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
Noodle Theory
Looking for a quick bite for dinner in Rockridge, CA on Sunday night (February 26, 2012), a group of us decided to go to Noodle Theory. Everybody in the group had been there before so we knew we would be having some yummy noodles on a brisk night. Much like many other restaurants in the area, seating is limited due to the small size of the restaurant. Thus, rather than wait for a large enough table spot to open up, the five of us opted to take the bar/ledge spots.
While we considered the menu options, we got to munch on edamame topped with sesame seeds and sauce. After some discussion, my wife (Connie) and I selected the Grilled Niman Ranch Spicy Loin of Pork Ramen and the Grilled Niman Ranch Beef Udon respectively. Connie had recently undergone a tonsillectomy so her diet was still very limited to softer foods that were not very spicy. Connie’s spicy pork loin selection, served in a peanut lime cilantro broth, wasn’t exactly aligned with her prescribed diet but she was attempting to diversify her diet from the apple sauce, juice boxes, and bland soft foods that I had made over the last few days. In case her dish was too spicy, I chose the beef udon dish as a backup although I had a feeling that it may also be a little too spicy too since the beef udon was served in a coconut lime curry broth. There were other choices on the menu that probably would have been better aligned for Connie’s diet as a backup for her but the coconut curry was calling out to me.
Noodle Theory's edamame appetizer
Our dishes came out after a short wait and were as delicious as we expected. The broths all packed a lot of flavor. The meats were tender and the noodles in both dishes were nicely made and soft enough so Connie could eat them. However, our suspicions on the spiciness were confirmed as both dishes were just a touch too spicy for Connie’s recovering palate. On any other day, Connie would not have had any issues with the spices in the dishes and would have easily polished off her portion but instead I got to be the lucky recipient of the spicy pork, peanuts, and eventually her leftovers :).
Noodle Theory's grilled Niman Ranch beef udon in coconut lime curry broth (with some additional pieces of grilled Niman Ranch spicy pork loin and peanuts)
On a previous trip to Noodle Theory, I had tried the Slow Roasted Niman Ranch Pork Belly Ramen served in a savory pork miso broth. Comparisons between dishes are always a little like comparing apples and oranges since the ingredients are different. Hence rather than compare, I’ll provide my preference list for the 3 dishes that I’ve tried at Noodle Theory, which would be:
- Slow Roasted Niman Ranch Pork Belly Ramen
- Grilled Niman Ranch Spicy Loin of Pork Ramen
- Grilled Niman Ranch Beef Udon
Looking at my list and attempting to rationalize my choices, I think the reasons for my ranking preference are due to the meats and noodles in the dishes. The pork belly is just so soft and melts in your mouth, whereas the loin and beef require more chewing effort. Similarly, ramen is softer and easier to work with than the larger udon noodles. For me, I guess I would typically consider the protein the more differentiating factor so formulaically, protein > noodles. I don’t necessarily have a preference for the actual meat type (pork vs beef) but I think the cut can make quite a difference (eg belly vs loin). Also, the weighting gets fuzzy if I’m not feeling a big preference for one type of meat vs one type of noodles vs one type of broth.
Next time you’re in Rockridge and feeling like some noodles, check out Noodle Theory. All of the dishes pack a lot of flavor so you really cannot go wrong – it just really depends on what you’re feeling!
Noodle Theory
6099 Claremont Ave
Oakland, CA 94620
(510) 595-6988
Ramen Dojo
My wife and I met up with a friend and we decided to go to dinner at Ramen Dojo on 1/16/2012. We got to Ramen Dojo around 7:30pm which was prime dinner time. We put our names on the list knowing we had to wait a while (there were probably 20 odd people waiting outside). After a wait of about 30 minutes or so we were finally seated. We were actually lucky that we were able to be served – we ended up being the second to last group as they were running out of broth for the night.
Alas, the much coveted garlic pork broth was already sold out so we were given the choice of the soy sauce or miso based broths. My selection was the soy sauce based broth, spicy, with extra pork and I must say the food was tasty. The pork was nicely made and melted in the mouth, complementing the noodles. Perhaps it was due to it being the dregs of the broth, or just that it was soy sauce based, but I found the flavor of the broth a tad salty. Our group had an order of the miso based broth which was also quite tasty but a little different in texture vs the soy based broth in that the miso based broth was a little thicker.
A typical bowl at Ramen Dojo
All in all, delicious ramen especially on a chilly night like the one we were there on. Next time, I’ll be getting there earlier so I can try the coveted garlic pork broth . . .
Ramen Dojo
805 S B St
San Mateo, CA 94401
(650) 401-6568
Foodie Forays 