Tag Archive | Ramen

Agu Ramen – Moilili, HI

Mar25

This post highlights two visits to Agu Ramen recently. The first visit was on Valentine’s Day and they had very cute little flowers for the day. It was a very nice touch! My last visit, I took two of my little brothers there. They really enjoyed the ramen. I was really unhappy with the service. Our waiter basically ignored me at the end – all I wanted was the bill. He just kept helping everyone around us and avoided my gaze. Why? I would think you would want me out of your hair when we are done. I was very put off and now I don’t want to return for a while. It’s too bad when the wait staff can have such a big influence on wanting to return or not. They are pretty pricey anyway so I’m okay with not going for a while. I will probably come back from Japan ramen’d out anyway.

150325-01Cute valentine’s flower

150325-02

150325-03Jidori Kawa – Deep fried Chicken Skin. Was it good? Would it be rude to say duh? Duh!

150325-05

150325-06Shio Jidori – I really enjoy this one. The light ramen broth is great!

150325-07My brothers enjoyed it too! They swallowed it up!

150325-08The youngest one likes to put the noodles on a plate and then eat it. It’s a good way to cool down the noodles..hehe

Post Views: 6,173

Hokkaido Santouka Ramen – Ala Moana, HI

Feb11

Hokkaido Santouka Ramen fix satisfied! I can’t choose my favorite ramen place because they all serve such different types of broth and noodles. Hokkaido Santouka is definitely perfect for the days that you want more of a creamy broth. My friend had a coupon for free toppings so obviously we had to go, even if the coupon was worth 50 cents…lol.

150211-01Shio Chashu Ramen – free bamboo upgrade!

150211-02

150211-03

Kara Miso Chashu Ramen

My bowl of noodles! I usually don’t enjoy miso ramen but this is the only one on the menu that I can get spicy so I go for it. I enjoy it very much. This time, I asked for firm noodles. My friend said she felt like it just tasted undercooked. I thought it tasted great, because I enjoy firmer noodles. Then as they sit in the broth, they still remain somewhat al dente. Yummmm….

Post Views: 3,679

Agu Ramen – Moilili, HI

Feb3

Okay I have seriously done too many posts of Agu Ramen. I now have to direct you to use the search function to find all my previous posts…lol. This time I am sharing something different though! I tried their Jidori ramen which is their chicken based stock, the lightest and healthiest broth they carry. I enjoyed it. A lot. I would definitely recommend it!

150203-01

150203-02

150203-03Can’t have ramen without the gyoza. I need to get myself back to here again. I am sad to report that they made a few adjustments to their menu and no longer carry the Hiyashi Ramen which I am sad about because it was SO good!

Post Views: 3,218

Salmon Ikura Bowl – Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

Aug26

Just a quick post today. This is one of my favorites from Hokkaido Ramen Santouka! If I wasn’t such a glutton for noodles, I would get this by itself and just gobble it down. The rice is perfectly cooked, the salmon is freshly flaked and the ikura. How do I explain ikura? An explosion of flavor. Mmm…soo good…

140826-01

140826-02

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka Post 1
Hokkaido Ramen Santouka Post 2

Post Views: 5,009

Hiyashi Ramen – Agu Ramen

Aug4

Hey folks! Hope you are all doing well. I had a rough day today. Been a rough month! But August starts us up new, new month new attitude. I was so tired today. Like just drained. I pulled myself together and went to work. Anyway, I’ll try to update more often! I am so behind in pictures! Let me share a quick update from yet another visit to Agu Ramen. If you read my blog, you know I’ve been there many times. This particular visit, it was all hot outside so I didn’t feel like eating a brothy dish so I went for the Hiyashi Ramen. It was so good! Check it out.

140804-01

140804-02It was so refreshing and delicious. A lot of different ingredients but the dressing really made the dish. It inspired me to make my own cold ramen salad the week after. It didn’t work at all. Hehe..

140804-03Kicked Up Fries – meh. Not worth it. They are supposed to be cajun fries, not sure what’s cajun about it. The fries were just salty.

140804-04My friend had the Shio Jidori. This is a great alternative to their thick and rich kotteri/tonkotsu options. I like that they offer a lighter chicken broth, it’s definitely something I would try the next time I go!

Post Views: 2,218

Agu Ramen – Honolulu, HI

May21

Yes, another Agu Ramen post! Sorry, I do really like what they serve! Here’s a link to my previous post that refers to the even more previous posts before this one. This visit was a bit different, I was in the mood for some cold noodles because of the hot weather. Oh, it was DELICIOUS.

140521-01Shio Jidori – $11.75
Not my dish, my friend got this. She likes it a lot because of the light chicken broth. As I’ve shared before, their kotteri is much too oily.

140521-02

Kicked Up Fries – $5.75

140521-03

Chili Cream dipping sauce for the fries. Meh for the entire dish. I wouldn’t recommend it.

140521-04

Hiyashi Ramen – $10.75

140521-05

Oh my god. This dish totally hit the spot. You know what makes or breaks a hiyashi ramen? The dressing. They have a great dressing here. I was so in love that I made my own. Um, it didn’t come close to this one. No shame, I’ll still share the pic.

140521-06Whoop there it is. Yeah it wasn’t great. I also started putting any kine toppings like my super fast pickled daikon. The crab sticks were junk. The dressing was store bought and no good. Ah…I can always remember the hiyashi ramen I had at Agu to be happy.

Post Views: 3,061

Japanese Ramen Kai – Ala Moana, HI

Apr19

I’ve talked about Agu Ramen and Hokkaido Santouka Ramen in previous posts: here and here. Japanese Ramen Kai came on the scene around the same time as the other two and I finally got to try it! I gotta say, out of the three, Japanese Ramen Kai is currently my favorite! Let me share some pictures to show you why…

140419-01

140419-02Miso Ramen – $9.00

140419-03Look at that char siu…drool…

140419-04Goma Tan Tan Ramen – $9.00 plus Aji-tama (shoyu egg) – $1.50

140419-05

140419-06

140419-07I got the tan tan ramen and I LOVED it. It was delicious. See how thick the broth is? How does it compare to Goma Tei? I definitely think Japanese Ramen Kai is better. You can tell they grind the sesame seeds fresh because there is a bit of grittyness (not in a bad way) in the broth. While the broth looks heavy and thick – I don’t think it plays off that way when you eat it. I would definitely recommend it! The egg was good, not great. Not soft boiled but at least it wasn’t overcooked.

140419-08Gyoza – $5.00

140419-09Gyoza innard shot. It’s your typical gyoza, nothing special or bad about it.

Post Views: 4,271

Nishi Mon Cho Ramen – Manoa, HI

Mar20

The weather was nice one day and my co-worker and myself decided to walk to Manoa Marketplace. I’ve walked there a few times and it’s a nice walk, definitely not as far as you would think. She decided to get her lunch from Andy’s (always a good choice!) but I didn’t feel like sandwiches so I tried the ramen shop in the marketplace. Nishi Mon Cho Ramen is one of those ramen joints that is run by Chinese, there’s nothing wrong with that (I’m Chinese!) but I just don’t go in expecting authentic you know? Also, Chinese run ramen shops usually incorporate other dishes. I got the Seafood Chow Mein which is obviously not Japanese…lol. I thought they did a pretty good job! It definitely was not one of the best I have ever had but it wasn’t bad either. Just wanted to share how it looks when you go for take out.

140320-01

Crispy Noodles waiting to be drenched…

140320-02

Lots of veggies. At first I thought they would be stingy with the seafood but it wasn’t as bad as I thought! Not bad, not great. I enjoy when the crispy noodles get soggy but still maintain a bit of crunch. I also appreciated them packing the gravy separate from the noodles! No leaky package again!

Post Views: 3,771

Agu Ramen Part 3

Mar7

Yes, another visit to Agu Ramen! This is going to be my last visit for a while. Oh wait, I may have to take that back. I heard they started serving a extended appetizer menu! I don’t know if it’s worth another visit for a while still…

140307-01Kotteri Tonkotsu – you see all that black liquid? That’s all oil. Yeah…it’s covered in oil. It was too much. The flavor was all right and I still like the noodles they serve but I wasn’t a fan of this bowl. I think if I do return, I’ll have to try their Jidori version since it’s supposed to be healthier for you.

Part 1
Part 2

Post Views: 4,121

Agu Ramen Part 2 – Honolulu, HI

Feb11

Here’s to second chances!  And here’s proof that second chances work! For my first post on Agu, please go here. For my second visit, I wanted to raise the stakes…and boy did I ever.

140211-01Side Order Gyoza – always necessary. They make these fresh daily, delicious!

140211-02Kotteri Tonkatsu – $11.75

140211-03Spicy Kotteri Tonktasu – Level 5! It is definitely spicy. Not so much when you slurp the noodles but when you drink the soup…watch out!

140211-04Soft boiled egg. Actual soft boiled egg. Thank you Agu for making your eggs RIGHT. Other places are always overcooked.

140211-05So after my second refill of water in my regular cup, our waiter brings me this huge cup. And yes, it was initially full so I was drinking my way through that too…haha, sad yeah?

140211-06I like what they did with the design of the interior! Very different from Da Kitchen, like it a lot!

So what did I think? I LOVED the Kotteri Tonkatsu. My friend let me try her broth and it was SO good. I definitely want to get that the next time I go. The spicy one?  Yup, it was spicy. But I didn’t feel too bad afterwards. But later that night…I paid for it. Horribly. And it’s not the TMI thing you think…I just had major stomach cramps for 2 hours. I do not wish this on anyone. So while I could handle the heat, my body couldn’t afterwards. There’s even an Epic spicy level, I don’t even wanna know how spicy that one is! Give Agu a try! It’s definitely worth it. Our waiter mentioned they plan to extend hours soon so folks can get their late night fix. 🙂

Post Views: 2,924