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| - The location in Chinatown is super cute - definitely has that kawaii Japanese vibe to it, in a tacky, cramped sort of way. Brighhhht pink chairs, some of them extensively duct taped to cover holes. The ramen menu is extensive and kind of confusing - they have pictures on top of the names, but no descriptions, so if you're not familiar with ramen everything kind of just looks the same.
I ordered a pork katsu ramen, and my friend got the Ajisen ramen. The katsu ramen came with a fried cutlet of pork, but was otherwise pretty plain - the broth was flavorful but lukewarm, and the noodles were not overly soggy but nothing special either; also, I definitely felt like the noodles were very sparse. The katsu was weirdly dry and tough. Something that really annoyed me though - the egg that came with the ramen wasn't the hanjuku egg (the soft boiled, tea marinated kind) but was literally just a hard boiled egg. Very disappointing.
However, the price was pretty reasonable - ramen goes from 7.50 for the basic variety to around 10 dollars a bowl for some more robust varieties. It is fast food ramen from a chain, so I didn't really approach with high expectations.
The service is pretty atrocious. The waiters are all a little confused, and seem to make frequent mistakes. They forgot to bring my katsu with my ramen, and I had to ask for it. Additionally, halfway through our meal a homeless man walked in and began soliciting from the other diners - it was a surreal experience to just watch the staff go about as if nothing was amiss. I saw the waiters make multiple mistakes with other orders too - taking orders of things they knew they were out of, or bringing the wrong meal to the wrong table.
Overall, two stars because of convenience and price. I can see myself coming back here for a quick bowl of mediocre ramen, but it's not a place I would send my friends.
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