Ramen Halu, is a treasure in this little strip mall in San Jose. The simple decor reflects the surfer side of chef Kumao. The menu is a good mix of small plates, and ramen.
Our favourite small plates include the Age Dashi Nasu - deep fried eggplant in dashi, the Hiya Yakko - Fresh cold tofu with Japanese relish, and the non fried croquettes.
Their ramen however, is the reason to visit. They have 5 different types of broth, and a few varieties of noodles. The Tsukemen is probably the most unique. Also called the dipping ramen, this is a deconstructed ramen that comes with the broth to dip the noodles and the toppings in, and a side of hot water that you can add to your broth to drink it at the end of your meal.
The winner of the ramen round however, is the Tantanmen. Tantanmen is inspired by dandanmian, a spicy noodle soup originating in Szechuan Province of southwestern China.
The rich, and spicy broth is dominated by the taste if sesame. Unlike many of the other ramen bowls, this one comes with ground meat. One bowl, and I promise you will be hooked!
If it is too spicy, you can cool off with a Japanese soda - Ramune, available in a few different flavors (Original, Orange, Melon, Strawberry, and Litchi), that is if you can get it open (this involves a strong thumb, and stronger determination!
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| Ramen Halu (Clockwise from top left: Lichi Ramune, Hiya Yakko, Tantanmen, Age Dashi Nasu, Cold Tofu) |
On a diet, or just not hungry enough to eat an entire bowl of ramen? They have a small plate, sort of like a salad, that has all the toppings that go into ramen.
This place is a gem, definitely add this to your restaurant bucket list. Assuming of course that you are not already driving there...
Bottom Line:
Price - $
Ambience - Casual
Price - $
Ambience - Casual
Vegetarian Friendly - No
Too bad they aren't vegetarian friendly. It sounds like I could survive off of that eggplant and tofu though.
ReplyDeleteTry Ogisan Ramen (5293 Prospect Rd, San Jose). They have veg ramen, and shabu shabu. Both are pretty good.
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