Ajisen could be better

"Naga Naga Ramen. It's like doing something you know is going to hurt, but you do it anyways."

Seems awfully true.   A lot of upstart restaurants have been popping up due to the ramen craze but it's difficult to know if they know what they're really doing and how long they've been serving up the stuff.   Some restaurants entice customers by saying they have been serving ramen since some random number, but what does that mean?  7-Eleven has been around for a very long time and it doesn't make their nachos the greatest.   Some other restaurants point out they have locations in their native country.  Does this make them more authentic?   Ajisen Ramen for example say they have ramen restaurants in Japan.  But we also have Pizza Hut here and I can safely say Pizza Hut in Hong Kong tastes terrible.  Restaurant claims definitely need to be taken with a grain of salt.

We tried this Naga Naga (which to my surprise doesn't have a nifty company website yet) because I was curious and because several people said it was good.   I had read some favorable reviews but really ... any ramen at a restaurant should [technically] taste better than home-cooked Maruchan.  For more than $5, a restaurant version of microwaveable noodles should taste better than something you can purchase for 99 cents at the grocers. With that said, I suppose the degree of deliciousness in a bowl of ramen is also dependent on how often an individual eats it and how adventurous they are to try different style broths as well as different restaurants - as every restaurant has their own unique way of creating a bowl of ramen.



The interior of the Pasadena branch does have an entertaining fish tank to look at, though the fish in particular is nothing special.  It is not a saltwater tank like other restaurants have to ooo and ahh their customers with.  This is just a plain ol' freshwater tank of [mostly African] cichlids swimming around a central rock piece supported by pvc pipes.  Cichlids.  The fish you can get at various PetSmarts.  Still, I was fascinated by the enormous tank.  My zookeeper wasn't.



My zookeeper ordered  a naga ramen bowl with tonkotsu broth while mine was a shoyu broth.  The broth in both dishes were relatively bland and the tonkotsu broth tasted light.  The tonkotsu lacked depth and that oily/greasy sensation you'd get at more notable establishments.  The shoyu broth on the other hand was similar to drinking water with a dash of soy sauce.



The tea egg in the bowl of ramen was over-boiled so the outer portion (where the whites are) was chewy and the yolk portion was powdery.  Places like Daikoku-ya boil their eggs just right so that the eggs aren't chewy/rubbery and the yolk is milky (sort of like a borderline boiled egg/egg benedict texture).

After awhile, our appetizer finally arrives.  I ordered the Naga Naga tofu because I tofu is my favorite dish.  Somehow, the restaurant managed to mess this one up too.  How can you mess up tofu?  The zookeeper took one bite and waved the white flag.  Defeated, I was the only one left to tackle this yellow demon.  The tofu appetizer was so unappealing and yet it was tormenting having to eat through it all because:

• I ordered it, can't let it go to waste.


• It was enough to feed four.

It was basically the cheap fried tofu packs that can be found in Asian supermarkets fried in egg, topped with bonito flakes, and served with a side bowl of soy sauce.   Yuck!  I was hoping it'd taste like agedashi tofu.  I was so wrong.

Price - It's affordable but not as affordable as that better alternative:  McDonald's Extra Value Menu.

Atmosphere - The chairs and tables reminded me of an upscale adult cafeteria.  The enormous fish tank was pretty to look at.

Nutritional value - High in sodium like all the other ramen places

Deliciousness - Maybe it'll taste better with lots of beer.

Appeal - The zookeeper left with a sour note and I left as a sad panda.  Money is better spent at a real ramen restaurant.




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