HiroNori Craft Ramen
Michelin Bib Gourmand winner, HiriNori serves a rich and smokey bowl of ramen at their busy Irvine location.
Tonkotsu Ramen + Egg
Ratings
Broth
Noodles
Chashu
Egg
Toppings
Overall
Date of Visit: February 2018
What I Ordered: Tonkotsu Ramen + Egg
Cost: $10.50 + $1.50 (Egg)
Offers Extra Noodles: $1.75
Offers Extra Broth: $6.50
Review
When you arrive at the door, there is a tablet that allows you to put yourself on the waitlist. The place has a line tonight, and there were probably people who left. I got seated a bit early. It’s cool because it sends you a text so you can see your current position in line. This place is right next to an awesome food court area with lots of little bites. I will definitely be in the area again. They say that their tonkotsu broth is boiled for 24 hours. I hope it lives up to this hype. They really advocate their ingredients. I am excited. The ramen choices are pretty limited, so I know exactly what I am getting. They also offer rice bowls. The restaurant is nice and cozy. There is a big bar table that can seat about 10 people. They stick multiple parties here. (Note: they have changed their table arrangement.) Then there are other two and four tops scattered across the restaurant. Pretty small but able to accommodate a large number of people. Nice.
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It has a nice Smokey flavor that was unexpected. But the broth is very rich and creamy. It is nice and well done, but is a bit on the salty side. I added the spice they offer to the broth and it adds a nice kick. It blends into the smokiness of the broth, but doesn’t add another flavor profile. It offers a spice that blends with the broth that you can add to taste. The spice does not make the broth significantly better or worse. It’s more of a preference.
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The noodles are nice and thick and very chewy. They are not light and springy like some places. They are not straight and have some curl to them. The flavor is good but does not stand out. These are very delicious noodles and remind me of noodles used for a rice based noodle stir fry dish. My only grievance is that they mix it in with the bean sprouts and I get an awkward crunch every so often.
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When you have two excellent singers, the chorus harmonizes. These two go well together. The noodles offer the bulk of the experience, and the broth gives a smokey salty kick. The creaminess of the broth is lost which is unfortunate as it is not super heart clogging thick. The noodles are great and the thickness and chewyness really make the experience.
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They give you a nice big piece of chashu on top of the bowl. It is soft and moist but has interesting flavor. It is very smoked, and for some reason I am detecting hints of coffee. I wonder what they use to smoke the chashu. It certainly has a unique flavor that I haven’t tasted before. I don’t know how to fully describe this.
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The egg is very soft and creamy and cooked just right. There is a nice medium boil on the edge of the yolk that moves to a creamy soft boil on the inside. The flavor is right on, and subtly blends with the broth. The only thing that can possibly be better is if it was served warm. It is served whole, uncut, so the center of the egg is a bit cold. If you cut it, then you can let it warm up in the broth. Fantastic egg, one of the best.
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The seaweed, spinach, and green onions were perfect with the bowl. The bean sprouts killed the experience and is holding back the potential of the bowl. I really don’t like them as they get in the way. But that is my option. It messes with the texture, mouth feel, and experience.
Overall: 8/10
Wow. This bowl is certainly a contender for one of the best of all time. Every single component of this bowl (except the bean sprouts) were nailed. The broth was prepared uniquely and fantastically, with a smokey flavor that I haven’t experienced elsewhere. The noodles were probably the best part of the trinity. They say they make their noodles fresh every morning and it shows. They remind me of rice noodles that are used in a fried noodle rice cake dish. They are thick so they don’t clump up, and are very chewy giving more firmness than most noodles. I like them a lot. The chashu threw me off a bit at first. I think I would prefer if they prepared pork belly traditional style, rather than one long strip. The strip falls apart in the bowl (which is guess is a good sign that it is very soft), but makes it hard to eat. More interestingly, it has a similar smokey taste, and seems to have a coffee rub or infused coffee smoke flavor to it. Very unique, but nothing phenomenal. The egg was fantastic on its own. Well cooked, flavored, and prepared. One of the best and just adds another treat to the bowl. Alas, in the end my experience was hampered by the bean sprouts disguising as noodles and the chashu falling apart into a bunch of small pieces. Every single part of this bowl was great. The ingredients are all fantastic on their own and harmonize together like a choir. However, as great as they all were, none of them really blew me back to orgasmic levels that would make me want to stand on the table and shout. This soup is like a king of all trades. Better than a jack, where it is great in all regards and fails in none.
Restaurant Info
Address
2222 Michelson Dr #234, Irvine, CA 92612
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