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| - Welcome to the chain of one of the best Ramen from Chicago. I went during the first week of opening on a Sunday night and it was already a 30 minute waiting to be seated. I thought to myself "boy it better live up to the hype" and fortunate for me, it did.
We ordered the Hell's ramen level 2 and tonkotsu with clam and pork and a side of pork belly.
Hell's ramen is it's specialty. To spice up the traditional Japanese ramen bowl, different types of chili are added depends on the level of spiciness, from Sichuan chili to ghost pepper and scorpion pepper. There are 5 levels in total where level one is the least spicy and level 5 is basically hell . The level 2 we tried was to me a mild to medium spiciness. Although the Hell's ramen is the hype of this place, I am not a big fan. The Sichuan chili didn't go very well with the broth and it gave me a mixed flavors which unfortunately wasn't delicious. The broth lost its rich umami flavor and the spiciness that replaced it was disappointing.
Tonkotsu which is the pork broth was, however, amazing. I would dare to say, one of the best in Madison. Rich umami flavor and chewy hand-made noodle created a perfect combination one would look for from a ramen bowl. The bowl came with clam, ground pork, seaweed, bamboo shoot and half a running yummy egg. This bowl definitely went into my list of fav food in Madison without a doubt.
The side of pork belly was also delicious. Soft, well marinated, the piece of pork belly just melted in my mouth. Yummm.... I wish they would make it into a pork belly bun though. Imagine that melting fattiness soaking into the white bun, top with some green onion for garnish just make me happy
I'm glad the shop brings the modern, simplistic taste to the decor of the shop. The yellow light from multiple lanterns dangling from the ceiling gives you a homey, charming ambience but the light colored, modern furniture is perfect for a quick lunch environment.
Overall, if you are craving a good bowl of rich, flavorful to make your day a little bit happier, this is the place
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