Steaming hot ramen on cold rainy days hit the spot! We stumbled across the newly opened Onoya Ramen in Kapahulu next to Kapahulu Laundromat and across the street from Side Street Inn.
Yes, if you're thinking Onoya Ramen sounds familiar, it is. It once was in the Waikiki Yokocho Food Hall, which has closed permanently; and in the Shirokiya Japan Village Walk that temporarily closed due to COVID. Onoya Ramen's owner and chef is Naoyuki Ono, who also owns Sanoya Ramen in Moiliili for the past 30 years.
We drove by a large sign a few days earlier, noting its grand opening March 1 - 7, 2021 with the first 20 customers getting a free ramen of choice and 25% of all menu items. What a generous deal, so on the last day, we showed up before they opened and were fortunate to be within the 20-customer limit! Management was very generous to offer this kind of promotion!
Onoya Ramen's signature dish is its tonkotsu ramen. Tonkotsu broths are made from scratch and although it takes long hours of boiling the pork bones, the restaurant uses a special machine to prepare the broths faster and in larger quantities. A varied selection of ramen is available: tonkotsu, shoyu, shio, yuzu, cheese curry, shrimp won ton, and build-your-own (choice of noodles, spice level, saltiness, richness, and toppings). Most of the ramen dishes include char siu, half egg (ajitama), bean sprouts, fried garlic chips, wood ear mushrooms (kikurage), bamboo shoots (menma), green onions, and a sheet of nori.
They also have a varied selection of side dishes: gyoza (pan fried, deep fried, or boiled), salads, katsu (chicken or pork), chicken karaage, French fries, calamari, agadashi tofu, spring rolls, clams, and others.
And not to mention curry rice, as well as a kids' menu too!
We had the following:
· Tonkotsu Special. I really enjoyed the tonkotsu broth, as it was light (don't care for the rich and creamy style). This ramen was very flavorful with lots of seasoning in it and a ton of different meats in it (a meat-lover's delight)! The meats included pork belly char siu, tontoru char siu (a fatty type of pork that is richer, more tender, and more flavorful than regular pork belly char siu), and chicken char siu. The ajitama was perfectly cooked, with the egg semi-runny. With the generous amount of goodies in this ramen, I could not finish it.
· Shoyu Ramen. This ramen was delicious and has a light chicken broth flavor with their house-made shoyu, chicken char siu, and the regular toppings.
· Agedashi Tofu. The deep fried tofu with shishito peppers topped with bonito flakes (katsuobushi) and green onions in a shoyu dashi was delicious! The crispiness of the tofu battered crust and the creamy interior went well with the delicious shoyu sauce!
· Pan-Fried Gyoza. The pork and veggie filled gyoza was slightly crunchy on the outside and fresh and flavorful on the inside! The gyozas went well with the tasty dipping sauce!
Service was on point, as our server promptly took our orders, brought out our orders within a reasonable time, refilled our water glasses periodically, asked if everything was okay, and processed our bill.
COVID requirements were in compliance, as tables were placed appropriately for social distancing, facemasks were required, and hand sanitizer was prominently place at the entrance.
Onoya Ramen is open daily 11a to 10p. Credit cards accepted. Free parking is available in the private parking lot also shared by the laundromat. Don't forget to ask for a punch card that provides a free ramen after qualified purchases.
With awesome ramen and sides that we had, we will definitely return to try other menu items! We are delighted that Onoya Ramen now has its own stand-alone building and look forward to supporting this local business with amazing ramen and side dishes! read more