Capping of a day’s hard work with a hot, delicious ramen is everyone’s hopes for a nice relaxing evening. Oyasumi, which means “goodnight” in Japanese is an aptly name for a quaint ramen bar in P. Guevarra, near Wilson St. in San Juan City. The area itself is becoming a food trip destination itself so feel free to roam around for other restaurants.
Feel and Ambience
Oyasumi Ramen is a different take on other ramen bars we have visited; one of the factors that differentiate this ramen resto from the others is the design and ambience of the place. Rather than trying to be authentic (with all the Japanese lanterns, samurai swords and bamboo accents); with Japanese style ambience, Oyasumi ramen is a more modern take for the younger people. It attracts the youthful and more ambitious crowd; although more mature residents around the area visits the food place for a quick fix of a hot ramen bowl.
Coupled with cold cement finish for the walls, dark-black metal accents, big glass windows for walls, and warm lighting with red highlights, Oyasumi ramen stands out as a hangout place for a younger generation to experience pairing a couple bottles of beer with ramen. A pairing Japanese people are accustomed too. Other than the fixtures; the music in the background is of contemporary Japanese songs, hip-hop music, and a mixture of both. If you have not been to Japan (like me); it gives of a feeling of being a enigmatic youth living in Tokyo, like the ones you see in the movies.
Orders
Me and my friend visited the place Friday. The place was quite packed and had no choice but to be sitted on the bar.
We ordered two ramen dishes.
First is the Kara Miso which is tonkatsu broth mixed with miso paste and momiji with sprinkled chili powder and additional chili powder on top to adjust hotness preference. It is topped with a huge cut of nori, chashu and aji tamago (egg). This is their take on the fan favorite spicy ramen, but unlike the Tantanmien ramen we are known to; the kara miso boasts of a cleaner taste and semi-clearer soup. It also has a more richer and tastier soup than the rest of their offerings. The noodles are very firm and tasty; unfortunately I was not happy with how their chashu faired. It was a bit tough as if it was cooked frozen. So far, it might be one of the worst chashu I’ve tasted so far.
Usually, you would be looking for a chashu that has fats that could just melt inside your mouth but this was not the case for the kara miso. If you are a fan of ramen eggs, then you’ll be happy to know that it is the complete opposite from chashu. The aji tamago is the best ramen egg I’ve ever tasted. It does not break off easily and the egg yolk tastes fresh and slimy just the way I like it! Spiciness level can be adjusted from 1 to 4.
Our second dish is the La Paz ramen. It is a take on the another favorite; but instead it is a Filipino classic melded into the Japanese staple. The description pronounces that it is influenced by the famous Filipino La Paz batchoy dish with a mix of traditional ramen flavors. Interestingly, the La Paz ramen is topped with pork blood, crunchy chicharon, and garlic flakes while maintaining a regular ramen flavor with tonkotsu broth, shoyu, spring onions, chashu, and aji tamago. Again, very disappointed with chashu slices, and very delighted with the aji tamago.
Pork blood was supposed to be a great add, but unlike the usual “betamax” we are used to, it was soft, no texture and did not produced a new flavor for the dish. The chicharon, on the other hand infused a refreshing texture to the ramen.
After hitting both ramen, our bellies were full and unable to continue but we just had to try their cheesy risotto. At 60php, (make sure you have left over ramen soup) the cheesy risotto is one hard hitting dish. Wee had some left over soup from our kara miso, so we asked the kitchen to turn it into another dish – Cheesy Risotto.
This dish will take you on a journey with the spiciness of the kara miso soup mixed with delightful cheesy goodness; plus some diced chashu to keep you biting for more. The mix of the southern Italian dish with Japanese flavor is a must try.
Other Offerings
The full menu is listed below.
If I would be back, I would love to to try their flavored noodles for 20php. Instead of using their normal ramen noodles. You may opt to have curry, squid ink, noodles or spicy noodles. I was quite disappointed that the servers did not offer this to us earlier. I would have tried a curry noodle with the Tomato ramen. Oh well…
Verdict
Check this place out! We recommend this place for after work dinner or drinks with your friends. It’s a cozy place to hangout but the problem lies with the parking space as you may find yourself trying to get somewhere you could place your vehicle. Another problem is going along P. Gueverra, make sure to look at the sides as you might easily miss the Oyasumi Ramen.
I strongly advise to come early, we came in around 6:30 but the place was already full and we were asked to be sitted at the bar where it was hot as hell! It was a great experience watching the cook prepare the dishes, blow torching chashu slice and pouring out the base of ramen dishes, but with one aircon supporting the small kitchen and the bar, comfort is sacrificed, and you may want to leave earlier than expected. For a more comfortable dining experience, better to ask to be sitted on the second floor.
For dishes, I strongly recommend to pick your favorite ramen. Then leave room for a mouthwatering fusion of cheesy risotto and Japanese ramen soup!
Oyasumi Ramen is located at 308 P. Guevarra St. corner Sea View St. Little Baguio, San Juan City. You may check out their facebook page here, and their instagram page here. They are open from 11am to 10pm everyday!
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