Kamukura Ramen – Honolulu, HI

I was scrolling through Instagram and one of the folks I follow talked about Kamukura Ramen, a new ramen joint that opened up in Ala Moana at the Lanai Food Court. This user is a Japanese chef and mentioned that the fried rice they serve is the closest to the fried rice he has had in Japan ramen shops so you know that got me thinking, wanting, and GETTING it. I came this past weekend at about 11, no long line but definitely had orders already. A good sign was a table next to me had three guys from Japan going for it. I wonder if they liked it.

This blog entry may turn into a…I tried it so you don’t have to because their dishes are kind of pricey. Let’s just say I paid nearly $35 for a ramen combo. It’s hard to feel good about this purchase especially since it is located in a food court, does that sound snobby? I am not used to spending this much for ramen. Well how was it?

Ramen * Gyoza * Drink * Fried Rice Combo | $29.99 + $2.99
white cabbage, pork, roasted pork

Now, this combo is with the most basic ramen they have. If you want to get an upgraded ramen (for example, I wanted the egg – you have to pay the difference). I have to say, all the pictures include nice greens in the bowls but my bowl did not come with chives or green onions and if you wanted to add, you have to pay more. $3.49 to add scallions as a topping? Why I no just go Foodland Farms and buy a bunch and cut it into the ramen myself? Okay sorry for being snippy.

I had to eat this at home and no worries, the integrity was not lost in the dish. They pack the soup separate so I reheated the soup a bit before adding it to the noodles. Here it is in final form. The char siu is very thinly sliced – there is an egg in there!

Here are the noodles, char siu and egg before I added the soup in. The noodles were perfectly cooked. No complaints on that.

The broth before I added it to the noodles. They like their chinese cabbage. I like it too.

Ugh, I thought I got a clear picture of the egg. I didn’t. But you get the idea. It’s perfectly cooked and has the perfect gummy yolk inside, no complaints.

Fried Rice! Okay, I was super excited to try this. It was good, not great. Nothing I would yearn to go back for you know?

Gyoza! To me this was the best part of the meal. They were pretty nicely packed in with filling, tasted like it was made by the restaurant. It comes with a packet of the gyoza dipping sauce. I really enjoyed this!

Final verdict? Well it was good. $35 good? I don’t know. I paid by credit card and of course when they turn the machine around, they ask for tip. I don’t know man, I am doing take out in a food court and I am being charged $35 for this – I wasn’t inclined to tip (sorry!). The upcharges to add just bean sprouts or green onions is crazy to me. I get that costs are high right now but…that high?? It was all good, not great. I feel I can go Wagaya and pay less and get the same if not better food.

10 responses to “Kamukura Ramen – Honolulu, HI

  1. vickinags

    LOL, you reminded me of my friend eating at Momofuku in LV and paying $60 for ramen. She did say it was the best ramen she ever ate, but then again, you know the Theory of Cognitive Dissonance?

    • Jenny

      Oh my gosh I don’t think I could stomach $60 ramen. I was already mad enough paying $20 something for laksa at Panya but at least that one get seafood!!!

  2. kat

    they have shops all over osaka, I liked the broth because it was light but some of my friends like their broth more rich so didn’t like kamukura too much…$35 is too pricey

  3. Arlene

    Yikes, I was gonna be diplomatic and careful with my choice of words, but, ahem, what a rip off! From the thin piece of char siu struggling not to melt away in bowl of soup to the missing green onions to the blah fried rice, I am appalled on your behalf. And I hope that was Napa cabbage because it seriously looks like Romaine lettuce! Darn, I was looking forward to trying that place too. I do love good gyoza so I will do a take out side order though.

    • Jenny

      That’s very mature of you to try to be diplomatic but glad the truth came out of your mouth! Yes it was Napa cabbage if that helps anything at all lol.

      Maybe you can get the ramen gyoza combo, might be a bit cheaper!

  4. jalna

    Ho, thanks for trying so I don’t have to. LOL.

  5. Ditto what Jalna said. Sheesh!

Leave a Reply to Jenny Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.