Mikazuki Noodle Shop - Shirokiya, Ala Moana Center

Since I haven't had ramen in more than a week and I was going to Ala Moana to get my nails done anyway, I decided to try Mikazuki Noodle Shop in Shirokiya. With all the yummy food at Shirokiya, its difficult not to get distracted by other tasty treats as you make your way to the noodle shop located by the buffet area of the store. The shop offers a variety of ramen and udon choices and accepts credit/debit cards which is an added bonus. We ordered our ramen at the noodle stand and then got into the buffet line to pay and get drinks. By the time we finished paying, our noodles were ready to be picked up. Luckily, we were eating at 3pm and found a seat right away. However, if you come at a normal meal time, be prepared to wait a while and be ready to run for a table as soon as someone shows signs of leaving.

A little on the hungry side, I didn't take time to study the menu and just ordered the Tokyo Shoyu Ramen ($5.95). It was actually the boiled egg in the picture of the shoyu ramen that got me.

The simple shoyu base was mild and overpowed by the menma. I got to a point where I decided to take all the memna out of the bowl because it was too much. The boiled egg was just plain and unseasoned and the noodles were thin and a little too mushy for my liking. After I order, I saw that they also offered a selection of mini-sized ramen, but I'm glad that I ordered the regular size which seemed a bit mini itself. Best part of the ramen was the charsiu which was sooo tender and moist.

Eric order the kimchee ramen ($7.45) and added wakame. His bowl had a serving of kimchee right on top which added some extra spice and crunch. The broth was very similar to my shoyu broth, with kimchee on top and also some added dried chilli pepper that came with our ramen.

For being "fast food" ramen, Mikazuki Noodle Shop was decent with reasonable prices, but I'd probably not fight to get a table to eat here.

Mikazuki Noodles Shop
Shirokiya - Ala Moana Center
1450 Ala Moana Blvd., #2250
Honolulu, HI 96814
(808)973-9111
http://www.shirokiya.com/cart/shopcore/?db_name=shirokiya

Parking: Ala Moana Parking
Payment: Cash & Debit/Credit Card
Alcohol: None

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

Taiyo Ramen

After spending too much time today browsing through Japanese ramen websites translated by the great google, I had to eat some ramen. I couldn't decide which ramenya to go to, so we ended up going to the first ramen shop we saw, Taiyo Ramen.

Located on the edge of Ala Moana Shopping Center, Taiyo ramen is part of a mini strip mall, that like its neighbor, has a packed parking lot at peak hours. Luckily, we found a spot right away, but many cars were circling the lot after a while. Korean owned and operated, Taiyo ramen's menu presents all the usual dishes you'd expect to see at a ramen shop with a Korea influence. Service was fast and our food arrived at our table just 5 minutes after we ordered.

Each table gets a tiny (size of a sauce dish) but tasty dish of kimchee with their order. The kimchee is crunchy and flavorful, but not overpowering with just a small spicy kick.

Since Taiyo Ramen is not the typical ramen shop, I decided to try something other than my usual Shoyu ramen. I order the Seafood Ramen - SPICY ($8.75). My ramen was loaded with toppings: cabbage, seaweed, green onions, carrots and a generous amount of seafood (squid, clams and shimp). The ramen was HUGE and the taste resembled the Korea ramen-like dish Champon/jjamppon. The seafood was the main flavor in the both and I asked for my ramen to be spicy, however there was not much kick to it.

Since my friend decided he didn't want to chance ruining his shirt with ramen-slurping splatter, he order the chicken katsu curry ($8.95). The curry had big chucks of onion and carrots and tasted like a typical Japanese curry, however it had a little spice and little less sweetness. The katsu was was juicy and still cruchy even though it was smothered in the curry.

With its quick service, big servings and Korean-hinted menu, Taiyo ramen was a nice change to my usual ramen eating.

Taiyo Ramen

451 Piikoi St, Ste 105
Honolulu, HI 96814

(808) 589-2123

Parking: Lot in front of restaurant
Payment: Cash Only
Alcohol: None
Not So Typical Options: Kimchee Frid Rice