Bay Area Food: Ippudo Ramen - 100/100 Experience!
Originally I didn't plan on eating at Ippudo when I came to the Bay Area, but as I was walking by the restaurant around 2 PM, I noticed there was no queue, so I decided to go in! As luck would have it, there were a few streets that were very crowded due to traffic, so I ended up passing the ramen restaurant by chance.
👉 Ippudo is located in the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco. While dining, you can even use the hotel's free WiFi. The storefront is relatively small, but the interior is quite spacious. The menu isn't too extensive, mainly featuring six different flavors of ramen, appetizers, and desserts.
👉 Ippudo, which comes from Fukuoka, is most famous for its White Maru Original Flavor and Red Maru New Flavor. The two-flavored ramen is named after the color of the soup base, with White Maru Original Flavor being the first ramen introduced by the restaurant. It has a lighter tonkotsu (pork bone) broth. The Red Maru New Flavor, which was introduced later, is an enhanced version of the White Maru base with a stronger and richer flavor. Both types of ramen come with thin noodles and you can choose how firm you want them to be, ranging from extra firm to soft.
🌟 Here's what we ordered:
✅ Red Maru Modern Flavor ($17): The broth was rich and the noodles had a nice chewiness to them. The egg was tender and perfectly cooked, and a few minutes after we finished eating, there was not a drop of soup remaining.
✅ Takoyaki ($10): This dish surprised us! We ordered it on a whim, thinking that a ramen specialty restaurant might not do a good job with this Kansai regional snack. However, it turned out to be delicious! The outside of the takoyaki was crispy, and the batter was very soft and chewy. The octopus was tender and not too chewy, with just the right amount of seasoning. All in all, this dish was a pleasant surprise!
📍 Address: 18 Yerba Buena Ln, San Francisco (Ippudo also has branches in Berkeley and Cupertino)