Monthly Archives

October 2017

San Mateo, CA

Himawari-Tei

Posted on October 21, 2017

On my way home after a wonderful few days in Half Moon Bay I decided to make a ramen stop in San Mateo. This is truly a foodie town. If I wasn’t focused on ramen and mind you there are more than one to choose from here I would have a difficult time deciding on culinary choices. Two of the ramen joints were closed so I decided to try out Himawari-Tei and their tantanmen. When my ramen came out I saw a pile of cilantro on top of a sea of red. I was taken aback since I am not a fan of excessive chili oil since it can be overpowering but I was hungry since I skipped breakfast in anticipation of a carb-laden lunch. The noodles were firm to bite and without the slight chewiness of typical Japanese ramen and the broth wasn’t as spicy as I imagined it would be. I like the addition of cilantro since it cut through the oiliness of the bowl. Sorry to say this wasn’t a memorable bowl for me but I definitely would come back to try their other shoyu and shio based ramen. The gyozas though were quite tasty. Until then …

Himawari-Tei
202 2nd Avenue
San Mateo, CA 94401
650-375-1005

Sacramento, CA

Ju Hachi by Taka’s

Posted on October 13, 2017

Not exactly an orthodox bowl of tantanmen. The owner of the restaurant is Japanese but raised in Brazil. I was torn to try the butter corn miso or the bacon bit tonkotsu ramen but played it safe and decided to compare Ju Hachi’s tantanmen to the competitors in the area. Ramen boy would have been the ultimate supertaster but I came with colleagues. The sliced tomato was an unusual addition along with the chopped jalapeño and the cilantro kind of threw me off my ramen game but I didn’t want to be judgmental since this wasn’t the usual bowl of tantanmen for me. Surprisingly all of the ingredients meshed well. Not quite the traditional bowl of noodles but I liked the gentle kick to it and that it wasn’t heavy. A richer broth would have given it more dimension but all in all it was a very satisfying bowl of noodles. I had no problem finishing it off. Ramen boy would have ordered this sans veggies. Just the meat, noodles and broth. I suppose that would be the true tantanmen taste test. Next time butter corn miso ramen to take me down memory lane.

Ju Hachi by Taka’s
1730 S Street
Sacramento , CA 95814
916-448-3481