Kashiwa Ramen
A good place for ramen, but a better place for variety. Tonkotsu ramen may not be their headline specialty, but they offer a wide selection of variations on the classic bowl of noodles, including some very non traditional options.
Tonkotsu Ramen
Ratings
Broth
Noodles
Chashu
Egg
Toppings
Overall
Date of Visit: April 2022
What I Ordered: Normal ramen, Tonkotsu broth with pork, wavy firm noodles, with normal toppings
Cost: $12.00
Offers Extra Noodles: $2.00
Offers Extra Broth: $5.00
Review
You know that joke about how an instruction manual is too complicated if it comes with instructions on how to read the manual? That is what I think when I see a menu that comes with a “how to order”.
Despite the many customizations at Kashiwa Ramen, I ordered what equates to a Tonkotsu ramen with thick noodles.
The restaurant feature a small counter bar, and a good number of tables on the inside. Pick your noodle and soup combo, and order a few sides. Aside from the many ramen variations, the menu is pretty straightforward for sides and drinks.
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When ever a Tonkotsu broth is not listed first, it makes me think that it may not be the main focus of the restaurant. This broth is milky in appearance with small drops of oil on top. The flavor is medium with a very distinct flavor to the broth that I can’t pinpoint. Pretty good and unique flavor, but nothing spectacular.
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The noodles are nothing new, I am familiar with this type. They are a rich yellow in color, square in shape, medium in thickness and cooked firm like how I requested. While the texture is mostly decent, I think the quality of these noodles they use is mediocre. There is no characteristic flavor to them, and the texture will never beat a made in house noodle.
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Even though the noodles contribute no flavor. The broth carries hard. The flavors of the broth balance out when mated with the noodles, and the firm wavy texture of the noodle is such a good textural complement.
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The chashu included is three flat cut slices of pork belly. The flavor is light in smokiness and marinade, but rich in fatty natural pork flavor. In fact, the light seasoning let’s some natural sweetness shine through, which is quite tasty. The fatty parts are great, while some of the meatier parts border on dryness. However, this savory sweet flavor is really enticing to me, and I quite enjoy it.
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A half egg is served with the bowl. The yolk is visibly quite creamy, with a rich yellow color, and a consistent light brown color to the egg white. It is medium soft in texture, but the flavor has a sharp edge from the mirin marinade. I was not a fan of this lingering flavor in the egg.
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The toppings included in the bowl are simple, yet tasty. Just green onions and thinly sliced wood ear mushrooms. A healthy amount of wood ear mushrooms are provided, and are thinly sliced to about the same size as the noodles. Thankfully you can keep them in a corner to avoid becoming noodle imposters, but texturally compared to bean sprouts, I much prefer this crunch.
Overall: 8/10
I’d recommend it. It may be the case that Kashiwa specializes in a chicken ramen, not a Tonkotsu. However, my heart is loyal to Tonkotsu and that is what I’m here for. I think the overall bowl was pretty good. The broth has a medium comforting richness, with a unique flavor accent. It isn’t rich enough to make you feel like you need to be wheeled out of the restaurant, but still rich enough to confidently know you are eating a Tonkotsu ramen. The noodles are really nothing special, being common factory noodles. However, combined with the broth, they just seemed to work really well in such a way to enhance the experience that either on their own couldn’t provide. The chashu has a satisfying savory sweet flavor, that is less intense than a full on flavor bomb. However it does have hints of dry texture and corresponding flavor in the meaty parts. I didn’t like the lingering taste of mirin in the egg, and the toppings were minimalistic and complementary.
I do think the extensive menu is an interesting choice. Not only do they have chicken, Tonkotsu, and vegan ramens, they also offer tsukemen and apparently also a matcha tsukemen. Uhhhhhhh. Also, they have a poster on the wall for CBD ramen. Uhhhhhhhhhhhh.
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