Taishoken

Another rainy day means another perfect day for ramen. This past un-sunny Sunday while trying to complete Operation: Halloween Costume, we decided to go to Taishoken. When we walked in, the waiter was just finishing up cleaning off a table. It’s a good thing we arrived when we did since every other chair in the place was taken and there were people waiting for seats the rest the time that we were there. We also came right on time for the lunch hour specials that are available between 11:00 – 2:00. They also have happy hour from 2:00 - 6:00 and 9:00 - 10:00 where everything is 10% off. Our order took about 20 minutes to arrive which is unusually long for a ramenya, however there was only one waiter for the 20 or so people eating.

I had my usual, shoyu ramen ($7.50). The shoyu ramen had a strong menma flavor and was load with toppings: Charsiu, menma, green onions nori and fishcake. Where some places load on the topings at the expensive of the noodles, this was not the case at Taishoken. I didnt even come close to finishing all my noodles here because there were tons. I even got the regular size order, but there is an option to get a large. I can't image how many noodles you'd get in a large. I was very happy to have oodles of noodles since they are just soo yummy, likely my favorite part of Taishoken. The noodles were thicker than most ramen noodles but still nice and firm and stayed that way till my last bite.

After digging around in my ramen for a bit, I realized that they forgot to add my requested shoyu egg. When I finally got the attention of the waitor, he apologized and quickly deliverd my egg. Well worth the wait.

In addition to my ramen, I also got a mini charsiu rice ($2.50). Served in a little rice bowl, the charsiu was tender and flavorful but not overly salty. The rice was also flavored with the charsiu and sesame.

Since Eric had never tried tsukenmen before, he order the Pirikara (spicy) tsukenmen ($9.50). Furikake and nori dominated the soups flavor with a bit of spice. The soup was oilier than usual ramen broths and nicely coated the cold noodles when dipped. Eric also ordered the regular size which is good thing because he also got a big heaping searving of them.

My friend had a lunchtime combo special ($8.45) which is the same size as their normal combo just a dollar cheaper since its served at lunch time. He had a mini miso ramen that had a strong miso soup flavor. In addition to the ramen, he also had a chicken katsu and rice. The katsu was moiste and tender but unfortunaely there were only 3 pieces. He quickly finished his meal and moved on to my mini charsiu rice.

Despite the longer than usual wait, we throughoughly enjoyed are visit to Taishoken and left happily stuffed.

Taishoken Ramen

903 Keeaumoku St
Ste C101A
Honolulu, HI 96814

(808) 955-8860

Parking: Metered street parking, paid lot in the back
Payment: Cash Only
Alcohol: None
Not So Typical Options: Tsukemen
Hours: Mon: CLOSED
Tu - Sat: 11:00am - 10:00pm
Sun: 11:00am - 8:30pm