. Luckily, they have a speedy kitchen and our ramen came pretty quick. I ordered the Ramen Halu, my girlfriend ordered the tan-tan noodles, and our other friend ordered the Ramen Halu with buckwheat noodles. Out of the three, I found the tan-tan noodles the tastiest. The Ramen Halu was supposed to be this healthy soup with noodles that'd make you strong and cleanse your system. Of course healthy food never tastes great. I found the soup simple and not enough flavoring. My friend thought it was a bit too oily for her and that the soup was dominated by the bamboo shoots' flavoring. It might have been saltier than one is used to also. Not to be unfair, the tan-tan noodles are really good and I recommend that for all those that are in the San Jose area. They probably have a decent ramen too, we just didn't try it that first time.

26 - Himawari - San Mateo

202 2nd Avenue, San Mateo, CA 94401, (650) 375-1005

Last visit - July, 2009

There is a small ramen shop on 2nd ave. in the downtown district of San Mateo that everyone knows: Himawari. I've been there twice before, and today would be the third time in the last year or so. Himawari isn't too big, but there is a constant flow of patrons moving in and out. Usually they are happy. I like it's Ikea lighting and find the food pretty tasty. They serve ramen by the soup stock, and one of their specials are the "Tonkotsu" ramen that's famous in Fukuoka, Japan. I usually go for the Miso flavored soup with Chashu.

I went there meeting some old friends from Cal. It was literally a reunion of sorts, 10 years since met in our language courses in Dwinelle Hall (spell?). We've grown up, got embraced by the world, and found life's plus and minuses outside of school. After finding parking, the parking lot is free after 6pm by the way, we got in and ordered our food.

For appetizers we ordered the fried calamari, the buta kakunai, and the agedashi tofu: all simple dishes you'd see at an izakaya in Japan. They all came out pretty well, and the buta kakunai especially tasty. For a table of four, it was perfect because every one could try a piece without splitting. For ramen, I had what I usually have, and my buddies tried the tonkotsu ramen. We all had a good time. The price is a bit steep for ramen, but it seems like every store is heading into the $10 region for a good bowl of ramen. Just can't wait to pay half of that again in Japan - and the possibility of ramen refills.

12 - Santa Ramen - San Mateo

Santa Ramen - 1944 S El Camino Real, San Mateo, CA 94403 (650) 344-5918

Last Visit: August 2008.


Finally I review Santa Ramen. Yes, it's Japanese, and yes it was good; but will I make a trip out to San Mateo for it? Not again. The story is that this place eluded my visits three times! I can't believe how unlucky I am with this place. The first time, they closed early because they ran out of noodles. The second time, they were closed because they were moving. And the third time, well, I have pictures to show. They moved and left me a note. I went to the new location, and damn it, it was not open for another week.

It took another two weeks before I made that journey to Santa Ramen. It was a weekend, and we had come back from a day trip to Fry's electronics. We weren't that hungry, but we were definitely in for a surprise. The line was out the door! Yes, it was open finally, and this time we had to see what the commotion was about.

A Japanese girl was tending to the people waiting in line, finding out the number of people in our parties and also giving us menus to browse through beforehand. I find more Japanese people in San Mateo Japanese restaurants than north bay area Japanese restaurants. We waited through and ordered our ramen.

Ramen from Santa Ramen was really good. The texture is strong and smooth, which is why they boast that they make their own noodles there. The ramen was highly customizable, where you had many ways to add to your bowl. Start with the soup, and add whatever you liked. I added kimchi and an egg to my shouyu ramen. It was good, and by the time we started eating, we were getting hungry. The 30 minute wait wore us down. There are some sides, but were didn't find them appetizing enough to try out. We finished and when we were about to go, the line to get in was wrapping around the corner. Word of mouth must have spread fast.

All in all, Santa Ramen is a great place to try, but don't go when you're hungry. You will collapse from the wait. With toppings, a bowl of ramen can get up to $10 easily. Now you're wondering, "is it worth $10 for a bowl of ramen?" That's something you'd have to conclude for yourself. But if you already tried ramen from Japan, you know how bad the yearning for the real thing can be. Santa Ramen might be the closest thing to it.

Yelp's two cents










The map they drew for us. Yes, a cute red arrow!













Disappointing. Closed for renovation, my third attempt.

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.

Yelp's two cents