Ahoy! This week has been a whirlwind. It started with Monday and my willing myself to get better so that I can do ALL the things I wanted/had to do, in the middle of the week, I had class which I attended with a disgusting coughing fit (the victory lap of the sickness in my body, I guess) and then the week ended with me being in a limbo (productivity wise) and throwing all caution to the wind1. It disturbs me that my work ethic is a bit bipolar, in that if I want to apply myself, I get really bossy and very into what I'm doing but if I don't want to work at all, not even the hand of God can make me. I'm going to work on re-calibrating that work/semblance of a life balance soon enough.
I did get lucky with friends and food this week though! For one, I had the pleasure of dining at Ramen Bar early this week. I must say, my instincts were right. The food is terrific. I've been wanting to get in touch with my inner Ramen Girl for quite a while now so I made a beeline for the ramen-ya when I found myself hungry in a remotely unknown area (The Fort).
Ramen Bar has a simple menu. I like the fact that their whole selection is printed on paper placemats. I think it's a very novel idea because having the menu right in front of you as you eat leaves you with a pretty strong urge to order something extra, especially when the food is so good.
The choices are straightforward and I really liked that because there are very few things more annoying than fussy menus (see: any food combinations that end with "emulsion" and/or "...topped with a cloud of *insert name of non-descript cheese*") They have a small selection of Japanese appetizers like Edamame (Young Japanese soy beans boiled in sea salt for 120php, very addictive) and Kakuni Buns (Pork belly wrapped in a white bun very reminscent of the Cantonese mantao bread, 180php), and if you have all the money in the world, I suggest you sample both. But the star of the noodle house would be their ramen bowls, of course. I counted about six in their menu and judging from what I had that day, I'm pretty sure each bowl is so darn satisfying.
I chose a side order of Chasyu. Chasyu is Japanese grilled pork. In Cantonese restaurants, it's called Char Siu and is often sliced thick and roasted with sugar and five spice powder. The Japanese version, Chasyu, uses pork belly instead of the usual shoulder. Judging by its clean and delicate flavor, I'm guessing Ramen Bar's Japanese chasyu is braised until it is soft and moist. This cooking process allows the chasyu to complement most (if not all) of the soup stocks in the ramen-ya. In Ramen Bar, each slice of pork belly has a wonderful layer of fat and meat and the ratio between the two is top-notch. Ramen Bar's chasyu slices are on the middle range, too. Not too thin but not too thick either, plus it wasn't greasy at all.
I have to stop here and remember just how milky and savory these slices of pork belly were, served with a side of honey soy sauce, soy sauce, some oil and a dollop of mayo. Personally, I enjoyed eating the pork belly slices with a little bit of the sweet sauce and the crisp ribbonettes of what I think are leeks and chives.
A plateful of Chasyu is priced at 120 pesos only. It's the same price you pay if you want Edamame. There was a very short debate going in my head at that time but eventually, the vicious carnivore in me won the argument. I'm glad it did. I regret nothing. The Chasyu was the highlight of my meal.
As for my noodles, I really wanted to get the Super Chasyu Ramen (380php), a soy-infused tonkotsu (tonkotsu means pork bone soup, usually boiled for over 20 hours) ramen topped with overflowing slices of chasyu and tamago since I knew that it packs so much flavor and would have a deceptively milky broth, but I didn't (because it was expensive and I already had a Chasyu plate).
I had a bowl of Shoyu ramen (280php) instead, a soy infused tonkotsu ramen topped with tamago (soft-boiled egg marinated for 48 hours), naruto (fish sticks), negi (dried seaweed) and chasyu (I believe this was explained at length somewhere in this entry). It was excellent. Imagine this: really hearty & savory (but fatty) soy-based broth, fresh kansui/egg noodles, superior slices of pork belly and that ni-tamago exploding with so much flavor you can't really explain. A good ni-tanago will have a set white part but a soft and runny yolk. It'll have a subtle flavor because it's steeped (not boiled) in stock for hours. There lies an entirely different kind of elation once you bite into the egg and the yolk oozes out to join the soup in your soup spoon.
Noodles are always such a treat to eat. :)
Ramen Bar at the Piazza has two promos for its customers. There's the Ramen Bar Twitter Tuesday! where diners can stave off 10% from their bill by tweeting a promotional line for Ramen Bar. On Saturdays, they have a Facebook promo and though the instructions escape me at the moment, I would wager that it's probably along the lines of promoting the restaurant via the site. I'm not sure why I am telling you this but perhaps it will help if you're a cheapskate planning to visit.
I really enjoyed Ramen Bar. It is definitely worth your money, a bit more than your token Japanese fast food chains but personally, I believe expensive food is food you pay for even if you did not enjoy eating it.
Have some fun. Have a good bowl of noodles. Ramen Bar is located at The Venice Piazza in McKinley Hill, The Fort. There's also a branch at Unit 4-A, 1800 building, Eastwood City.
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1 I have to say that the outcome of doing this was extremely satisfying, my superior flakiness aside.
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1 I have to say that the outcome of doing this was extremely satisfying, my superior flakiness aside.
