SDPB Special Ramen Edition: Yakudori Ramen & Yakitori

Contrary to popular belief, the reviewers on this blog do not subsist entirely on pho. Occasionally, we eat other noodle soups that are made with other four-legged animals. Today, Hao will discuss a recent visit to the newly opened Yakyudori in Kearny Mesa.

Location: 4898 Convoy St., Suite 101 (look for the Dixieline sign)
Phone: ?
Hours: 11:30am - 3:00am
Website: http://www.yakyudori.us/ (does not indicate new location yet)

Update: I later went back and tried the shio ramen during lunchtime, thoughts are below the original entry.

Yakyudori officially opened its Kearny Mesa location on Monday (Feb 1); you can read reviews from Kirk and Chowhound. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this location is that it will be open until 3am everyday. (Compare to Tajima, which is only open until 3am Thur-Sat.) The original location in Hillcrest is only open until 1am, it seems.

Matus and I decided we needed to go to this place and check it out. We arrived at ~1:15am, having very little problems with notorious 805 traffic and were the only ones in the parking lot. Our drink order of hot green tea came out as heated cans of green tea, which our waitress then poured into teacups. A bit strange, and not very tasty, but this seemed like a place that would eventually focus on beer, once the liquor license came through. (judging by the beer advertisements on the walls) Matus ordered the miso ramen, while I had the shoyu (soy sauce) version.


Of the three standard ramen broths (miso, shoyu: soy sauce, shio: salt), both the miso and shio versions come with corn by default. You can of course, ask for the corn to be omitted, but adding it will incur a surcharge, as they do charge for extra toppings. The pork chashu came in large, thick slices with the perfect taste and consistency, but the egg is the winner here. Apparently, it is a Hanjyuku tamago, almost a soft-boiled egg, but marinated so that extra flavor seeps into both the yolk and egg white. The spinach, green onions, and bamboo shoots were standard and did not stand out particularly. Texturally, I thought the noodles were perfect, being cooked all the way through, yet still maintaining some pull and the expected chewiness. The broth had a strong soy sauce flavor as expected, perhaps a little too strong, as it seemed to overpower any other flavors. I should mention two caveats though, lest you think the broth is bad by any means. For one thing, it's likely that I've grown accustomed to the rich tonkotsu broth they serve over at Santouka as well as the complex beef broth used in the better pho restaurants. I'll be sure to try the shio broth next time for comparison. It may allow the other ingredients to come through better. (FYI, Matus had the miso and was not a fan. Without trying it, I can't really give my opinion, but he did finish most of it, so it can't have been too bad. Turns out, Matus is one of those people who finishes off his plate no matter what - he strongly suggests that you avoid the miso ramen.)


I also ordered the tori kara-age (fried chicken), just to see what they put out here. At $4, it's relatively cheap, but not worth getting. There were numerous pieces, but they were all rather dense (perhaps overcooked?). They also didn't come with any sauces, which might have helped to cut through the deep fried nature. It's possible that having it with beer would have made the chicken more enjoyable, but it's a sad day when food tastes better because it's being washed down with beer. Given Kirk's thoughts on the takoyaki, I think I will pass on the non-ramen until yakitori is online. Hopefully, that won't have similar problems.

EDIT: I did go back and try the shio ramen during lunchtime. I did like it a little better than the shoyu, still not as much as the tonkotsu broth at Santouka, but this will be my go-to place for ramen that doesn't weigh me down. The broth was still on the simple side, and I felt that the sweetness of the corn actually gave it some needed complexity, although having actual corn kernels was a bit weird. Also, although the egg looks fairly normal in this picture, it was still fantastic. (but maybe not so much as it was when I had the shoyu ramen)

Two more things I should point out are that during lunchtime, they give you free barley tea and a half-bowl of rice with every ramen order. The barley tea, although probably made from a bag, is significantly better than the green tea that comes in a can. (And I'm not just saying that because it was free.)