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| - It had been a long while since I last ate at this place. On a previous visit, I recall trying their Japanese katsu curry and shoyu ramen. Both were decidedly mediocre, which would explain my long absence. However, my wife had read some promising reviews about Shuseki and was particularly interested in trying their takoyaki and tonkotsu ramen, so off we went.
Our order consisted of kakuni don, okonomiyaki, takoyaki, and tonkotsu ramen.
The kakuni was nicely marinated with five spice and soy sauce. Although it could have been braised a little longer to improve its tenderness, it was easily our favorite part of the meal. Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there.
As for the tonkotsu ramen, the bland broth was far too thin and utterly devoid of the rich porky flavor that it ought to have. They used yellow ramen noodles which were nothing special. Their "chashu", if you can even call it that, was atrocious! It was a single thick and leathery-tough slab of the saltiest pork either of us have ever tasted. We both scrambled for our water glasses after taking a bite and left the rest of this hunk of meat untouched.
We did not fare any better with the okonomiyaki or takoyaki. They both suffered from the same gummy and soggy batter and were completely unappetizing.
While the service was okay and the prices were relatively inexpensive, Shuseki is a poor value because of the low quality of its food. I am sorely tempted to assign it 1 star, but because of its decent kakuni and mediocre katsu curry and shoyu ramen from a previous visit, I suppose it just barely merits 2 stars. Will we return? Highly doubtful.
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