Huntington Ramen & Sushi
A bowl with excessive sweetness and unique taste, partnered with an abysmal parking situation.
HB Tonkotsu
Ratings
Broth
Noodles
Chashu
Egg
Toppings
Overall
Date of Visit: March 2018
What I Ordered: HB Tonkotsu (No Black Garlic Oil) + Thick Noodles
Cost: $10.95 + $1.50 (Extra Noodles)
Offers Extra Noodles: $1.50
Offers Extra Broth: $2.00
Review
I’ve got to say, out of all the ramen places I have been to, this has got to have one of the worst parking situations. The parking here is absolute trash. Half of the parking spots are “this location only” type spots. Even if most of them are empty, every place needs to have their designated spots. Then they have these crappy spots across on the other side that are naturally going to be full. All of this crammed into this tiny parking lot. I was very tempted to just straight up leave.
-
The broth is creamy and flavorful. The thing that sticks out right away to me is the fact that the broth has a unique taste that isn’t the same as normal tonkotsu broth. It is creamy and has the right consistency, but I think what is missing is the pork taste. Regardless, it is a good broth.
-
The thin noodles are very thin, and don’t really seem like ramen noodles. They have the texture of angel hair pasta, and since they are so thin, they feel as if they are slightly over cooked and not firm. They also don’t taste the same as most ramen noodles. Thick noodles: 6.5/10. I also ordered the thicker noodles on the side, and they aren’t necessarily thicker. They are chewier, but not wider in diameter. They seem to be more along the lines of ramen noodles in terms of the flavor, crimp, and chew. So I would say that they are ever so slightly better than the thin noodles, but still offers nothing special.
-
The noodles and broth are tasty, that I must admit. But what confuses me is that both the broth and noodles have a flavor that is different than what I have come to expect. Certainly it is possible that they use their own unique recipes with unique ingredients. I think what is missing here for me is the pork flavor. Both the noodles and broth have decent flavor, but I think it is missing that certain profile that says that it is a pork based soup.
-
The chashu tastes as if it is actually marinated with a sweet teriyaki marinade. I can’t tell exactly what cut of pork it is, but the sweetness of the marinade definitely way overpowers the flavor of anything else including the broth, or the pork. It isn’t necessarily a melt in your mouth texture either.
-
The egg was sweet. The egg was sweet? Why is it sweet. This seems to be marinated in the same sweet glaze that the chashu is. This sweetness does not sit well in a bowl of ramen for me. Ramen is supposed to be savory, not sweet. It is cooked fine, but the flavor is very distracting to me.
-
This place provides a healthy amount of toppings. They are traditional and as expected. Nothing special or noteworthy.
Overall: 6.5/10
I would not recommend this place. First thing on my mind is that the parking for this location is absolute trash. However, that is no indicator of the quality of the food. Focusing purely on the bowl of ramen, I would still not recommend. The biggest flaws and mysteries with this bowl is the fact that they marinate their chashu and egg in this sweet teriyaki-like glaze that just adds a sweetness that is not welcome. It isn’t subtle either, this sweetness will overpower anything that it is paired with. The noodles were nothing special and could have been better. The thin noodles seemed like they belonged in the wrong bowl of soup. The thick noodles were better, but even then didn’t have much flavor to them. The broth was the biggest curiosity. It was creamy and had decent flavor, but the flavor did not speak the language of pork broth. I am not sure what makes this broth different, but it does taste different than others. Unfortunately I don’t have the words to fully describe this difference. In the end, despite the unique characteristics of the bowl, it is not noteworthy in terms of recommending the location. In comparison, there is Kopan Ramen around the corner from this location that literally does everything better, for cheaper. And it has better parking.
Restaurant Info
Address
1325 E Chapman Ave, Fullerton, CA 92831
Read Eat More Ramen
