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Ramen Parlor - San Mateo

If you feel like driving down to San Mateo and want to avoid the line for Ramen Dojo, go to Ramen Parlor. Although, if you’re going to drive down to San Mateo for ramen, you might as well wait it out. But if you’re looking for something different - Ramen Parlor will definitely satisfy. It’s right next door to Dojo, and has less of a line. 

They're well known for their lobster ramen, where they add a spoonful of lobster oil to your broth. By the time we got there at 5:40PM, a big line had started forming - so get there a little early.

I got the Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen w/ Lobster Oil, mild spiciness, and my friend got the regular spicy. I would recommend getting mild to no spiciness, or else you can't really enjoy the flavor of the natural broth. The broth is nothing to die for though, so don’t get too excited.   The ramen comes with two quail eggs, two pieces of chasu, deep fried crab, spinach, konbu, and nori.

The lobster oil was subtle, but definitely gave the broth a slight seafood kick to it. Although the broth wasn't hearty, it was very rich in flavor. The noodles were also cooked perfectly. But the highlight for me was the deep fried crab. Who doesn’t like deep fried crab in a bowl of ramen?? Use your hands to take a bite :) It's definitely a different experience from Dojo, and I would come back here again.

Ramen Parlor

901 South B St., San Mateo, CA

Tues-Sun: 11:30AM-2:00PM, 5:30PM-9:00PM

[kyledreamsoframen]

Hisago - San Francisco

The restaurant is in the quiet neighborhood of Laurel Heights, and it’s really easy to miss. Right in between the overload of ramen shops in Inner Richmond and Japantown, it’s quite a gem. Hisago is a mom & pop shop, serving Japanese comfort food (donburi, katsu curry, sukiyaki). They serve ramen, but note they are not a ramen shop.

I instantly recognized one of the waiters used to work at Ramen Yamadaya and said hello. I remembered him because he had great customer service, so it was good to see him here. He said he and a bunch of coworkers left Yamadaya after finding out that their manager stashed away a lot of the tips from the employees... which is super shady. Even if their tonkotsu is amazing, it made me not want to support Yamadaya anymore.

Anyways - onto their ramen! PSA: Do NOT get the tonkotsu ramen, or any other ramen here besides the tantanmen. The guy mentioned since they’re not a ramen shop, the tonkotsu broth only gets cooked for less than 2 hours, compared to the 15-20 hours at a traditional ramen shop. I was disappointed but appreciated his honesty. He did recommend the tantanmen, which was great.

Tantanmen is traditionally a Chinese noodle dish, and this is the Japanese rendition of it. You’ll find a lot of tantanmen in ramen shops in Tokyo, so I thought I’d give it a try here.

I was not disappointed. The broth was light but extremely flavorful, thanks to the spicy chili sauce. It wasn’t overwhelming or too spicy either. I’m not a huge fan of ground pork, but the meat went really well with the noodles and soup. Also, their soft boiled egg was perfect - I just wish we could enjoy the whole eg instead of just half.

We also ordered the Karage, which is a must-order! It comes with grated daikon and green onions, and served with generous portions. 

I would definitely come back just for the tantanmen, but I’d love to try the other dishes too. After coming back from Tokyo, I’ve been looking for a spot that serves japanese comfort food, and I may have just found it :) 

3226 Geary Blvd San Francisco, CA 94118

(Check their page for hours)

[kyledreamsoframen]

Iza Ramen - San Francisco

My first post is on a local spot in the Mission District of San Francisco. Iza Ramen is a small pop-up shop only open on the weekends, from 11:30AM to 3:00PM.

It’s on the corner of Bryant and 20th St, and really easy to miss if you’re just walking by. The actual restaurant is called Blowfish Sushi, and it’s a hip little spot. The last time I came here was with a coworker, right before our shift on a Saturday afternoon.

They actually only have a few choices - the house Tonkotsu ramen, and Tsukemen. I’ve only had bad Tsukemen in the states, but I decided to take the chance and went for it. I also ordered a side of takoyaki, and Jordan ordered the Tonkotsu ramen. Man oh man, this place was so good.

They give you a complimentary salad before the meal, which I thought was great service. The takoyaki was flavorful, not too doughy, and they didn’t skimp out on the octopus. & onto the rest of the meal, which was definitely the best part.

The tsukemen broth came out filled with toppings: Sesame, green onions, chives, bamboo, ground pork, and was heavy with flavor. And the most important thing, the dipping broth stayed hot. Since tsukemen is served with cold noodles, bad tsukemen usually ends up being very lukewarm and not enjoyable. Restaurants that make good tsukemen will find a way to keep the broth piping hot, either by using a certain type of bowl, or simply serving the broth at a very high temperature. Also, the noodles were good, slightly chewy, but weren’t remarkable. For me, I would say the highlight was the dipping broth. This was probably the second best tsukemen I’ve had.

The one thing I wasn’t used to was their Tonkotsu broth. It was a mix of Fish, chicken, and pork. If you’re a fan of lighter soup base, this would be perfect. I’m just a huge fan of fatty pork broth, so maybe the fish taste just didn’t appeal to me. I’ll have to come back and try it again without a bias.

All in all, this place was a clutch spot, and definitely one of the more low-key ramen shops. I would come here again, just to order their tsukemen - and possibly try their tonkotsu ramen. After our meal, we walked to work and may or may not have passed out from a food coma. I definitely drank a lot of coffee that day.

2170 Bryant St San Francisco, CA 94110

Saturday, Sunday: 11:30AM-2:30PM

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Kyle Dreams of Ramen

When I first moved to San Francisco back in November 2013, I lived in Japantown. Interestingly enough, it was really hard to find good ramen here. On my first night in SF, I stumbled upon a local ramen shop and I remember leaving so disappointed.

So I’ve had to explore elsewhere in the city, and since then I’ve found some mediocre but also some really good shops inside and outside of SF. Along the way, my love for ramen has grown with every slurp. Nowadays, I crave a bowl of ramen at least once a week, and of course I have to satisfy my cravings. My passion for Japanese ramen has led me on this quest to eat at all the best ramen shops in San Francisco, and introduce my SF friends to the ramen world.  

So if you love ramen, please join me in my adventure :)