Yelp: Tenkaippin Ramen
[ Cross-posted from my yelp ]
Note this Review is for the 617 Kapahulu Ave location
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, 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 is 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...)
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