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| - I love, love, LOVE spicy food but was crazy to think I could complete the Monster Hell Ramen Challenge.
Let me back this up, though -- we came here for my baby sister's birthday. We had a party of 11, including three little ones under at four. I would not recommend taking kids here (remember, we came fort sister's birthday). When we sat, our waiter did not offer a high-chair so we asked for one. He said he could "check," but shouldn't he "know" this?? Upon return, he gave us booster chairs which had no straps. This sat upon their cushioned bench, so my husband and I tied a blanky around our Babes' lap and took turns holding the seat the entire time (slurping Ramen). The waiter (Leo) asked if we had been here before, proceeded to recommend the dumplings for the little ones and how we could request the chili oil be separate. He talked a bit about the ramen and mentioned the challenge briefly. We already scoped the menu out during our wait so ordered right away. But it wasn't till we ordered that we found out they were out of chicken dumplings (another thing I feel is often mentioned right away). Aside from that, the waiter took forever to bring my husband's extra side of noodles (which was ordered right away), along with the bill and my to-go order of Cat Rice. I should also probably mention that this was a Monday night. So, you can see why I gave them three stars...
Anyway, my SIL and I went for the ramen challenge and failed! The broth is legitimately, all chili oil... I'm tellin ya, I could not taste any salt till my tears hit my lip, ya'll! No joke. A waiver needs to be signed, even if you only want to taste it. My sister and brother wanted to taste our bowls after we waved our white flags and they brought out waivers for them. Still -- it was a fun experience but I will never order Level 5 again. I did try the broths of my husband's (Level 3), and my sister's (Level 4 and the Tonkatsu) -- all were delicious! Dumplings were also yummy, too! So the flavor IS there, and I would say this my favorite of Madison so far (minus the terrible service!) My only comparisons are Ramen Station and Umami, though. Noodle-wise, I prefer Unami's hand-made noodles... The Cat Rice was okay. I've had better and more fresh poke elsewhere! Try the one from Muramoto on King St!
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