Pictured: Cha Siu Tonkotsu Ramen
Pictured: Tonkotsu Ramen (Soy) - Flavored with soy sauce, topped with seaweed, pork belly chasu (extra pieces shown), seasoned egg, green onion, sprouts, and thin noodles
Pictured: Pork Belly, Shio Dashi, Toasted Nori, Garlic Oil, Soft Egg, Alkaline Noodle, Spring Onion
Broth: 3
Noodles: 3
Pork Belly (Chashu): 2
Price: 3
Average score: 2.75
*On a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the best.
Notes: A ramen joint in the heart of downtown Colorado Springs! This $13 bowl of ramen is a perfect example of minimalism. Just toasted nori, scallions and a poached egg. The thin slices of pork belly was dry and not well flavored unfortunately. As with the broth, it was a light, pork based broth, with garlic oil but you could barely taste the garlic. The broth maybe a bit too light as the flavors never fully surfaced after each slurp. The noodles were good but tasted just like any ramen noodles supplied by an outside noodle company. Overall a good find in Colorado Springs but don't expect it to be the quality of the West or East Coast!
Pictured: Tokyo Ramen - Wheat noodles, pork and chicken broth, sliced pork, hard-boiled egg, and fish cake
Pictured: Tonkotsu Ramen - Pork belly, boiled egg, roasted seaweed, bamboo shoots, wood ear mushroom, scallions
Broth: 2
Noodles: 3
Pork Belly (Chashu): 3
Price: 3
Average score: 2.75
*On a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the best.
Notes: For a pork based broth, it offered very little flavor. That was my first impression after tasting the broth and slurping the noodles. I read in some Yelp reviews that some really liked the light broth, but they also said it was the best ramen in town. Most of the flavor came from the pork belly slices. The pork belly was very tender. Considering that this ramen joint is located in a prime spot in Uptown, the price tag of $11.95 is actually pretty cheap. There are definitely better ramen spots in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, so unless it's a late night and you're stuck in Uptown, I wouldn't recommend coming here to get your ramen fix.
Pictured: Tonkotsu ramen - Tokyo wavy noodles, traditional broth, chasu, molten egg
Broth: 3
Noodles: 2
Pork Belly (Chashu): 3
Price: 2
Average score: 2.5
*On a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the best.
Notes: A $15 bowl of ramen served with three thick but small pieces of pork belly - well marinated and tender. The broth is heavy with garlic flavor and (perhaps my imagination) a hint of spice. A slight disappointment was the Tokyo wavy noodles from Sun Noodles because they were clumped/stuck together. Additional ingredients include green onions, bamboo shoots, egg, and garlic.
Pictured: Tonkotsu Ramen - Pork bone broth, braised pork, egg, green onion, bean sprout, seaweed, egg noodle, and spinach
Broth: 2
Noodles: 2
Pork Belly (Chashu): 2
Price: 4
Average score: 2.5
*On a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the best.
Notes: $9.95 for a bowl of ramen. A light pork broth overall, salt taste more dominant than the flavor from the pork bone. Served nice and hot with generous portion of broth! I'm usually not a fan of different vegetables in my ramen and would stick to this opinion here, but the bean sprouts and spinach did not disrupt the flavor profile. A good find in Woobury, MN which is about 15-30 minutes from St. Paul/Minneapolis, but only if you're in the area.
Pictured: Black Garlic Paitan Ramen - Tonkotsu based, pork belly chasui, seaweed, seasoned egg, green onions, choy sum, menma, black garlic oil, thin noodles
Broth: 3
Noodles: 2
Pork Belly (Chashu): 2
Price: 3
Average score: 2.5
*On a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the best.
Notes: Priced at $11.95. Onoya is located in Shirokiya Japan Village Walk inside Ala Moana Shopping Center. I thought this was an average bowl of ramen, particularly because I wasn't a fan of the black garlic oil and what tasted like black pepper. Overall the broth accomplished the "paitan" broth which is usually an opaque, white, and cloudy bone broth - it was flavorful but salty. I expected a bit more from the ramen only because Onoya won the 2017 Shirokiya Japan Village Walk (SJVW) Ramen Wars.
Pictured: Wagaya Ramen (Shiro) - Classic tonkotsu broth, char sui, soft=boiled egg, choi sum, sesame, nori, green onion
Pictured: MW Ramen with spicy tare, pork belly, shiitake, scallion, country ham
Pictured: Tonktosu Ramen
Broth: 2
Noodles: 2
Pork Belly (Chashu): 2
Price: 4
Average score: 2.5
*On a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the best.
Notes: Broth was too salty. Pork belly was thin and dry -- tasted like boiled pork. Condiments included: Corn, bean sprouts, wood ear mushroom, bok choy, bamboo shoots, minced seaweed, and scallions.
Broth: 4
Noodles: 3
Pork Belly (Chashu): 3.5
Price: 3
Average score: 3.375
*On a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the best.
Notes: Clean and light broth. Core broth ingredients: Pig feet and neck, chicken feet, roasted pork shoulder, diced carrot, seaweed, and onions. Condiments include: Poached egg, arugula, scallions, and marinated sprouts (marinade: Sesame oil, soy chili, dash of Veneto wine). Noodles are prepared by Sun Noodles. Pork belly was tender but was hoping for more flavor. Expect to wait for a table unless you're solo then you'll get seated pretty quickly. Once seated, service is fast and friendly!
Broth: 4.5
Noodles: 5
Pork Belly (Chashu): 3
Price: 4
Average score: 4.125
*On a scale from 1-5 with 5 being the best.
Notes: The noodles made the bowl! The noodles are made on site every day but it appears the chef uses nontraditional ingredients and so not sure if it would be the "authentic" noodles ramen enthusiasts are accustomed to eating. The noodles were lighter in color, doughy, and chewy almost homemade pasta like. It definitely did it for me! I felt like I was eating a bowl of ramen at the Chef's house or at a friend's house who has perfected a ramen recipe. The one slice of pork belly was unremarkable -- a typical flavored pork belly. I didn't mind the bok choy and shredded cabbage, but felt that it may have diluted the taste only because the ingredients by themselves don't have a lot of flavors.