ramenranger

Frankly it’s quite unbelievable that in the past 5 years ramen, real, Japanese ramen has arrived in Seattle and every other major West Coast locale (among many other cities in the US).  I couldn’t be happier and my good fortune continues with the fact that my small city next to Seattle has turned into the chain ramen restaurant nexus in Seattle (which is the indie ramen scene).  These chains are not like Waga-Mama and other noodle shops, rather these are Japanese franchises that I’ve been visiting in Vancouver for over a decade.  So without further ado my Bellevue Ramen Shop rankings:

#1 Jinya: Overall the best for my taste (soup rather than noodle guy), though I do appreciate the choice of thick or thin noodles.  I ‘was raised’ w/kimchee in my ramen so I love spicy ramen and the version at Jinya does the trick.  Tonkotsu (as everywhere is!!) base is the fattiest of the 3 but smooth, deep and velvety, thus my preference of Jinya to the other shops.  Love that you can add dishes such as karaage and Tokyo curry rice to your order for a small fee.  Bonus is kids meal which my children absolutely love.

#2 Santouka: In downtown Bellevue, parking is generally an issue especially with all the construction going on in the area.  Same name/franchise as the shops located w/in the Japanese markets in Costa Mesa and Torrance (Los Angeles) that I’ve been frequenting for over a decade, unfortunately it’s not the same.  Broth here (tonkotsu) is thin without much depth (in LA if you let it sit for 10 minutes you get an inch of colagulated fat) and the noodles on my last two visit were overcooked.  Finally the price is high with conservative servings.  Make no mistake, 5 years ago I would have come here weekly…just today so much has changed so quickly.

#3 Kukai: The first to open and enjoying immense popularity, unfortunately I’ve never been a huge fan.  Starting with serious service issues for the initial few months the menu moved away from authentic izakaya to focus on the ramen.  The broth is interesting…while I do find the tonkotsu quite good I don’t frequent too often because their specialty is soup made with an infusion of French technique…most notably butter, and while butter ramen is popular in Japan, this tastes a bit too much like chicken noodle for my taste.

Honestly all three shops are worthy of the lines that are prevalent every weekend and you can’t really go wrong.  Head out to Bellevue to see/taste the shops that are shaping the immediate future of ramen in the US.

RR

**Updated 12.22**

For this new update I am removing Boom Noodles.  They have unfortunately decided to alter their menu, and the changes were instituted by their American Chef…unfortunately all remnants of authentic Japanese flavor/food are gone with it.  The ramen is AWFUL…in fact it’s not ramen anymore (some weird chicken broth w/a bit of miso floating in it).  Kimchee Ramen which was the ramen that made this list is no longer offered (along with my other Boom staple Katsu Curry :(.

Also reporting that I made it to Kukai Ramen and Izakaya (just opened in Bellevue by my house!!).  Unfortunately I did not even try the ramen….after waiting one hour w/o my order it was time to leave : (  In addition, they were sold out of shoyu, shio and tonkotsu at 600p….and I don’t think it was due to popularity…but to poor planning/management.  Once the bad taste leaves my mouth I’ll give it another try…it is literally 5 minutes from my house.

*Continue on for the list!!*

I am based in Seattle and have lived here for about 10 years now after I returned from my time in Japan.  As friends and acquaintances become familiar w/my love for ramen I am often asked where the best ramen in Seattle is….

As a caveat I support and love everyone trying to bring ramen to the mainstream.  I envision a day where I could go to any major city in the US and have a great bowl of ramen.  Therefore the scale here is relative…and I do continue to go to many/all of these establishments on a regular or occasional basis.

1. Fu-Lin-512 S King St Seattle:  I have been going here for the majority of our time in Seattle and still remember when it opened.  I’ll be honest, definitely not the most pleasant establishment to dine in, but the ramen has always been consistently good.  The story being that the chef/owner ran a Chinese restaurant in Japan for a number of years.  During my time in Japan one of my regular ramen haunts in town was a Chinese restaurant which was only open for lunch that made a great ramen w/a hint of Chinese flavors.  I always go for the Shoyu ramen and add good amount of ground pepper (the super fine kind that you find in all Japanese ramen shops) and ra-yu oil (Chinese hot pepper oil).  In addition to the always solid ramen their cha-han (Japanese fried rice) is excellent and IMHO is better than the ramen.  Cha-han is a staple at many ramen shops in Japan…and there is a difference between Chinese and Japanese fried rice.  Finally they complete the trifecta of ramen shop staples by putting out an excellent home made gyoza.  Go w/a friend so you can each order a bowl of ramen and share the two sides.

**UPDATE**  12.22.12  BOOM DOES NOT SERVE REAL RAMEN ANYMORE…CONTRARY TO WHAT THEIR MENU SAYS (see beginning of this post)

2. Boom Noodles…Capital Hill, U-Village, Bellevue Square:  What?!?!  That may be your reaction, but if you asked me where I want to eat on the Eastside, the answers easy.  Boom is a chain and does butcher other great Japanese dishes and put cilantro in my ramen (I often forget to hold it upon ordering), but bottom line their kimchi-ramen is good.  Now in full honesty I love spicy ramen and I love kimchi w/my ramen.  This is a shoyu based broth, w/miso and a good amount of kimichi and kimchi paste added in.  Minus the cilantro it’s quite good.  Also great place to take kids or have a bite when at the mall.

*UPDATE*

2. Dozo Ramen – Factoria in Loehman’s Plaza and DT Kirkland:  Haven’t dined in Kirkland but do very much enjoy their Gomoku Ramen.  I admit I don’t know much about Gomoku flavoring…but another Japanese/Chinese Food staple (i.e. General Tso’s Chicken is American/Chinese staple) it’s a great bowl topped with shitake, carrots, chicken, shrimp, ika, baby bok choy, on and on.  I don’t season this much…other than a dash of black pepper.  They offer the staples (Miso/Shoyu/Tonkotsu) but go for the Gomoku.

*UPDATE*

3. Aloha Ramen- on Greenwood and 81st, great ramen/saimen experience, very distinctive flavor:  I was introduced to Saimen at Hamura’s Stand in Lihue, Kauai one late night after landing at LIH.  Lihue was basically a ghost town except for the dimly lit gatherings at local eateries such as Hamura’s.  Saimen like much of present day Hawaiian staples is a mash up of Pacific Rim foods w/a dash of spam.  In this case taking saimen noodles which are thin, white in color and generally served cold and sparse toppings in a broth that is not unfamiliar from Top Ramen..but somehow like the spam musubi or poke, it works.  And at Aloha they have elevated my meager description of Saimen.  Thin noodles in a thinner but tasty broth that has a unique flavor vs. ‘standard’ ramen.  Also a love it/hate it dish in their garlic fried rice…absolutely give it a try b/c it’s definitely distinctive and Aloha’s own.

4. Samurai Ramen- Side of Uwajimaya in the ID and in Capital Hill:  Assuming that the Capital Hill location has sorted things out after a rocky start…but just in case my recommendation is to hit the original, tiny storefront.  Tonkotsu based, with tasty, thinner noodles they have a limited menu and no ra-yu or kimchi 😦

Also:

Federal Way Ramen-great that it’s there if you are ever looking for a bowl in the South Sound

Yao’s Noodle House-take the Prime Card and do brisk lunch business

**Please, please if you know of any local ramen let me know**

RR