I just went through thinking that good Japanese style ramen cannot be easily made in the US, (see my Portland Afuri review), then I came across this little place. We were traveling and we were looking for some place to eat. The nearest place with high marks was Asa Ramen. Well, I am always in for ramen, but always not expecting much. This little tiny shop was nothing to look at so I went in not expecting much. Inside, most of the workers all looked to be college type students - working their first jobs. They had a tonkotsu ramen which everyone ordered. Believe me, I was not expecting much. When I asked for the bamboo shoots (menma), they had no idea what it was and I heard them keep talking and asking about what it was. When we got the bowl, it looked pretty good! Everyone was enjoying it and I have to admit the broth was among the best I have tasted in the US. It was smooth and rich and had great flavor! When I ate some noodles, which were cooked perfectly, I felt the noodles were maybe a bit thick or that they were not "grabbing" onto the broth as well as they could have. Another issue was that the egg was slightly overcooked, however, upon tasting it, it was very good. I'm going to say that while the workers may not have known that much about ramen, whoever is in the kitchen is very knowledgeable and has managed to produce one of the best tonkotsu ramen broth I have tasted in the US and makes me think that a really good bowl of ramen CAN exist here. The broth itself was better than pretty much every place I have tasted in Hawaii. Really good! With an adjustment to the noodles and a minor tweak on the egg, this is a superior ramen. Oh, did I mention that they char the chashu using a blowtorch before serving? It adds to the flavor and adding a little chili oil to this ramen took it up a notch too! read more