Genji Ramen at Whole Foods Market - Santa Clara

Ramen's popularity will never die. People just love this stuff. It was a very smart choice for Whole Foods at Santa Clara Square to carry Genji Ramen at their hot food bar. Genji usually offers sushi made from natural ingredients, sustainably raised and caught fish, and has vegan options too exclusively for Whole Foods Market. Other locations may also offer teriyaki bowls and baos. They apply this same standard to their ramen. Two weeks ago, Genji Ramen and Sushi invited me to a tasting of their menu. The tasting was complimentary but the opinions on the food below are my own.

($11.99) Genji's Original tonkotsu broth
The noodles were springy and chewy. Genji does not have a brick and mortar store so they cook their broth at a food preparation center, freeze it, and distribute to their store locations such as this Whole Foods one. Same with the chashu. I couldn't tell this was once frozen. It reheats well. The soft boiled marinated egg was cooked in the store. I tasted a bit too much Mirin in my egg but the texture was nice. I liked that it had plenty of woodear mushroom.

($11.99) spicy miso tonkotsu
Phil preferred this one over the original tonkotsu broth. He thought the spice added more flavor. I thought there wasn't much spice but I do agree that it adds another element of flavor. The fixins are the same plus shredded dried pepper strands on top.

($3.99) tempura bao slider - This was tasty and a different take on the usual baos. Inside there is tempura battered and fried shrimp with a sweet hoisin-like sauce and shaved spring onions. 

($3.99) Chashu pork bao slider - This version had similar condiments to the tempura slider except with tender chashu pork instead. The pork is lean and not the fatty belly cut we're used to when it comes to chashu. It's a bit bland except for the sauce. I recommend the tempura shrimp one instead.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
Since Whole Foods opened last month, I've been here many times for shopping and for lunch. It is by far the best local Whole Foods because of its layout and offerings, especially for hot food. It's nice to have a quick ramen option. Though this one costs the same as restaurants and has slightly less in the bowl, it does its job of fulfilling a ramen craving quickly. Slightly less sodium than restaurants. The noodles were impressive for a food stall. I wouldn't get these particular drinks (hibiscus tea and matcha tea) again because they were too sweet. The coffee stand at Whole Foods has better options. I've enjoyed all my lunches at Whole Foods for a mixture of the atmosphere and tasty healthy options. Everything here is worth a try at least once if you're in the area.

Myzen Ramen - Sunnyvale

My fellow food reviewer at Metro News has once touted Myzen Ramen as a place where long lines aren't required for tasty ramen (sanjose.com). That's a rare find in the South Bay where our options are scant. Front runners include Orenchi Ramen, Kotetsu Ramen, and Santouka Ramen at the food court in Mitsuwa. I have eaten a lot of ramen in my time as a food blogger. 

Imagine my delight when Myzen Ramen invited me to try their fare for myself. Let's see how they stack up to the other ramen shops?

*This meal was complimentary to me in exchange for this review. The portions are tasting size except for ramen and agedashi tofu which are regular size.*

Myzen does much with its small space. The wood paneled walls bring an authentic feel to the decor. The waiting area is separated by a single wooden panel that shields diners from the outside hustle bustle. The tables are arrange so as to make the best use of the space and there was plenty of room to maneuver around the restaurant.

($3.99) Cold Spinach - sample size
The cold marinated spinach appetizer was a great snack to start. It also goes well if you put it into the ramen.

($4.99) Soy Sauce Daikon - sample size
Even though this appetizer sounds simple, we were really impressed with the flavor of this house made snack. The light soy sauce on the soft daikon slices made an umami filled taste and texture combo. I definitely recommend noshing on these. 

($6.99) Takoyaki with octopus inside
The flavor of the dough and seasoning of the filling was very tasty. However it was a bit wet and doughy.

($4.99) Agedashi tofu 
The agedashi tofu was standard. I prefer a crispier coating and larger flakes of bonito on top.

($5.99) Chicken Karaage
The chicken had a nice crunch to it. More of a flakey KFC skin than the usual clumpy karaage coating. It comes with a tangy dipping sauce which was interesting but not my style. The karaage was very flavorful on its own. I would recommend this dish too.

I had a quick chat with the owner of Myzen to find out his inspiration for building the restaurant's menu. He was going for some traditional dishes and some modern takes on the classics. The dipping sauce for the karaage is apparently a traditional version. So are the cold pickled items which we loved. Two non-traditional dishes are the Wasabi Shrimp and Curry Ramen which he says is a big hit with Westerners.

($7.99) Wasabi Shrimp

These shrimp were similar to the Chinese walnut prawns except the coating of mayonaise had a subtle wasabi flavor. It reminded me of Morimoto Napa's wasabi aioli shrimp. I don't mind wasabi at all so I thought these shrimp were really good. It is just a tad stronger in wasabi flavor than expected though. A very interesting dish that is definitely worth a try.

($12.95) Curry Ramen
The curry ramen does very well with the Sunnyvale demographic. There is a high population of Indian people here who would really appreciate this flavor. The curry flavor is really mild and not spicy. I could even taste the curry flavor and tonkotsu base separately. Also an interesting take on ramen that's worth a taste.

($10.95) Myzen Ramen - the traditional tonkotsu broth

The tonkotsu broth ramen is an important test of a ramen shop's legitimacy. This is the classic pork broth that a good shop must master. Myzen did very well with theirs. The broth was creamy colored though it tasted very light. The restaurant prides itself on using no chemicals and no MSG which seemed to show in the lightness of their broth. It was still very flavorful though. The noodles were springy. The chashu was very tender. The soft boiled egg had a yolk with more of a gel consistency and not as runny as I wanted. I really liked how the extra bamboo shoots, cloud ear mushrooms, and green onions came in separate plates. You could share the extras with the rest of your table as there is plenty to go around. I preferred if the garlic was a standard condiment at the table rather than an extra that needs to be ordered but this is a minor thing. I am also not a fan of corn in ramen but that's just me. It certainly doesn't detract from the already stellar broth. 

Overall, the Myzen Ramen is one of the best bowls I've had in the South Bay. It wins with it's light tasting flavor and texture. Everything else we had was also good, particularly the cold vegetables. There are a number of katsu rice bowls for those who don't want ramen. Draft beers are also imported. Must note that there is no line (yet). I would gladly be back. 

Ramen Yokocho Fest - San Jose

Here's a quick drive by post with some information, photos, and ramen from this weekend's Ramen Yokocho Festival in San Jose. The festival is open until 9PM today and again from 11AM - 9PM tomorrow. Then next week it runs from Friday evening through Sunday. Click this link for more information:

http://www.ramenyokochous.com/#!san-jose-ramen-yokocho/cm2l

Admission is $5 and ramen is $8/bowl

Express lane pass $20

VIP ticket $60 gets you early admission on Friday, express lane, 2 ramen, and a T-shirt

I went with a friend and we both used a media pass which got us free admission, express lane access, and enough tickets to try all 10 ramen stalls. Therefore, I can give you a truly comprehensive post about each ramen offered. They also had takoyaki and okonomiyaki but after 10 ramen bowls, we got tired. 

NOTE: none of the vendors served egg with their ramen because the health inspector said it's too difficult to regulate the cooking temperature in that kind of environment. Boo!

My tips are: go with friends, many of them. It'll be more fun this way and you can all taste different flavors. Generally stick to the longest lines because those people know what's up. Unless you want something specifically from what I describe. Have fun!

First of all, everyone gets a free packet of Pocky at the door. If you get in early enough, there are Pocky displays inside which is a free for all and you can get as many packets as you want.

There's also a booth sampling Snapea Crisps.

Here are the ramen.

Tastunoya - when you walk in, it's the farthest left stall

thin noodles, creamy broth, pork has 80% fat

This has the best overall balance of everything, though I don't think it has the best in any category of meat, broth, or noodles. Probably my vote for second best broth.

Shin-Sen Gumi - from the popular LA based chain

Best broth.

Creamy broth with almost egg noodle-like noodles, thinly sliced pork, and pickled ginger. This also had a decent balance in terms of the 3 major items but is only a winner to me because of the broth. I'm not a fan of these noodles.

Kohmen - from Tokyo - farthest right stall

This one had the best soy marinated chashu, hands down. They give you two different types of meat. One which is a piece of lean pork that looks white in the photo. Another, which is buried under my broth, is a flavorful, thick cut of soy soaked chashu that is all lean, no fat. The noodles are the thicker, wavier kind you get from most ramen shops. There's also menma (bamboo shoots) in this too. If it wasn't for the broth, this one would have been my favorite because chashu is so important too.

Jinya Ramen Bar - From Tokyo and Los Angeles

Best spicy broth. Only 2 vendors were really serving spicy broths.

There's a gingery taste in the broth. Noodles come with cooked sprouts and woodear mushrooms. Meat is thinly sliced and so tender it's almost shredded.

After the top 4, I don't have any favorites so the rest are just random.

Chanpontei - From Shiga, Japan

This was really interesting to me. It's not the usual miso, shoyu, or tonkotsu broth. Chanpon broth is a hodge podge of pork and seafood. It often comes with this variety of veggies pictured. The noodles are also different. They are just the right amount of chewy. This is a good ramen for those who don't like the heavier broth and noodles.

Tsujita - From Tokyo and LA

This was the other spicy miso vendor. I did not like the spicy miso flavoring they used. It's that red paste. Maybe you can ask them to omit it if you want this ramen. There was something about it not to my liking. The cubed chashu was very good though. Probably the second best chashu.

Hiromaru - from Toyama, Japan and Las Vegas

This is the vendor known for fusion ramen. The broth here looked like milk. It tasted like lots of mushroom and umami though. Not bad. Very interesting. The noodles were just eh. Chashu was decent.

Men Oh - Tokushima and San Francisco

I thought this bowl was average in all categories of meat, broth, and noodles. Just average.

Keizo Shimamoto - New York

This vendor was supposed to do the ramen burger and they provided this bowl, which can only constitute a deconstructed ramen burger with tiny patty topped with a small slice of cheese. You're basically getting a broth-less, pan fried noodle with bacon bits. The bacon was great, the noodles were seasoned and cooked decently, the patty was just a patty, and you do get a handful of greens to balance. It's all the makings of a ramen burger, just in a different form. Not too shabby.

 Shoki Ramen House - From Sacramento

This vendor was supposed to do organic tomato ramen but today he brought a ramen burrito. It comes with ramen, lettuce, sprouts, menma, and your choice of vegetarian, vegan, or pastrami inside. Topped with a sesame dressing and tomatoes on top. I'm never a fan of fusion things like this. I don't enjoy cold dry noodles and pastrami in a cold and dry wrap. But, I ate this after 8 bowls of salty ramen and was really relieved for the tomatoes and lettuce. Kudos for the heirloom tomatoes though. They're great.