ramblings of a Seattle travel, food and photography hound
Any pretensions I had that a good vegetarian ramen could never be made was dashed recently. The revelation happened when my sister-in-law had me sample her OG Ramen from Ramen Hood, a completely vegan stall in Los Angeles' Grand Central Market. Visually, it looks like a 'typical' ramen, broth like milky tonkotsu, slices of chashu floating on... Continue Reading →
For me, few things are an antidote to cold weather than hot ramen. Over a week ago, the Seattle area experienced temperatures in the low 40s, a good excuse to hop into Jinya Ramen Bar for a hot lunch while my wife and I were running errands in the Crossroads area of Bellevue. Though my favorite bowl there is the Jinya... Continue Reading →
A Hawaiian food blogger once asked me about Seattle's ramen culture. Knowing how robust it was in Honolulu where the blogger lives, I was apprehensive about answering him. Here was the Seattle area, having as much claim as any big West Coast city to strong economic and cultural ties to Japan, a history of Japanese immigration and community, a... Continue Reading →
My daughter and her family dine at Samurai Bowl often. It used to be once a week. I suspect that it's not the parents' decision necessarily but my five-year old grandson's, who seems never to tire of their miso ramen. Today, just my daughter and I had lunch here, while the kids were in school. When served... Continue Reading →
The intriguing black ramen that I enjoyed a year ago at Setsuna Japanese Restaurant & Bar got me to wonder whether there was a hidden gem of a ramenya in the Northgate area. Opportunity knocked when we went with friends for dinner there. Setsuna's ramen menu offers four kinds: white, sakura, black and red, roughly descriptive of their colors. White... Continue Reading →
Major construction on the northwest corner of Main Street and Bellevue Way prevented a friend and me from having lunch at La Cocina del Puerco because of the lack of parking spaces. So as I drove up to Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, I noticed no one standing outside waiting to be seated. Friend was agreeable to... Continue Reading →
The Taiwanese presence in the Bellevue Chinese restaurant scene is unmistakeable. And why not? The Eastside city has a large demographic of Americans of Taiwanese descent. It was no surprise that Din Tai Fung established its first Northwest location in Bellevue's Lincoln Square complex. Many Chinese restaurants in the city, some explicitly serving Taiwanese cuisine and others... Continue Reading →
To make our signature tonkotsu broth, we simmer pork bones for about 20 hours until it is pearly white. Finally, after such a long, low-temperature cook, we add vegetables, dried fish, kelp, and other savory ingredients. So explains Santouka's website on its approach to making ramen broth. It surely qualifies as the legendary dedication (some say a fanaticism) that... Continue Reading →
I was seriously thinking of not going in. I stood outside for a minute or two, but decided to give Jinya Ramen Bar a shot anyway. A little background. Our good friends ate there after it soon opened in Bellevue in March, along with so many other eager rameniacs that the two of them had to sit... Continue Reading →
My four-year-old grandson loves ramen. His first exposures to it were the dried, packaged quick-cooking kinds that come from Japan by way of the U.S., specifically, Sapporo Ichiban (original flavor) and Myojo Chukazanmai (miso flavor). Our care packages to Christchurch usually include these, and we were sure to bring a good supply with us on... Continue Reading →
zoomeboshi 