I've wanted to try Ramen Yamadaya since it opened! For the amount of good food we have in San Francisco, we have a lack of amazing ramen places. Katana-Ya is OK, but that perpetual gawdawful line outside the restaurant simply deters me from even thinking of going there. Ramen Yamadaya comes from LA, which equals probably good ramen, which equals Mushroom is interested. Their main broth is tonkotsu, which I love for its richness, but which I also hate for its fattiness and how gross I feel after I eat it. But off we go!
I finally had a quiet afternoon when I felt I had done enough exercise to warrant a ramen meal. I went to Ramen Yamadaya a few minutes before it opened to ensure I did not have to wait. Cha-ching! First in line! I had to wait for a few minutes but I had things to read so that was not too bad. I had Yelped the place, and I knew I was interested in the tonkotsu kotteri, which is their broth with black garlic oil. Oily it was and delicious it was! I was also interested in trying the Yamadaya topping, which was 2 types of chashu, dried seaweed and egg. I assumed this included a fatty pork belly. I would have ordered the pork belly on its own, but the pictures of it looked very large and I did not want to feel too awful...
I must say, the menu was kind of hard to understand. I wish I had the patience to ask the staff what the Yamadaya ramen meant. Like, the regular tonkotsu kotteri came with one piece of lean chashu, half an egg, bamboo shoots (which I hated anyway) and the dried mushrooms. The Yamadaya topping came with what I mentioned above, which was 2 types of chashu, dried seaweed and egg, but also more bamboo (more yucks), mushrooms and green onions. And then the tonkotsu kotteri was 50 cents more expensive than the regular tonkotsu, so that means the garlic oil cost 50 cents? The Yamadaya ramen came with two types of chashu, seaweed, egg and bamboo shoots (and I'm pretty sure dried mushrooms too). So if I do the math, I came out ahead when I order the tonkotsu kotteri plus Yamadaya topping vs Yamadaya ramen plus extra garlic oil, because the price should be the same but I get one extra piece of chashu? Anyway, that's me thinking too much and I shall stop for now.
Back to the ramen. It was good, I really enjoyed it, and if I was in the area or craving for ramen I think I would go back. I don't know how long the wait would be though, for dinner or a later lunch, so I suppose if I had to wait a long time I would rethink that. The noodles were firm and springy, the broth was rich, the garlic oil gave it a little something, and the fattier pork (not sure if this was pork belly) was delicious. The regular chashu was really dry though. During lunch they also give you a free tea, which was nice to wash down all the oil.
Possibly the best ramen in SF, methinks.
I finally had a quiet afternoon when I felt I had done enough exercise to warrant a ramen meal. I went to Ramen Yamadaya a few minutes before it opened to ensure I did not have to wait. Cha-ching! First in line! I had to wait for a few minutes but I had things to read so that was not too bad. I had Yelped the place, and I knew I was interested in the tonkotsu kotteri, which is their broth with black garlic oil. Oily it was and delicious it was! I was also interested in trying the Yamadaya topping, which was 2 types of chashu, dried seaweed and egg. I assumed this included a fatty pork belly. I would have ordered the pork belly on its own, but the pictures of it looked very large and I did not want to feel too awful...
I must say, the menu was kind of hard to understand. I wish I had the patience to ask the staff what the Yamadaya ramen meant. Like, the regular tonkotsu kotteri came with one piece of lean chashu, half an egg, bamboo shoots (which I hated anyway) and the dried mushrooms. The Yamadaya topping came with what I mentioned above, which was 2 types of chashu, dried seaweed and egg, but also more bamboo (more yucks), mushrooms and green onions. And then the tonkotsu kotteri was 50 cents more expensive than the regular tonkotsu, so that means the garlic oil cost 50 cents? The Yamadaya ramen came with two types of chashu, seaweed, egg and bamboo shoots (and I'm pretty sure dried mushrooms too). So if I do the math, I came out ahead when I order the tonkotsu kotteri plus Yamadaya topping vs Yamadaya ramen plus extra garlic oil, because the price should be the same but I get one extra piece of chashu? Anyway, that's me thinking too much and I shall stop for now.
Back to the ramen. It was good, I really enjoyed it, and if I was in the area or craving for ramen I think I would go back. I don't know how long the wait would be though, for dinner or a later lunch, so I suppose if I had to wait a long time I would rethink that. The noodles were firm and springy, the broth was rich, the garlic oil gave it a little something, and the fattier pork (not sure if this was pork belly) was delicious. The regular chashu was really dry though. During lunch they also give you a free tea, which was nice to wash down all the oil.
Possibly the best ramen in SF, methinks.
No comments:
Post a Comment