An Hour Wait for Noodles

We hit a new place in the South Bay with some good friends. This place was so 'hot' that when we arrived at our friend's house at 5:10pm, they didn't even let us take our shoes off and sit a bit. No.. they shooed us back out the door and into the cars because we had to go NOW to the restaurant.

I have to say.. 5ish is a little bit early for dinner but I don't turn away good food. Apparently, this restaurant opens at 5:30pm and it's only a few miles away from their house. No Problem! Plenty of time to get there and get a nice table. WRONG!

By the time we got there at 5:25pm.. we were #33 for a table. Number 33!! Can you believe that??? It seems that people start lining up at 5pm to get a table. This is unheard of .. to line up at a restaurant BEFORE it even is open? Now if it's for the premiere showing for Twilight, or to get a good seat on Southwest or Black Friday at a store.. maybe... but a restaurant?

Well.. we didn't make Phase One (especially for a table for 8) so we had to wait for the first round of early birds to order, eat and pay before we got a chance at a table. (All I'm thinking is these noodles.. oops excuse me.. I mean 'ramen' better be good!) After over an hour wait, we finally got in!

We ordered quickly, of course, since there were still many people waiting outside lurking in at our table giving us the evil eye through the windows and sending subliminal messages to us to eat fast.

First dish, the agedashi tofu.. not bad.. but nothing to write home about... but my friend loved the sauce.

 Next was the karaage chicken..crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.. perfect!

The main event.. their signature ramen.. tonkatsu broth was amazing! First, the broth was piping HOT!! Just how I like my soup! Extremely flavorful! Next the noodles were very fresh and perfectly cooked with just a bit of chewyness. It only had one slice of meat (pork) but that was okay with me because everything else was so flavorful. Supposedly their biggest hit was the soft boiled egg in the soup. It  was very soft boiled and apparently the 'cherry' on top for the soup itself. No big deal for me but I must admit it was tasty.

Overall we gave the place 4 Bibles (if the Buffet club had to rate it). We could have given it a 5 rating but we just could not ignore the wasted waiting time outside.

Now I must warn you that is pricey for ramen ($10 a regular sized bowl) but I hear that it's the going rate for fresh ramen. Ask my husband who is a Ramen-connoisseur!