Eat ramen, look younger?
My sister heard that Yotteko-Ya in Honolulu was a great place to eat ramen, so a couple of days ago, my mom and I had lunch there to check it out. It absolutely did not disappoint.
interior Yotteko-Ya, all photos: Stefania Pomponi Butler
If I were to choose my number one favorite type of food in the whole world, it would have to be noodles, specifically noodles in soup. Vietnamese pho or duck noodles, Korean mul naeng myun (check out that photo) or spicy yu kae jang, Chinese pork and pickled vegetable noodle soup or dan dan mein, Indonesian lakhsas, and Japanese ramen, I love it all. But there is a special place in my heart for ramen.
When your favorite movie ever is Tampopo (a movie about the quest for the perfect bowl of ramen) you know it's an obsession, but hey, weird obsessions are what make me ME. I can't describe my undying love for a steamy, hot bowl of ramen, but my sister understands. She's my partner in noodle soup eating crime and, at least in the San Francisco area, we are constantly on the hunt for the best noodles. In a way I'm glad she wasn't with us on this visit because this ramen has ruined me for any other ramen.
What is lurking in that pretty blue bowl?
Yotteko-ya claims to be "rocketed from Kyoto," and that's not the only claim the restaurant makes about their ramen. Check out the cover of the menu:
Eat ramen and look younger? Okay! Would a bowl a ramen make my fine-lines disappear before BlogHer? I actually didn't need that enticement to tuck into a bowl of spicy yasai paitan ramen topped with stir-fried veggies, but I did make sure to eat my silky soup until the last drop. I slurped it all up, it was so delicious. Did I look younger? Was my skin firmer? Who cares! All I know is that my ramen was the bomb and that Yotteko-ya will be one of my first stops whenever I return to Honolulu. Wonder if they can rocket to San Francisco.
Come to mama.
I've never tried ramen noodles besides those 10 cent packs at the grocery store (which I still love). But those you ate look delish -- I would love to try some restaurant-quality ramen! I've never seen that on a menu before but will be on the look-out.
Posted by: Emily | July 12, 2008 at 09:54 AM
Do you have a japantown near you--or a japanese restaurant that you like? You can usu ask for recs. usually ramen restaurants only serve ramen so the hope is that they do one thing and do it right. Which is a very good thing.
Posted by: Stefania | July 12, 2008 at 09:57 AM
I have to agree--there's nothing better than noodle soup!
Posted by: Asianmommy | July 12, 2008 at 10:02 AM
See, we have Pho here, because of the huge Vietnamese population, but I have yet to find any other kind of good noodle soup. I miss the coasts for that reason alone. Our Asian food choices are not nearly as good here. I am now officially very hungry for noodles (and I just ate lunch)
Posted by: Amelia Sprout | July 12, 2008 at 10:37 AM
My family was lucky enough to live in Misawa, Japan for 4 years. Ramen is my favorite food but there is no where in Mississippi that has ramen that tastes like it did in Japan. They had homemade noodles and broth. The meat was cut paper thin. The veggies were fresh. It was so good, nothing can compare.
Posted by: Marsha | July 12, 2008 at 11:28 AM
My mouth is watering!! I remember hitting a ramen joint near Sunnyvale and it was the best bowl I've had to date. They served it with pa kimchi. So good...
Posted by: JAMom | July 12, 2008 at 12:37 PM
oh, wow. close to my dad's condo, too, I'll have to check it out next time I'm back.
Love Tampopo!
Posted by: naomi | July 12, 2008 at 12:40 PM
We're hitting the San Jose Obon Festival in about an hour to watch taiko. Wonder if there's any good ramen places there? If not, I'll have to console myself at Banana Crepe (Hawaiian shaved ice, red beans, ice cream)! It's not Hawaii, but I'll take it.
Posted by: Akemi | July 12, 2008 at 03:36 PM
i'm going to pop one of my ramen noodles-in-a-cup in the microwave right now!!
Posted by: mama's got moxie | July 12, 2008 at 07:52 PM
I'm so with you here. Tampopo is one of my top movies & I believe that's what started my love affair with ramen. Oh what I would do to have a steaming bowl of ramen right now !!
Posted by: Mei | July 13, 2008 at 12:54 AM
That last Ramen photo looks amazing.
If it wasn't 7:53 AM right now I'd venture outside to get some ramen of my own.
Naruto Ramen will be calling me alll day now. YUM!
Posted by: veep veep | July 13, 2008 at 05:01 AM
Delurking to say that I am totally with you on the ramen/noodle soup thing. Growing up with pho as a late breakfast staple I also absolutely love me a bowl of Shio Ramen or any ramen for that matter. Noodle soup is good morning, noon and night!
I have been reading your blog for over a year now and love it. Your food posts always inspire and make me drool.
Posted by: Quyen | July 13, 2008 at 06:20 AM
Seriously, why are you so cruel? All your food pictures are making me so hungry!!
Posted by: Nina | July 13, 2008 at 07:59 AM
I love any sort of noodles! Yummy!
Tampopo's availability on Netflix is "unknown". Are you hoarding their only copy??? :-)
Posted by: LizP | July 13, 2008 at 11:48 AM
Where in Portland??? Yummy photos.
Posted by: erin | July 13, 2008 at 09:21 PM
i love that stuff, next time i go to Oahu which should be soon, I'll have to go try that place out.
Posted by: sara | July 14, 2008 at 12:44 AM
Our first stop after landing is usually Sanoya for a bowl of wonton-min. YUM!
If you're ever in Cambridge, MA you'll have to check out the stalls at the Porter Exchanged. Really good ramen and udon!
Posted by: erin | July 14, 2008 at 06:15 AM
i'm a huge fan of maru ichi in downtown mountain view for their miso ramen. mmmmm. nothing can beat noodles and hot broth. pure comfort food!
Posted by: kat | July 14, 2008 at 10:13 AM
Oh, my. Drooooling on my mousepad! My daughter Liv (7) was looking over my shoulder and said "Can you make THAT?" I need to search the Charlotte NC area for a good ramen shop, or find a good, simple Japanese recipe book!
Posted by: Tracy | July 14, 2008 at 01:43 PM
If you haven't already tried it, you should check out Noodle Theory in Oakland (Claremont/College intersection). It's so yummy!
Posted by: Lisa | July 14, 2008 at 01:52 PM
Oh god,
num nummm!
Posted by: Krista | July 14, 2008 at 02:30 PM
It's a good thing that I'm going home to Hawaii in a week otherwise I would be losing my mind in search of good ramen!
Posted by: TJ | July 14, 2008 at 08:12 PM
TJ: you have to go to yotteko-ya. we went back again yest and i have to say: their garlic fried rice kicks ass too!
Posted by: Stefania | July 14, 2008 at 08:25 PM
I (finally) went there for dinner last night and now I want to go back today. Unbelievable. Paitan Chashu Ramen - the chashu was SICK. I could have easily had an entire second order! Thanks for the review because normally I loathe battling that parking lot.
Posted by: TJ | August 09, 2008 at 01:56 PM