Orenchi Ramen
Some friends have gushed about Orenchi Ramen. One has even said “I constantly dream about going to Orenchi for their ramen”. Thus, my wife and I had to go Orenchi Ramen to try it out for ourselves . . .
Since we don’t mosey down to the South Bay that often we took the opportunity to meet up with our friend Karen at her workplace and get a quick cursory tour of the Apple main campus before heading to Orenchi on June 13th, 2012. Knowing Orenchi can get extremely busy, we wanted to make sure we got there shortly after they opened for dinner service. We ended up getting there within the first 30 minutes since they had opened for dinner. Once at Orenchi, we put our names on the list and then waited for our friend Ed before we could get seated. As a slight aside, having heard all this talk about how great Orenchi is I don’t know that anything was said to us about its storefront. Some of the best restaurants have nondescript storefronts and I think Orenchi’s storefront, and even its location in an empty looking strip mall, falls into this category . . .
Orenchi is one of those establishments that does not seat parties until all members of a party are present. This practice is for efficiency purposes to get people in and out quickly. With limited seating, people taking up seats while waiting for others prevents patron turnover i.e. chowing down and then heading out. Thus, although sometimes a pain for diners, it is actually quite beneficial. Knowing this type of system is in place is key though – not only could a larger dining party send a person to put the party’s name on the list so others in the party don’t have to wait as long, but if going with a group of people hopefully everybody gets there around the same time otherwise you might be stuck waiting for others! Fortunately Ed arrived shortly after we did otherwise we were contemplating dropping our party size by one so we could start eating!
Orenchi does serve a few different things but since we were Orenchi virgins, we decided to go with their signature dish, the Orenchi Ramen, supplemented with a few appetizers. Our appetizers were the fried chicken dish, and fried calamari dish.
I love my fried chicken so I am picky when it comes to what I consider good fried chicken and I must say the fried chicken was delicious! The batter that Orenchi uses gives it a very light texture which you can definitely differentiate from the usual heavier batters that are used at many fried chicken establishments e.g. Bojangles, Kentucky Fried Chicken. The unique aspect of their batter, plus the chicken being perfectly done on the inside so the meat was still juicy and tender, gets my thumbs up recommendation.
The fried calamari was also a tasty treat to get our appetites going. Visually, one could tell the calamari was just lightly battered and then fried, which stays within the lines of Japanese cooking (much like the fried chicken), but I was not as impressed with the fried calamari dish. The calamari was nicely done though and at other places this fried calamari dish may have garnered higher praise but it could not compare with the fried chicken.
We didn’t have to wait long before our ramen bowls came out.
The pork broth itself was flavorful yet light. The broth was quite mild; I ended up seasoning my ramen with a little chili spice as can be seen in the picture above. The noodles used for the ramen were not the thick floury udon noodles but thinner egg noodles which readily absorbed the pork broth to provide additional flavor. If I were to change anything about my dish, I would say the meat:noodle proportion could be improved.
Another notable aspect was the the egg in the ramen. Sure, it might look like just another boiled egg but the looks are deceiving and you have to bite into it before you can get the egg-perience. Cutting/biting into the egg releases some yolk similar to a poached egg but yet the egg white remains firm – the experience is a soft-boiled (or medium-boiled) egg, as opposed to a hard-boiled egg where both egg white and egg yolk are firm. Orenchi definitely has their timing down and the egg just adds more to the dish. This Serious Eats Food Lab post has a great write-up on boiled eggs while another Serious Eats post has good info for those ramen-loving DIY-ers.
Comparisons between Orenchi Ramen and Ramen Dojo are inevitable. Both places have delicious ramen and each is unique in its own right. Overall, Orenchi’s ramen bowl was lighter than Ramen Dojo’s ramen which tasted much richer. If you like eggier noodles, Orenchi is the place to be. Orenchi’s meat portions are much skimpier though compared to Ramen Dojo, and that’s even with asking for extra meat. The eggs used are a little different but the soft-boiled eggs of Orenchi are fantastic. Of course, these observations and opinions are based on n=1 at each place so I will be heading back to these places to see if my opinions are replicated. Feel free to check out these places yourself and give me your opinion!
Orenchi Ramen
3540 Homestead Rd
Santa Clara, CA 95051
(408) 246-2955
Brown Sugar Kitchen
One of my favorite places to go in the San Francisco Bay Area for breakfast is Brown Sugar Kitchen. My most recent visit was for breakfast on 1/14/2012 with my wife and some friends. We got to BSK around 8:30am which was reasonable for a typical Saturday morning, but a little later than some of our previous visits. We put our names in and awaited a table, and for our friends to arrive. BSK is one of those establishments that will only seat your party if everybody is present which worked out great for us as we waited. We were seated after a short 15 minute wait.
Our friends were having breakfast for the first time at Brown Sugar Kitchen. As such, we decided to get an order of their freshly-made beignets as a starter. The beignets did not disappoint. It’s incredible how the fried goodness with powdered sugar tastes so light and airy.
An order of beignets is the best way to start your BSK experience
Why do I love Brown Sugar Kitchen so much? In my opinion, their fried chicken and waffles dish is amazing! I would probably even go as far as to say it is the best one in the Bay Area. Some Bay Area folks rave about a similar dish at 900 Grayson but, after doing a taste test tour one weekend of both establishments, my preference is Brown Sugar Kitchen.
For breakfast, three quarters of our table chose to have BSK’s most popular dish – buttermilk fried chicken and cornmeal waffles, with brown sugar butter and apple cider syrup. Once again, the food did not disappoint once we were served. The fried chicken was moist and I could not get enough of the delectable goodness atop buttered waffle pieces drizzled with syrup.
Buttermilk fried chicken and cornmeal waffles - a perfect breakfast
Melting brown sugar butter on cornmeal waffles makes your mouth water
What can I say but yet another great breakfast at Brown Sugar Kitchen – a perfect way to start off a weekend in the Bay Area. Like many other ambrosial breakfast eateries, you’ll want to get there earlier to avoid the longer wait times.
Brown Sugar Kitchen
2534 Mandela Parkway
Oakland, CA 94607
(510) 839-7685
Foodie Forays 