Another race another ramen-ya to check out. This time in Orange Country since I was running Surf City Marathon/Half Marathon in Huntington Beach. 16,000+ runners and one Matt Damon. I did my research, mapped out my itinerary for the short weekend and as soon as I landed at the airport I picked up my car and headed straight over to Costa Mesa for a late ramen lunch. Lunch closed at 2:30 but I made it in the nick of time to quickly peruse the menu and order the limited time offer mizore ramen which is yuzu (citrus fruit) chili paste and grated radish in a shoyu based pork broth with their signature toro chashu, mizuna (Japanese greens), green onions and radish sprouts. Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai originated in Japan in the late 1950’s and is known for it distinctive wide and curly noodle and is hand-crumpled to give it curliness and texture perfect for slurping. Several cuts of pork belly are simmered for hours with their secret recipe resulting in a meaty yet melt in the mouth chashu. Of course I ordered a soft boiled egg as well which didn’t disappoint but truthfully more ooze is always the best. The crisp greens went very well with the light broth which is not greasy and perfect with the springy noodles (kind of reminded me of thin and flat udon noodles instead of typical ramen) and the meat. The surprise element of the dish was the grated daikon (radish) that thickened the broth. I think ramen boy would appreciate this type of ramen. A must try warranting another trip to the OC and another race.
Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai
891 Baker Street, B21
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Tel: 714-557-2947
http://ramenbannai.com
