| rev:text
| - This review is solely based on their second day of soft opening on March 4th, 2014.
After hearing how Hiromaru will be taking over Cafe de Japon's location, I was excited. No wait, let me rephrase. I was ecstatic. Especially after trying some of their ramen at the Japanese Festival, which took place at Rio last year -- I just couldn't wait. And now it has finally opened.
After much of my nagging and broken record-esq behavior .. my three friends and I made our way to Hiromaru for a late lunch on that Tuesday. We got there a little bit after 3 PM and the restaurant was fairly empty. We were greeted as soon as I opened the door and were seated right away. Well, two of my friends arrived earlier, so Andrew C. and I just joined them at the table.
The menu for Hiromaru is fairly simple. There are a total of 4 different ramens for you to choose from and about 7 side order/appetizers. Now, because it was still soft opening, everything that we ordered was free. However, it was a limited menu. We were limited to two different ramens: the carbonara ramen and the shiroi tonkotsu. As for the sides, we got to choose from: Hiromaru buns (pork buns), karaage (fried chicken), and Hiromaru Japanese curry.
Andrew C. and I decided to get the carbonara ramen and shiroi tonkotsu so we could try both and share. And our friends decided to get a side of the karaage and Japanese curry. After we ordered our food, we were served a small bowl of salad right away to start our meal, which was nice. And before we knew it, our orders were filtering out ....
Hiromaru Japanese Curry ($8.50) - this side dish was the first to come out. It came with a small bowl/plate of curry, rice, slice of pork, and asparagus. I didn't like it. The curry was runny, watery, and pretty average. It reminds me of the type of curry that you buy at grocery stores in boxes where you mix water in with powder to create the dish. You can skip this.
Karaage ($5.00) - Only one phrase could justify this side dish. "Surprisingly good." Seasoned dark meat deep fried with a light batter. It was delicious. Try it.
Carbonara Ramen ($10.95) - This dish is your east and west fusion into one. Nothing can get more fusion than this right?! I mean, carbonara RAMEN? Where do you find this? At Hiromaru. From what I've heard and read, this is what made Hiromaru famous. The amazing creativity behind this is beyond genius. But I'm confused about what I'm supposed to be thinking while eating it. The soup base is tonkotsu with milk. It didn't look creamy per say, but it was a milky texture. Flavor wise, it was a little bland. If no one told me it was a tonkotsu base, I would've never known. There was two strips of bacon in there as well. They were grilled before hand. You know what would have made it even better? If it was cut up in pieces like it was shown in the picture on their menu. The noodles were a little flat and thick. It's typically not the type of noodles I prefer in ramen but it was cooked perfectly. It was al-dente, just the way I like it.
Shiroi Tonkotsu ($7.95) - Was this what I ate during the ramen festival? It tasted a whole lot different here. First bite? Delicious. Second bite? Wonderful. Third, fourth, fifth, sixth bite? I think I'm going to have to pass. This was a tonkotsu soup base with salted sauce and brown garlic oil. The soup was light but heavy in flavor. It was salty and garlic-y. I normally like salty foods but too much of it, especially in something heavy such as this, can get boring. After the first bite, I knew that this dish could risk running a flat line for me. Too much of something is still too much and in this case, I think the salted sauce tipped it over. The slice of pork, however, was nicely seasoned but because of how salty the soup is, it was an overkill for me. Everything started tasting the same. Aside from that, the shiroi ramen came with thin noodles but they were a bit on the softer side, which meant that they slightly overcooked it.
Now, don't get me wrong .. the food is good but I'm not sure if it's for me. Though, I may definitely go again just to see if they did anything different from the soft opening. I may have to ask if they can skip the salted sauce and make sure the noodles are al dente as well.
Overall, I think disappointment may be the word for this little trip. Hopefully my second trip here will be better.
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