Phenomenal and authentic tsukemen from very passionate people.I've been there both before and after the rebrand and both times it was exceptional, but I especially love the new flavor profile.The broth is a very rich tonkotsu gyokai made with a house blend of umami-rich dashi/fish powder (including some ingredients most ramen shops wouldn't bother trying to source). When I asked, the owner even brought out a dish of the powder for my coworkers to add to their tonkotsu. Thick and flavorful but still accessible even to someone who "doesn't like fish.The noodles were perfect - silky and springy with a little bit of bite to them. Some of the best noodles I've had in the US.Ajitama was as good as you can get, well flavored and perfectly jammy on the inside. Kikirage is always a good addition and I like the contrasting textures. The kakuni (stewed pork belly) was also excellent - sweet, savory, umami rich, and very soft. I loved the chashu there before, but it's a welcome replacement.Where the tsukemen really breaks from the norm is in the addition of the lime and arugula, which provides a nice accent and helps cut through the richness.They know what they're doing. Try it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
S. Nash
This tsukemen is recommended. The seafood and pork bone tsukemen reminds me of Japan. The thickness of the noodles is just right. At the end, they also give you soup stock.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Carmen Tan
The best ramen I’ve ever had was in S.Korea. It had a Seafood broth with some other meat (I didn’t pay attention at the time.) So when I learned of this restaurant by chance from a coworker, I decided to bring the family to try it out. Didn’t disappoint! My go-to broth is usually Tonkatsu but not anymore! I will definitely be back. TIP: Ask for extra broth.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tokusei Gyokai Paitan
Yuji Goto
I ordered salt ramen from the hidden menu. A clear soup. Adding shaved bonito flakes changes the taste and adds richness to the soup. Apparently they don't add it to the soup from the beginning because it is difficult to buy it stably. It's been a while since I spoke with Chef Saito, and he is a man who has dedicated his life to ramen, as if he was married to ramen. I think it's comparable to Ramen Hajime, so you should go while it's still free. It would be a waste for Japanese people not to support a talent like him, so let's go to Milpitas, which is an unassuming place in the Bay Area! Also, the Shaka beer you can drink here is a popular brewery currently owned by the Japanese owner Rika.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
David Vitt
Fantastic ramen, really enjoyed the Gyokai ramen. It had a depth of flavor that is really rare to come
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Karaage
Rie H
Parking: Ample parking but can get filled up during dinner hoursAtmosphere: The restaurant was really clean and has a cozy vibe. Staff are very friendly and attentive.Food: I had the normal tsukemen and karaage. The karaage was average in taste. A little on the bland side. The tsukemen was very good and flavourful however I wish the broth was a little bit more (temperature) hot. The chashu was a little on the fattier side than I would prefer. The noodles were cooked perfectly (al dente). After you finish all the noodles, they'll bring out soup stock that you can add to the broth to thin it out so you can drink the remainder of the soup.Would I go again? Yes, I would like to go again to try their other ramens and other appetizers.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Ian Chou
Tonkotsu ramen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: rich tonkotsu broth with decently chewy noodles. Actually get a whole softboiled egg which is a huge plus. Comes with chashu, veggies, and bamboo shoots. We upgraded to extra meat.Shoyu ramen ⭐️⭐️⭐️: really really light on soy sauce and found it overall a bit bland and watery. The toppings and noodles were still good as they were the same as above.Squid karaage ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: very crispy and comes with a mayo+eel sauce that pairs really nicely with the squid. Wish it had a tad bit more breading.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sang Lae Lee
I walked in for late lunch on Friday, ordered shoyu ramen with extra pork belly and squid karage. Squid karage was crispy and delicious. The $20 shoyu ramen soup was bland and absolutely tasteless. I was confused how the soup was so lacking in flavor. The whole bowl was 30% soup and 70% noodles. Soup was only covering half of the noodles. Noodles tasted RAW. You can imagine how fun it is to eat a bunch of raw noodles without enough soup, let alone any flavors. I have eaten in countless ramen shops all my life and this one is by far the worst tasting overpriced ramen ever. Very strange experience. I do not recommend this place.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
Jonathan Chiou
Service was quick and food tasted great! My tantan ramen had a rich, flavorable broth with lots of noodles.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
杰醬林
I really love the thin noodles they used, and the offer some appetizers like karaage, squid karaage and sake steamed clam.
You can small the soup base with strong fish flavors in, but very good match with noodle .Service is great , this girl smiling all the time .Only the Pumpkin appetizer I am not that enjoy because too soft for me .
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Alan Nguyen
Overall this is a good place to eat ramen. However I have a few things that I disliked about the place. Firstly, my ramen had soft boiled eggs and while they tasted fine, the insides of the eggs were cold while the broth was hot. This was the same as with the greens. The broth was not too salty as well. We ordered some sake with our meal and unfortunately they were out of the one we chose, however the very polite server asked us for our second choice of sake and that it would be free of charge alltogether. Food came quick and water was delivered without asking. The charsu pork was very delicious as well.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Ramen
Justin Lim
Tsukemen is fairly rare in the bay, as is really high quality tonkotsu broth. This place is the real deal on many levels, up to and including offering options for how to finish your remaining broth. Would highly recommend, this place needs more customers!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chashu Tsukemen
Jackie Hui
One of my go to places for some really good ramen! Their broths are extremely good! Though I tend to like the lighter broths, the heavy ones are really good too! Also their appetizers are great! Especially their squid karaage. Really is authentic Japanese ramen, a must try if you love ramen!
First time eating in the Bay area and was shocked by the prices. More shocking though was how good the ramen was.Got the TanTan ramen and it was flavor overload. Rich but not overly salty. A perfect balance between nutty umami and spicy. Makes me wonder if they're geniuses for thinking of it or I'm just uncultured for having never had TanTan ramen. They're not super showy with big bowls but I promise there's a good amount of food in the bowl.
Phenomenal and authentic tsukemen from very passionate people.I've been there both before and after the rebrand and both times it was exceptional, but I especially love the new flavor profile.The broth is a very rich tonkotsu gyokai made with a house blend of umami-rich dashi/fish powder (including some ingredients most ramen shops wouldn't bother trying to source). When I asked, the owner even brought out a dish of the powder for my coworkers to add to their tonkotsu. Thick and flavorful but still accessible even to someone who "doesn't like fish.The noodles were perfect - silky and springy with a little bit of bite to them. Some of the best noodles I've had in the US.Ajitama was as good as you can get, well flavored and perfectly jammy on the inside. Kikirage is always a good addition and I like the contrasting textures. The kakuni (stewed pork belly) was also excellent - sweet, savory, umami rich, and very soft. I loved the chashu there before, but it's a welcome replacement.Where the tsukemen really breaks from the norm is in the addition of the lime and arugula, which provides a nice accent and helps cut through the richness.They know what they're doing. Try it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This tsukemen is recommended. The seafood and pork bone tsukemen reminds me of Japan. The thickness of the noodles is just right. At the end, they also give you soup stock.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
The best ramen I’ve ever had was in S.Korea. It had a Seafood broth with some other meat (I didn’t pay attention at the time.) So when I learned of this restaurant by chance from a coworker, I decided to bring the family to try it out. Didn’t disappoint! My go-to broth is usually Tonkatsu but not anymore! I will definitely be back. TIP: Ask for extra broth.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tokusei Gyokai Paitan
I ordered salt ramen from the hidden menu. A clear soup. Adding shaved bonito flakes changes the taste and adds richness to the soup. Apparently they don't add it to the soup from the beginning because it is difficult to buy it stably. It's been a while since I spoke with Chef Saito, and he is a man who has dedicated his life to ramen, as if he was married to ramen. I think it's comparable to Ramen Hajime, so you should go while it's still free. It would be a waste for Japanese people not to support a talent like him, so let's go to Milpitas, which is an unassuming place in the Bay Area! Also, the Shaka beer you can drink here is a popular brewery currently owned by the Japanese owner Rika.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Fantastic ramen, really enjoyed the Gyokai ramen. It had a depth of flavor that is really rare to come
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Karaage
Parking: Ample parking but can get filled up during dinner hoursAtmosphere: The restaurant was really clean and has a cozy vibe. Staff are very friendly and attentive.Food: I had the normal tsukemen and karaage. The karaage was average in taste. A little on the bland side. The tsukemen was very good and flavourful however I wish the broth was a little bit more (temperature) hot. The chashu was a little on the fattier side than I would prefer. The noodles were cooked perfectly (al dente). After you finish all the noodles, they'll bring out soup stock that you can add to the broth to thin it out so you can drink the remainder of the soup.Would I go again? Yes, I would like to go again to try their other ramens and other appetizers.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Tonkotsu ramen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: rich tonkotsu broth with decently chewy noodles. Actually get a whole softboiled egg which is a huge plus. Comes with chashu, veggies, and bamboo shoots. We upgraded to extra meat.Shoyu ramen ⭐️⭐️⭐️: really really light on soy sauce and found it overall a bit bland and watery. The toppings and noodles were still good as they were the same as above.Squid karaage ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️: very crispy and comes with a mayo+eel sauce that pairs really nicely with the squid. Wish it had a tad bit more breading.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I walked in for late lunch on Friday, ordered shoyu ramen with extra pork belly and squid karage. Squid karage was crispy and delicious. The $20 shoyu ramen soup was bland and absolutely tasteless. I was confused how the soup was so lacking in flavor. The whole bowl was 30% soup and 70% noodles. Soup was only covering half of the noodles. Noodles tasted RAW. You can imagine how fun it is to eat a bunch of raw noodles without enough soup, let alone any flavors. I have eaten in countless ramen shops all my life and this one is by far the worst tasting overpriced ramen ever. Very strange experience. I do not recommend this place.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
Service was quick and food tasted great! My tantan ramen had a rich, flavorable broth with lots of noodles.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I really love the thin noodles they used, and the offer some appetizers like karaage, squid karaage and sake steamed clam.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
You can small the soup base with strong fish flavors in, but very good match with noodle .Service is great , this girl smiling all the time .Only the Pumpkin appetizer I am not that enjoy because too soft for me .
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Overall this is a good place to eat ramen. However I have a few things that I disliked about the place. Firstly, my ramen had soft boiled eggs and while they tasted fine, the insides of the eggs were cold while the broth was hot. This was the same as with the greens. The broth was not too salty as well. We ordered some sake with our meal and unfortunately they were out of the one we chose, however the very polite server asked us for our second choice of sake and that it would be free of charge alltogether. Food came quick and water was delivered without asking. The charsu pork was very delicious as well.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Ramen
Tsukemen is fairly rare in the bay, as is really high quality tonkotsu broth. This place is the real deal on many levels, up to and including offering options for how to finish your remaining broth. Would highly recommend, this place needs more customers!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chashu Tsukemen
One of my go to places for some really good ramen! Their broths are extremely good! Though I tend to like the lighter broths, the heavy ones are really good too! Also their appetizers are great! Especially their squid karaage. Really is authentic Japanese ramen, a must try if you love ramen!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Karaage, Squid, Ramen, Chashu Tsukemen
First time eating in the Bay area and was shocked by the prices. More shocking though was how good the ramen was.Got the TanTan ramen and it was flavor overload. Rich but not overly salty. A perfect balance between nutty umami and spicy. Makes me wonder if they're geniuses for thinking of it or I'm just uncultured for having never had TanTan ramen. They're not super showy with big bowls but I promise there's a good amount of food in the bowl.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5