The Food That Made Me

Kids, find a good restaurant that you guys want to go back to 100s of times. Mine is called Ramen Nagi. Ok, in my old age, I can hit that number. But if COVID hadn’t happened, I would have probably hit that number already. I have been there for birthdays, anniversaries, celebrations, with family, and with friends. Never misses.

Food in the Bay is expensive, the service at most restaurants is subpar, and the food is often inconsistent. (I’m pretty sure that is relatable in most places.) But maybe things would have changed by the time you guys get older.

Here is my elevator pitch:

1. People should be able to access cheap food that isn’t fast food.
2. Service employees should be happy to see customers. If not, I could be served by a robot.
3. Restaurants should be able to cook consistently and well. I don’t need to pay someone to overcook my meat and veggies. I can do that myself.
4. Restaurants should treat the business as a craft. Food takes months to grow, travels thousands of miles, and dies for you. Show it some respect and cook it well.

Every time I go to Ramen Nagi, there is a wait time. It does not matter if you go there before it opens or after it opens. If you get there before it opens, you may wait 30 minutes to 1 hour. Arrive after it opens, and you must wait 1 – 1.5 hours. Weekdays have better wait times. The lines are clearly marked; they even have large umbrellas for you on a sunny day. Before COVID, the line could be a couple of blocks long until closing. Now, the line is usually only one block long, which is excellent for being open for five years. Hm. Should I get some merch? Am I a fanboy?

I am usually one of the first people in line at the Palo Alto location. I like to drink a boba while waiting, call a friend, or read a book. It is generally a delightful time. Around ten minutes before opening, an employee hands out sheets that you mark on to select the type of broth, meat, veggie, and noodle, strength of flavor, level of oil and spiciness, amount of garlic, noodle firmness, and additional toppings such as a soft-boiled egg. Oh, I wish I could order all my food with such specificity. But that is only somewhat in my dreams. The ability to do so would allow folks to become more attuned with their food and understand their preferences better.

Friends and family usually show up after I finish circling the order sheets with a marker. Yeah. Generally, I would be holding space for 2-5 other people. Hey. No judgement. Would you rather listen to a screaming baby for an hour? I rest my case. But my friends and family usually clutch and come in the last few minutes before opening. It would usually raise my blood pressure because they open on time, and the whole party has to be there before they will seat you.

Once you step inside, the magic continues. The restaurant has red banners and square wooden tables that are very strategically placed to be compact, but it doesn’t make you feel like you are suffering. A patient and happy employee asks if it is your first time there, and if so, they show you a menu and are ready to explain the four kings: red king, original, green, black, and limited king. Each bowl has tonkotsu pork broth, thin wood ear mushroom, veggies, meat, and noodles. The red king has a spicy broth with a miso-infused ground meatball. The green king has basil, olive oil, and parmesan…. I’m not the biggest fan. The black king has a squid ink broth with black garlic, and its meatball has black sesame.

Here you can look at the menu to see how beautiful everything is.

After being escorted to the table, you should have your order ready in your hand. The employee gathers the orders and marks on the sheets where every order should go, so when it arrives, they know where all of the bowls will go.

There are bean sprouts with sesame seed oil and sesame seeds at the table. It is hard to find an appetizer as simple and as tasty. Gosh. The sesame oil makes it taste and smell delicious. And, the blanched bean sprout is still crunchy.

The first time I went, I ordered the original king. I selected normal salt, normal oil, extra heavy garlic, chashu, green onions, spicy level 3, firm, thick noodles, and a soft-boiled egg, all in a tonkotsu broth. The smell of tonkotsu captivates you. The first sip of soup was just perfection. To achieve such a rich flavor, Ramen broth takes a couple of days of cooking pork bones at a low rolling boil. The noodles were perfectly al dente. The care they take to cook the noodles to my liking is beautiful and shows their attention to detail. The chashu was tender and also fatty. The fried garlic adds the perfect crunch. The soft-boiled egg yolk tastes custardy and jammy, an excellent addition when a change in texture and flavor is needed. I always get chashu because it was overcooked the couple of times I have gotten their pork belly. It was alright to be put in rice with a sauce, but it didn’t work with ramen. And, I would get the lightest salt and oil to drink all of the broth.

The gyozas and chicken karaage are other appetizers you can get. The gyozas have a skirt, meaning it has a crunchy web connecting all of them. It is made by putting a little bit of flour and water mixture around the pan and covering the pan for a bit. The result is the crispiest little web bits. The chicken karaage is sometimes cooked well, but sometimes it is overcooked. Everyone has to take a piece and eat it right away. Don’t eat multiple pieces because you will be too full to eat the ramen.

The limited king. I learned a few months ago that I have become technologically inadequate. After five years of asking when the limited king would be available, an employee finally told me to be on the lookout on Instagram, which made me feel like a grandpa. In my mind, I crawled into a fetal position out of desperation and embarrassment. I am officially out of touch, and it is hindering my lifestyle. Duh. I followed them when I got home. A few weeks later, it happened, the limited crab king. It was only available for a week, and we went with friends on the sixth day. It was glorious. There were fried soft shell crab legs with a crab broth. Tears that I missed the garlic, pumpkin, truffle, curry, lamb, shrimp, fish, etc. I just read on their website that they have over 1,000 limited kings, which makes me sad, and also boggles my mind about how that is even possible.

Ok, here is my rating of the kings:

The green king is meh. The flavor profile doesn’t work as well for my taste buds.

The red king is a little too spicy and heavy for me these days. I have passed my 20s and have had a change in my palate. The era of eating extremely strong flavors and stuffing myself has passed. No longer do I long to finish every last drop of delicious liquid. I learned that high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease will catch up to me sooner rather than later.

The black king is always good. My taste buds are not as sensitive as others. So, it just tastes like normal broth to me, with just a little more richness to the broth.

Nowadays, I either stick with my original king or I get the veggie king if I want something lighter. It has two pieces of hashbrowns that are fried very well. But, I ask for them on the side because their crunchiness gets lost once dipped into the soup. You will get more control and retain the crunchiness.

I think what continually brings me back is the price, consistency, and service. $13.50 before taxes and tip is a price that is hard to beat in the Bay. I guess that a burrito is the same price. Service is always stellar. The service and food quality are always consistent.

Ok, here is the craziest thing. Initially, there was no takeout because they said it alters the flavors and isn’t as good. You can now bring leftovers home, though. I’m happy not to waste food, but I feel resentment as I eat the tough and rough chicken karaage the next day.

If it is still there in my old age, I hope to continue visiting it. Because I can always trust its price, service, consistency, and craft.