I’m back after trying out three more ramen joints in San Francisco to see if any of them could be the best ramen in town! They have stiff competition after Mensho Tokyo took the lead in Part 5. But the wars must go on, so I headed to Marufuku (touted as worth waiting for) and Nojo Ramen Tavern to see if they could come close. I also decided to try Yo-Kai Express, the new ramen vending machine in the Metreon. Did any of them manage to come out on top?
1. Yo-Kai Express
After I heard about the existence of a ramen vending machine, I knew I was going to have to give it a try for Ramen Wars. I had low expectations, but who knows? Perhaps the best ramen around actually could be something out of a vending machine. It’s pretty quick, and it was only around $12.00 for me to try the black garlic tonkotsu ramen, and I paid for my ramen and watched the countdown start. After about a minute, I had a piping hot bowl of ramen. But was it any good? It was surprisingly better than I expected. It was much saltier than a lot of the tonkotsu ramen bowls I’ve had, and perhaps that made it slightly better as it added a bit more flavor. However, it was also quite overboard on the salt. The noodles were actually perfectly cooked and still had a bit of a bite, and the chashu pork was soft and melted in the mouth. Sadly, there is no egg, so that’s a bit of a let down too. But overall, the ramen out of a vending machine definitely was better than some of the places in town I’ve been to.
2. Marufuku
Apparently Marufuku is one of the places in town that people say is worth waiting for, so I decided to head over to Japantown and be there slightly after they opened for lunch so I could get in quickly. It turns out that a person needs to be there even before that, as when I arrived, the place was full and there were already ten parties in front of me. You can put your name on a list and wander around (thankfully), so that’s what I did. When I finally got called, I headed in and tried the Hakata Tonkotsu with medium spice (since it was lunch and the deluxe with more pork and sweet corn seemed like overkill). At first the broth didn’t wow me very much and felt like I should have ordered it hotter, but it did grow on me slightly. The noodles were fantastic, but the pork was overcooked and chewy and not very pleasant. The egg was also cooked well, but really bland. So, after waiting over thirty minutes for a table, I left frustrated that the ramen was probably better than some places, but really not worth the wait.
3.Nojo Ramen Tavern
Last on my stop of Ramen joints was Nojo Ramen Tavern. They’re only open for dinner (from five p.m.), so I decided to get there around 5:30 in hopes there wouldn’t be a queue. While I got right in at the bar, the place was quite hopping for a weeknight, so I can see how this place could get quite busy. They focus primarily on chicken broths and ramen, and I was really torn at trying all of them, as they all are served with a different style of chicken. However, my love for spice won out, so I went for the chicken tan tan miso ramen (basically a tan tan men with chicken instead of pork). It was lacking an egg, so of course, that was also something I had to add. It did look amazing when it arrived, piled high with cilantro and fried gobo (which I thought tasted a bit like parsnips, but it is apparently burdock root, so that was a new one for me to eat, but delicious). The noodles were quite tasty with a nice bite. The broth was amazing and thick, and had a really strong chicken flavor. The egg was really well cooked, and had a surprising taste of smoke to it, as if they are lightly smoked afterwards, and I think it was a great addition to the egg. It was definitely a very enjoyable bowl of ramen (if slightly expensive at around $18 a bowl including the egg), so I’m sure I’ll be back to try the others as the chicken paitan soy sauce with a braised chicken leg looks absolutely fantastic.
Winner: Mensho Tokyo
While Nojo definitely had an amazing bowl of ramen, I do think that Mensho Tokyo had a slight edge with their thicker, more delicious broth. However, both Nojo and Mensho Tokyo do make absolutely fantastic ramen, so it was a tough choice. Both Marufuku and Yo-Kai Express fall further down the rankings as there are far better ways to satisfy your ramen craving in San Francisco than either of those two places.
Ranking:
1. Mensho Tokyo
2. Nojo Ramen Tavern
3. Iza Ramen
4. Kan Ramen
5. Slurp Ramen
6. Ippudo
7. The Ramen Bar
8. Ajisen Ramen
9. Marufuku
10. Ushio Ramen
11. Coco’s Ramen
12. Katana-Ya Ramen
13. R&B Cafe
14. Yo-Kai Express
15. Ramen Underground
16. Kiramachi Ramen
17. Orenchi Beyond
