Ramen!
A new ramen place opened up recently so Eric and I decided to go check it out! Even though I'm sure it won't compare to what we will eat in Japan, it seemed like a good prelude for our trip.
The space itself at Ooink is pretty small so it smells delicious as soon as you walk in. The menu is to the point: there's a selection of ramens to choose from, topping options, and gyoza as an appetizer. Eric got the spicy kotteri ramen, which has garlic chips and black garlic oil. I got the shoyu ramen, no extras. Almost all of their ramens pork based broths, with the exception of the miso ramen which is vegetarian friendly.
I don't normally like shoyu ramen as most of the ones I've had in the states taste like soy sauce and the soup base gets completely lost. Ooink's shoyu ramen was delicious and what ramen should be. You can taste the porky broth, but it wasn't too rich or fatty, and the shoyu added a nice flavor that highlighted the pork broth instead of taking it over. The chashu was lean but not dry and the other bamboo and egg were all flavorful as well.
Eric's spicy kotteri was not quite as good, the chili oil tasted like Szechuan mala chilis and so it was hard to taste anything else after a few sips. We will definitely go back to Ooink to try their regular kotteri ramen though! If you go, don't forget to order a side of their corn butter, made in house!
Eric's spicy kotteri ramen
