Episode 6: Taiyo Ramen

Episode 6

Taiyo Ramen

Location: 451 Piikoi Street

Hours: 10 am - 3 am

Welcome back to Ramen Hunters! This weeks adventure brought us to Taiyo Ramen, conveniently located right next to the mall in Ala Moana.  This establishment was originally on Ke'eamoku and Kapiolani but was forced to change locations when Nordstrom opened up.  We were extremely hungry for soup especially in the cold rainy weather but it was difficult to find a place that was open before 11.  Taiyo Ramen is one of the only shops that open at 10 am.  Plus they even close late at 3 am so if you're in need of a late night snack this is the perfect spot as well.  And we saw a lot of people doing take out if you're on the go! This small family based restaurant is known to many locals around Oahu and has excellent service.  Most of the time it's family members working front and back of the house and as a customer they make you feel very comfortable like you are family.  

Myself (Corisa) and ramen hunter, Takezo, have eaten at Taiyo before but have ordered smaller dishes such as chicken katsu curry or their fried rice.  Which by the way is excellent and delicious! But we never had the chance to try their ramen soup.  One of the pluses about this ramen shop is the wide variety of options they have; they offer over 16 different types of soup.  They have different soup bases you can choose from shio(salt), shoyu(soy sauce), miso, or curry base.  Believe it or not people also love to come here for their kimchi!  They are owned by a small korean family that has excellent homemade kimchi.  With every meal you receive a complimentary side of kimchi.

Taiyo Ramen is also known for their gyoza.  Their original homemade recipe is known around the island.  As we looked at surrounding tables we noticed many people ordered gyoza.  You can either order 4 or 6 pieces. Kei was so hungry he wanted two orders! But we decided on one 6 piece order because we knew the ramen was on its way.

Ramen hunter, Kei, ordered the butter ramen.  This comes as a shio based ramen topped with bean sprouts, pork, fishcake, green onion, and charsiu with a sliver of butter. Not too much butter but just the right amount to add extra flavor to the broth.  With the butter he didn't need to add shoyu or any other condiments. Kei was feeling a bit bitter with the bad weather, but after the BUTTER ramen he was feeling a lot BETTER!  

Takezo ordered the Mabo tofu ramen.  Mabo tofu is originally a Chinese dish that has a thick spicy chili black bean broth and can either be served over rice or over noodles with onions and bean sprouts.  You may also choose the level of spiciness you like. This ramen is jam packed with flavors and spice!  Since the broth is extra thick when served it was extra hot! Be careful Takezo almost burnt his tongue, but he couldn't wait to eat!  It was so good he barely spoke a word throughout the meal and ate every last noodle.  

I ordered the wonton ramen.  This is a shoyu based ramen that comes with charsiu, fishcake, green onions and sesame oil accompanied with 3 to 4 wontons.  Their homemade pork and shrimp based wontons are extremely appetizing.  I like to create a dipping sauce for my wontons with vinegar, shoyu, and some shichimi, a japanese spice.  The broth was very savory and felt very warming in my stomach on a cold day.   

Overall we enjoyed the family oriented environment and the wide variety of options we had.  Their prices were very reasonable too. The ramen plus the sides of kimchi and gyoza made the perfect meal! Thank you for following our adventures of the search for the best ramen tune in next time!

          



http://tim302.com/podcast/f2015/ramen/ep%206%20taiyo%20ramen.mp4


Rating: 
Soup: 3.75/5
Noodles: 3.5/5
Value: 4.5
Service: 4.5

Overall: 4.1/5