It took a while for me to write this review because it was quite hard to assess my emotions with this restaurant. When it comes to talking about restaurants, I always have two reactions. First, the restaurant is great and this reaction is always something that’s clear to me after the first bite. Second, it’s horrible and it’s possibly something I’ll never recommend to friends or even spend some time writing about. Again, that’s a reaction garnered from the first bite.

Somewhere in the middle was this restaurant which everyone who had gone with me, and everyone who has blogged about it were singing praises for and for me… I just couldn’t seem to sing the same praises.

I’m not saying Ramen Bar is bad but if it claims to be an authentic Japanese ramen and put it against the best ramen in Japan, it’s not good enough to cause a Ramen boom.

A bad first date

The Ramen Bar Special

When I heard that Ramen Bar has tonkotsu ramen, my heart was fluttering with joy over the idea of reliving the magical flavors of tonkotsu ramen that I managed to taste in Ippudo. With great enthusiasm, I went to this restaurant a little after its opening and was mesmerized with the options that they had for their ramen. Feeling lush, I ordered the Ramen Bar Special which contains more meat, more mushrooms and veggies and their kurogoma abura. Sadly, after a few bites, I was greatly disappointed on how this restaurant just didn’t deliver. The taste was burnt and weird. There was too much in it and the noodles they used were these thick mami-like noodles (quite a contrast to the thin delicate noodles of Ippudo). Eating it was like seeing a guy who wore too much bling, gel, and perfume on a first date. There was too much of everything that I couldn’t even finish my bowl. The kurogoma abura tasted like burnt oil rather than sweet black sesame. 

The second time I went, my company opted to order a variety of ramen. Someone ordered their Miso ramen. Someone else ordered Shoyu. I decided to order their chicken namban in want to taste something different since I know their ramen was a disaster. My chicken namban turned out quite a disaster too as it had too much mayonnaise. My friends let me taste the broth of their ramen and it still had those conflicting flavors trying to sell itself as a package.

Hence, by the time a friend wanted me to take her to this restaurant, wondering why in hell I abhorred the place and yet everyone loved it, I gave it a shot and went again. This time, I went for the plainest of their ramen: the Shio ramen. Unlike the others, it only glistened white with a few portions of meat, vegetables, and egg. As I took a sip of my first broth, I finally saw the tonkotsu that they were so proud of. It was a flavorful porky broth with enough brine to make me smile. I finally finished their bowl of ramen.

Tonkotsu is tonkotsu

I realized then and there that you can’t mess up what’s already good. Their broth, as it is, is good. In fact it’s such a strong flavor that putting anything on top of that broth requires an adjustment on the broth itself in order to welcome the new flavors in. So that makes Shoyu and Miso something that will either make the broth too salty or overly flavorful. Even the kurogoma would have to pass as it just doesn’t mix as the broth on its own has some sesame in it. Unless they could perfect their kurogoma and make it bittersweet, it’s best not to experiment with anything else. The noodles are still a little different. Not exactly like mami but it’s still not quite there yet. I wonder if the owner had problems sourcing the noodles here in Manila but if I see restaurants in Little Tokyo managing to pull out some good noodles, I don’t see why Ramen Bar can’t do it.

Still… that special offering doesn’t make the ramen any special. If anything, it miseducates the tongue on what flavors it should be tasting when eating the ramen. I feel that the broth, the heart of the ramen, doesn’t get to sing when it’s got all of these add-ons and what not on top of it.

Is it the most authentic Japanese ramen I’ve tasted? If its intention is to make authentic tonkotsu ramen then, no. I was sharing to friends that Ippudo has set such a high standard for me that it made me understand what great tonkotsu ramen should taste like. In fact, Little Tokyo’s Riozen has a wonderful tonkotsu ramen closer to Ippudo than Ramen Bar could ever be. And it didn’t have all of these special add-ons with it.

Finally, a satisfied customer

Is it a good ramen at least? Yes. I can at least tell from the expressions of people I’ve dined with that Ramen Bar does serve good meals. I am probably just being picky when it comes to my ramen but I suppose if I hadn’t tasted great ramen in Japan, I probably would have a higher regard for Ramen Bar. After tasting their ramen plain, I liked it a lot more and wouldn’t mind going there again for that same bowl. It’s not as good as my Ippudo experience, but it’s all right… I guess.

Ramen Bar

Ground Floor, New Eastwood City Mall
Libis, Quezon City

Ground Floor, Venezia
Mckinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio
Taguig

I was never a big fan of bagels. Back when I worked in Starbucks, bagels were items that were thrown out of our pantry because they quickly grew stale. And by stale, I mean rock hard. I’ve had my fare of eating stale bagel and I swore I’d never touch the damn thing after 10 a.m. However, a trip to the Big Apple and a strong recommendation of a friend prompted me to give it a try — especially when she’s actually pimping me a Zagat approved bagel: the best in New York.

I arrived in Essa Bagel right smack in the middle of the breakfast rush. I stood outside the line, afraid to face the wrath of locals and started to plan what I wanted to eat. They had an extensive menu outside of cream cheese. Looking at their options made me feel that bagels were closer to sandwiches than just another kind of bread. And true enough, listening to what people have been ordering, there is more to the bagel than just a bagel. The cheapest plain bagel costs $1.00 and with the add-ons, say… cream cheese and lox, it could go as high as $10.75.

Ever heard of vegetarian cream cheese? It's never too late to try.

My friend suggested to me that if I had the luxury, the costly cream cheese and lox would be an experience. It was much too early in my trip for me to spend that much money hence, once the morning rush is over, I went in and order a great compromise: a toasted bagel with everything on it with lox cream. I have no idea what to order but I’ve been hearing a lot of people order “toasted everything.” Apparently what that meant was toasted bagel with every seed on top. My friend later told me that having an Essa Bagel toasted was a crime. However, did that change my opinion of the bagel? Toasted or not, if a bagel tastes great, then it’s bloody great.

This bagel is Khursten approved!

My bagel came with a lox cream filling — a cheaper compromise to the cream and lox bagel. Did it taste any cheaper? When my entire bagel was tickled pink with fillings, I honestly didn’t care whether I got the most expensive filling or not. The bagel tasted awesome. The crusty top with a chewy center was a galaxy away from my old killer bagels. And even when I felt that I couldn’t finish everything, 30 minutes later, I was licking my fingers clean. It was a glorious breakfast and a lovely welcome to New York. When I only have a day to experience the city, this New York minute with this lovely bagel is something definitely worth remembering.

Essa Bagel

831 3rd Avenue
New York,

I first met Mr. Sugawara when he invited me to join them for a family dinner at Kikufuji. His daughter and I had been good friends by then and while our brand of fun seemed to have finished early (and they had room for one more) I would assume that he thought it was possibly nice to join them for dinner. What happened afterwards was a mouth-opening experience as he showed me a whole new flavor palette for Japanese food. Fresh fish, a great balance of rice, wasabi and vinegar makes amazing sushi. Of course, there was also balance in terms of textures, colors, and flavors that by the end of the evening, I could never imagine myself eating at any other Japanese joint.

Of course, that was the start of many dinners with Mr. Sugawara and his family. Next thing I know, I was hopping from one Little Tokyo restaurant to another, watching sports games with him when we can, talking about how lovely and how fresh the food is. Not long after, he opened his home to me and from there I saw the love and care that his wife place on their food and why he was a man of good taste. It is in this good taste that he and his family inherited the restaurant Hana and it became a home away from home where we get to sample some of their family favorites without wreaking havoc in their living room. The meals in Hana have his seal of approval and I suppose the endless sports broadcasts from Japan also adds a bit of his touch. My favorite memory in Hana was his late night World Cup games where we would go to Hana at such a late time just to catch a Japan game.

Mr. Sugawara ate well. He lived well. And I owe it to him and his family for showing what Japanese food is all about while in Manila.

I’m quite sure that we all had our Mr. Sugawaras in our lives and I’m quite sure that they have taught us so much about their own culture and their lives with just a plate of food. I write this with a heavy heart knowing that I will no longer share a meal Mr. Sugawara. But even if he’s no longer here, I will definitely remember him for every chahan, sushi, tempura, udon, and every bite of Japanese food that I will get from Hana. He opened my world to Japanese food with just a bite and I owe my Japanese father a big thank you for teaching the soul in Japanese food.

In memory of Mr. Sugawara who just recently passed away, I’d like to invite my readers to have a bite in Hana at Little Tokyo this month. If you haven’t tried Hana yet, I think it’s about time you do so. It’s a lovely little restaurant in Little Tokyo and they’re known for selling the best takoyaki in Metro Manila. Apart from their takoyaki though, their menu shows a wide array of simple yet lovely Japanese food. Mr. Sugawara always suggests to me to have their shouyu ramen and their chahan. Their shouyu ramen has a rich deep broth while their fried rice is fluffy and heartwarming and if you don’t have crab allergies, it’s a lovely match to shouyu ramen (yes! Even Japanese love double carbs!) Another favorite of his is the grilled fish served in Hana. Currently they serve grilled sanma (pacific saury), grilled saba (mackerel), and sakazuke akauo (grilled sake-marinated akauo). I personally love their sanma with a squeeze of lemon and some radish on top. I know he enjoyed the grilled saba with steaming hot rice.

I hope you guys would get a chance to see the world of Mr. Sugawara through Hana. I’m quite sure you won’t forget and maybe just like me, you’ll have the chance to enjoy the soul of Japanese food.

Hana's Grilled Sake-marinated Akauo

It has been months since I’ve been in Osaka but I am still basking in the high of having gone to Japan and returning in one piece. One of the masterpieces that I tasted there was not a native Osaka dish but still one of the best in Japan.

Hakata ramen claimed its fame in the late 80s as it was  a fresh vibrant flavor for Japanese ramen. One of pillars of Hakata ramen is a shop called Ippudo who greeted me with a sign that eagerly awaited the happiness I’ll feel when I eat their ramen.

This ramen was highly recommended by my friend Tricia. To her, this was the BEST ramen she’s ever tasted and swore her life upon this ramen. I’ve had my fits of local ramen nirvana and completely understood what she meant. Hakata ramen, famous for its deep flavored pork broth (tonkotsu), was outside of my palate. I’d like to understand why some people would wait hours just to taste this ramen. This happiness was something I looked forward to.

My friend and I got the bowl with char siew and egg in it. There were other varieties, but it’s really just a difference in toppings. The wait for the ramen was riddled with chit chat about Osaka life, as we shared lunch with two of Tricia’s friends. Idly on the table counter were two large bowls that Tricia immediately dug into. I’ve got to try it, she said. It was something awesome to the palate.

Inside the bowls were marinated moyashi (togue/bean sprouts) and marinated greens. I have no bloody idea what were in those marinades but it was something similar to kimchi except subtler if not elegant. I dug in just as much as I munched more of this. It was an explosion in my mouth that Tricia had to remind me that I should show some restraint since the main star wasn’t around. Restraint was out of question as I still snuck in a few more bites of the moyashi. Of course that changed when my ramen arrived.

I cannot understand this ramen. I have no words that can justify how awesome this ramen was.

It’s light flavored but it’s deep bodied. It looked completely neutral with its pale color but it’s filled with character. Every time I took a slurp of that ramen, I was saying, “What the hell is this? Is this pork or alien broth? I can taste the pork but it’s not just pork is it? There’s garlic but there’s just– WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? WHY IS IT SO GREAT!?” Every time I thought I already understood what was in that broth, the thin noodle would contest to me that I haven’t. The egg would tell me otherwise. If I took a bite of those marinated togue, another flavor would emerge. The same went if I had a gyoza. And the broth would shroud itself again in mystery and mock my tongue with a big “Oh yeah! I’m bloody awesome!”

At one point in that meal, I wanted to cry. It was an experience to be reckoned with and that ramen shop had defeated me completely. And as I struggled with the amazing of that ramen dish, Tricia’s friend told me that Ippudo wasn’t the best yet.

If that was not the best, I just can’t imagine what was the best ramen would be like.

Ippudo

2-10 Masumi-cho
Ikeda, Osaka

Hey lovelies!

Not sure if people are tracking but yes, I shall be going to Osaka in a few hours or so and it will be quite an experience noodling around the area.

Yes! Can you believe it? More and more noodles to eat and consume and yes! Strange foods, I has it! <3

Don’t worry. I will be prompt in posting for my blog since unlike my recent travels, I’m more online than ever! I hope. See you folks! o/