Jaiyen spa’s team recently had two birthdays in the family, and decided to have dinner at Ramen Gaijin to celebrate. There has been a lot of talk about “the best ramen in town”, so we decided to try it for ourselves. As soon as we walked through the door we could tell how tasty this dinner was going to be, the aroma of cooking pork, vegetables, ramen and so much more filled the air making your mouth water before even having a chance to look at the menu.
Once we checked in our group of seven was quickly seated and given service immediately, starting us off with our drinks. The server was on it, putting in and then coming back rather quickly to start the food order. From the alcoholic drinks to the non alcoholic drinks they were absolutely stunning, and full of flavor.
The most exciting drink was probably the Hitodama which is a house blend of aged rum, spirit works sloe gin, pomegranate, lime, bitters, nutmeg all served in a Dowlings ceramic bowl with flowers on top to give it that perfect presentation, the fun part about this drink is that when the server brings it out to you, they will light the center on fire, your drinking from a bowl on fire!
Appetizers
Shortly after receiving our drinks we were brought out our appetizers, not only having a beautiful presentation but also tasting delicious. We all were immensely happy with the crispy chicken, tasty ahi poke, and my personal favorite steamed bao.
The KaraAge is fried chicken thigh served with mustard greens and miso ranch on the side. They made this simple dish but into gourmet perfection. The chicken was fried to a beautiful crisp that you look for on the with the perfect golden brown look, with a bite of mustard greens and miso ranch, you can’t stop eating this dish once you start.
Their Ahi-Poke not only looked beautiful but tasted even better, containing line-caught ahi tuna, strong arm nori, dashi-gel avocado, chile shoyu, mustard greens and puffed rice. You can taste the freshness of their line caught tuna, with just the right amount of seasoning and sauce with the perfect crunch of the strong arm nori this dish will leave you wanting more.
The Steamed Bao was my personal favorite appetizer containing perfectly cooked pork belly chashu, sweet soy sauce, yuzu mayo, butter lettuce, pickle red onion, and sesame seeds. It’s the perfect balance of sweet and savory. You get a delicious bite of boa wrap filled with their perfectly cooked and seasoned pork belly with just the right amount of sweet soy sauce with their creamy yuzu mayo with the crisp red onion and lettuce. This dish will keep you coming back.
Dinner Time!!
Once the main course had arrived ramen bowls were across the table, we all had to try it for ourselves. We finally got a taste of ‘the best ramen in town’, the noodles were cooked to perfection with all the seasoning and flavors from each ingredient soaked up, you can choose from spicy or no spice depending on what your taste buds are craving.
There Shoyu Ramen is perfect if your not a big fan of spicy, served with rice noodles, pork belly chashu menma, woodear mushrooms, wakame shaved leeks, six minute egg all soaked in chicken and pork broth this bowl of ramen taste just a delicious as it looks. Their Spicy Tantanem uses sapporo noodle instead and is definitely the dish for you if you love spicy. Served with pork belly chashu, spicy ground pork, charred cabbage, woodear mushroom, scallions, mustard greens and a six minute egg in both dishes was cooked for just the right amount of time leaving the perfect amount of yolk to give you the flavor with each bite.
In both ramen dishes the pork belly was seasoned to seared to perfection with perfectly cooked vegetables to pull everything together, this bowl will leave you coming back time and time for the best ramen in town. Located in Sebastopol CA on Sebastopol Ave, Ramen Gaijin is definitely one you will have to add to the list of places to try. Grab a bite before or after your appointment at Jaiyen Spa!
Recent Comments