Eric S.'s Profile

Months after the 'coming soon' signs went up, after peering in the windows every couple of weeks to check on the progress, after railing against those FTR-hoes who put up three star reviews before tasting a drop of broth, Ramen Club finally opened on April 20th. After two visits in two weeks, I have to agree with the other yelpers who've dissed nearly every aspect of the operation. The dry-erase menus (which did not make an appearance on my second visit) didn't help them get the order right. The extras we ordered didn't bear any relation to what showed up in the bowls. The broths were only tepidly warm and not very flavorful. The addition of katsu in the soup did not do it any good. The 'kuro' had only a glop of toasted garlic pieces and not the layer of deliciousness I was hoping for. The noodles, while decent, were nothing to crow over.

Overall, even though I work only a few blocks away and, as a non-driver, the convenience is quite appealing, Ramen Club will be more of a 'ramen of last resort' than any place I'm going to seek out.

Maru Ichi's got nothing to fear.

Note this Review is for a different location - 617 Kapahulu Ave

I picked Tenka-ippin for my next stop on the Honolulu Ramen tour because it is colocated with a Kozo sushi, so my non-ramen-eating wife could eat too.  Apparently the Kapahulu corridor is a hotbed of ramen activity so there are other choices a short walk away, but the alluring poster-size shot of their signature Kotteri ramen facing the street and the inviting yellow walls would probably have drawn me in regardless. At any rate I'm very glad I tried it!

The place is small, clean and dominated by the counter down the middle of the restaurant. There are three 4-person tables on the left side but (like most ramen shops) this would not be a good place for a large party.  The company-issue posters are all in Japanese but on one wall there are pictures of the owner with various Sumotori and celebrities.

I started to order my usual Miso ramen but the waitress convinced me that the Kotteri was what I really wanted, so I acquiesced. There was almost nobody else in the shop so the bowl came out quickly and from the first slurp of the broth I knew I was in for a treat.  As others have noted the Kotteri soup is thick and creamy. Perhaps the yelper who noted an unpleasant powdery taste got a freak bowl-- all I know is that mine had a deep, delicious flavor to it that I couldn't stop slurping.

Once I got into the bowl, I found the noodles were perfectly done, the chashu slices large and tender, the bamboo shoots were crisp and there was a giant pile of fresh green onions on top. The waitress also supplied a soy sauce bottle labelled 'kotteri' on top, which she said was a Japanese mixture of shoyu and pork flavor.   What more could a noodle hound ask for?  

(Maybe a little larger bowl, and maybe some spinach or tamago, but griping about it would be manini grumbles...)

I love Mediterraneo and have been going there since shortly after they opened.  Tucked away on King Street, between dry cleaners and random appliance stores, the parking lot is easy to miss (it's immediately past the restaurant through an alley) as soon as you step inside, the hand-blown bottles arrayed around the small room and smell of garlic wafting from the back instantly transport you to an Italian state of mind.  

As others have noted, the appetizers are delicious, and the gnocci are indeed excellent, but for me the defining dish here is the Amatriciana - even the sound of it rolls out of the mouth promising delight with every syllable - Ah mah TREE Chi Ah Na!  I am working myself into a salivating frenzy just recalling the last bowl of it I devoured - it's a hearty tomato-based sauce with a deep smoky taste imparted by small, thick squares of high-grade bacon.  As with all Mediterraneo's pasta dishes, you can have your choice of noodles from thin (capellini) to thick (linguini), all fresh and perfectly cooked until just beyond al-dente.   I choose the linguini (to not get overpowered by the sauce), mix some fresh parmesan in and dig in.

The owner is often present and always waves goodbye to you with a "ciao bella". Just a great, one-of-a-kind place that I hope stays in business forever.

Returning to my hometown of Honolulu with a new taste for ramen (developed in the SF Bay area), I was determined to hit some of the ramen-ya that has always been here but I hadn't appreciated before. Thus, my visit to Yotteko-ya was sort of like discovering a longtime girlfriend led a previous life as a lion tamer. I was a frequent visitor to Mccully Center in the past, for both the now-defunct Italian joint on the second floor and the awesomely-named Fook Yuen chinese place downstairs, but I'd never even noticed, let alone eaten in, the tiny ramen shop on the `ewa end of the upper deck.

Prepped by other yelpers' comments that the place gets busy for lunch, we arrived about 11:30 and were seated immediately. I ordered gyoza, a small chashu bowl for the three-year-old, and the house special "Paitan" style ramen for both adults. The delicious chashu came out immediately -- "rocketed from Kyoto" indeed! -- and our bowls and gyoza appeared not long after. Very nice presentation, good temperature on the broth and my first chomp of the ('japanese style' as they say on the menu) noodles brought my eyes rolling skyward with delight.  

After ladling out some soup into the cute Hello Kitty bowl the waitress brought (unasked-for! Bonus points) for Gunnar, I got down to the business at hand: devouring the thick, chewy noodles and deep, well-balanced broth in equal measure. I punctuated the slurping with a nibble of the bowl's five chashu slices, which were sweet and delicate but smaller 2" ovals rather than the sandwich-sized slabs I've grown used to from my local haunt, Maru Ichi in Mountain View CA. The bamboo was crisp and cool and made a nice counterpoint to the broth.

We made our way down to the bottom of our bowls; Gunnar polished off his chashu and kept asking for more of my soup. The gyoza were decent but not spectacular.  

I'd really love a bowl with this broth topped with the kakuni pork and more vegetables; perhaps they'd make that if I asked. My ramen-eating time is limited and there are lots of other places to try, but Yotteko-ya was superb; good enough to try to make it back before I have to leave Honolulu again, and its secret ramen history with it.