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| - Wow - with such a high average review rating, I was shocked at how utterly disappointed I was by the time I left here. (I learned my lesson tonight - don't go by the average star ratings, and read the details of the most current reviews!). First of all, this place was recommended by a friend who admitted it's in a dirty parking lot by a gas station. I'm fine with hole-in-the-wall establishments when the quality and service are worth it, so that description didn't deter me. Walking in wasn't what I expected...I'm not sure which reviewer described it as "feeling authentic" but I assure you, the ambiance certainly doesn't reflect Japanese culture or cuisine. It's basic banquet chairs/tables, odd lighting (like an old library?) and typical table setups with cheap table settings (for example: plastic as opposed to ceramic for seasonings). Still at this point I'm ok with this, as I've been to many cheap ramen shops...but then you look at the menu. In this town, with so many good and popular options for ramen joints like sora, monta, etc. this price point was actually higher than most. When I asked for an explanation of the menu, the woman tried to explain it, but unfortunately didn't have her spiel down, so I had to ask a few more questions to clarify. The menu didn't look like the ones as shown on here (wish I took a photo so you'd be able to see where the confusion lies). They have way too many photos with minimum descriptions and there's no good flow like 1) pick your ramen base 2) pick your noodle 3) pick your topping combos, etc. (which would've been super helpful since that wasn't explained verbally). Essentially there's set items in your ramen - and a lot of unusual toppings in even the most "basic" choices....things like ground pork, cabbage, seaweed (not nori), corn etc. I asked the server what happens if I don't want most of these items, if there was a basic ramen to start with to build on since I don't eat most of these toppings (not in my ramen, at least!) She pointed out the cheapest in that particular row, and said to start with that. I told her I didn't want most of those items, but I did want the chashu pork. Then she points at the most expensive one in the row (11+) and said if I wanted chashu I needed to get that. By this point I was annoyed at having to order this and ask for almost no toppings...after she left I realized I'd have been better off with the cheapest one and add 1 piece of chashu, but by then, I thought maybe this will be the best ramen I've ever had. Unfortunately it was average. I wouldn't say it is bad, it just wasn't amazing, and certainly not worth the price. The broth was stronger and slightly more oily than most places. I wish it was explained to us that the ramen was being fired at the same time as the fried rice, yet expedited (served) immediately, so the fried rice was presented much too late in the meal (one of us finished eating already). I understand it takes longer to prepare, but it's not hard to ask someone if they'd like their food to come out at the same time or coursed out. In hindsight, I think the servers were trying (they certainly weren't rude at all), but I was frustrated by how many times they kept coming back to clarify my order (since I took so many items out). If there needed to be clarification, I get coming back once....but it was more often than that for 1 dish. It's awkward and unprofessional to not write it down correctly from the start (or simply clarify what the order is when you take it originally before leaving the table). Furthermore, at $3.50, I don't expect much from a half order fried rice, but it was certainly not worth the wait or even the price. It was oily, bland, and the rice was overcooked. It's embarrassing that this came out, and as disappointed and annoyed as I was at this point, we asked for a to-go container for it (not that we'll eat it), because it was super awkward that I couldn't eat more than a bite before putting my chopsticks down. If this was the only ramen shop in the entire city...I'd have given it 3 stars but eaten instant ramen at home.
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