Umai Ramen — Restaurant in Utrecht

This was our second time here. The first time was actually when they were not officially opened yet (that you can’t find it on Google Maps). We can tell that they have improved a lot and that’s just the best (because they learned and took feedback seriously)! So I also want to take the effort and drop a review here :-)

We ordered Unagi Don, Shoyu Pork Ramen, Spicy Sweet K-Fried Chicken, and Genmaicha.

Unagi Don is very nice! Unagi is clean and soft (no bones). Sauce is tasty. Miso soup on the side is perfect. Rice can be softer. Portion is perfect. Overall, 9/10.

Shoyu Pork Ramen is also good. Texture of noodles has improved a lot (the first time it was a bit hard, but this time it’s perfect!). Broth I like the first one better (it was richer), but I think this is because we had the spicy sweet chicken on the side (will explain below). Toppings are very good; Bamboo shoots is well seasoned and has nice texture. Egg is perfectly cooked. The meat is flavorful, can be charred a bit more. Portion is big. Overall, 9/10.

Spicy Sweet Chicken is very good and has a strong flavour. Texture is perfect (crispy outside even though is coated by the sauce, and soft inside). Hot and fresh. You can really taste the gochujang. It’s nice as an appetizer but not as a side dish. The strong flavour kinda dominated our tastebuds and overpowered all the others. As its own, it’s a very nice dish. Overall, 9/10.

Tea on the side is just perfect, we cannot comment a lot on it. Also, it’s a nice teapot ;)

All in all, we had a very good experience. The place is clean, service is very good even though they’re very busy (it was full when we came), and they are friendly. Definitely will come back and try the gyoza and miso pork ramen next time ;)

Kudos...

The staff at this place are thoroughly knowledgeable about how the ingredients they use are sourced and prepared. That alone is already a good reason to visit.

Restaurants like this are hard to find in the Netherlands. Especially, East Asian restaurants (Japanese, Korean, some Chinese) in Netherlands have often lowered my expectations over time. But this one raised it again!! We ordered the veggie curry and ramen, and asked if they could remove the soya egg from the ramen. The staff immediately asked we were vegan, then explained that their ramen noodles contain egg but they can change with udon noodles, without any extra charge!!! That kind of care and clarity was so impressive.

Our food arrived quite fast, and every ingredient tasted incredibly fresh. Aside from the bamboo, all the vegetables were clearly fresh, with a delightful crunch that proved they were cooked straight from the fresh condition. Each bite was like a symphony of crisp, vegetable cell walls bursting in harmony, and this makes ramen more enjoyable. The soy-based broth was also clean and satisfying, leaving no lingering aftertaste in my mouth, thirty minutes after the meal.

We’re happy to have discovered another must-visit restaurant in Utrecht. I wish we’ll meet the same staff again when we revisit!

(Lastly, to many Japanese restaurants in the Netherlands—that try to cover old and unfresh vegetables with heavy Chinese spices and pepper: Please visit here and learn something. If your ingredients are fresh and you know with what you're cooking, it can be very tasty without using too many spices :)

한국의 저렴한 일식당정도의 맛은 나와요! 무엇보다 제가 갔을때는 버섯과 야채류가 엄청 신선했어요. 네덜란드의 식중독 걱정하게 만드는 정체불명의 이상한 일식당 고르지 말구 여기 오세요. 다만...

We went here on a Sunday afternoon after reading positive reviews on Google. I respect everyone’s opinion, but I honestly don’t understand why people have left such high scores for this place. Granted; the decor of the restaurant is nice, and we liked the shared space concept with the bubble tea place and grocery store on either side, but let’s talk about the food;

We ordered our ramen and the speed with which it was served to us, can only mean that this was not freshly made to order. The fact that we were the very first (and only) customers there makes the serving speed even more suspicious. The flavor of the ramen confirmed our suspicions; the soup was off; it had a weird taste and it wasn’t satisfying at all; mostly salty. The bamboo shoots were clearly from a can and had a terrible flavor. The pork was ‘porky’, giving that strange flavor when pork isn’t very fresh. Really the only thing that was fresh was the tuft of herbs they put on top. Afterwards we were left with a metallic taste in our mouths and we were very thirsty, indicating that a lot of msg/salt was used.

Good ramen gives you a satisfying, wholesome and cleansing feeling when it’s done right. This gave us a bloated, almost nauseating feeling. About the service; mediocre. The Asian lady that took our order was clearly distracted by something while she was at our table and was quarreling with other staff throughout our meal. Finally, for 2 bowls of ramen of this quality and one (small) pot of tea we thought that €45 was very steep. As much as we were excited to try this place out, we will not be...