Kimen Ramen & Izakaya — Restaurant in Annandale

I took my family to try Kimen for the first time this past weekend. Overall, the experience was positive with a just a few minor quibbles.

We ordered chicken karaage, which can be a good barometer for a Japanese restaurant’s commitment. While it certainly does not compare to the karaage we ate in Tokyo, it was pretty good. The meat was seasoned, but could have used more time in the marinade. The breading was basically just a dredge. We find this preferable to the overly thick “KFC” style you sometimes encounter. The issue was that the meat was drier and tougher than it should have been, yet there were still slightly wet spots of coating. The dish as acceptable, but compromised.

I ordered the mazemen, ramen without the soup. It came with ground meat, garlic, ginger, scallions, and a raw egg yolk on top. It’s eaten bibimbap, or mix mix style. The flavor was good and intense and the noodles were springy with good chew. This dish was good.

Another ordered the unagidon. She remarked that it was just good with the portion perhaps a bit on the small side. Somewhat understandable given that roast eel is an expensive item.

The miso ramen is also another good test dish. Kimen’s miso ramen was quite good. The broth was rich and tasty, the noodles lively and fresh, and the pork plentiful and tender. If the rest of their ramen offerings score like this, it’s worth returning.

The chicken katsudon was good. Neither outstanding nor disappointing. The meat was fresh and fried just right. Perhaps a bit too much shredded cabbage side.

Two dishes came with miso soup, which was a bit disappointing for two reasons. Although the menu picture shows it containing diced tofu as is common, ours came with none. And the flavor was thin. Double the miso paste would have been more appropriate.

Finally, the bowls and plates in which the food came in were all chipped heavily around the edges. Without exception. While a gentle nod to wabi sabi and the reality of a life properly lived, we felt the damage was a bit too extensive and one member could feel scratchiness or grittiness at the bottom of her bowl through her chopsticks.

The decor is worth noting. All the walls were papered with what appeared to be pages from Japanese magazines or books and posters. It was very cool and provided much visual interest. There were also shelves with Japanese toys and tchotchkes. Delightful.

In sum, Kimen was a mixed bag with a lean toward the positive. The flavor and textures were solid and enjoyable. The details were where there were some concessions. However, given that the staff was friendly and attentive, I think we’ll go back again to try some more eats.

We also tried to...

I seldom leave bad reviews, you can check my profile, but this meal really wasn’t it… Perhaps it was just a bad day in the kitchen or something.

The pork bun appetizer was serviceable and I’d give it a 6.5/10. The “gyoza” was pretty good but it wasn’t actually gyoza. It was more like Korean pan-fried dumpling (mandu) that would be served at a traditional Korean restaurant. If you’re familiar with the different types of dumpling wrappers, you know that there’s a specific type for gyoza and this was not that.

Tsukemen is also one of my favorite types of ramen, cold noodles to be then dipped into warm broth. The broth had gravy like viscosity and the noodles weren’t springy like they’re supposed to be for tsukemen. The flavor and texture of the soup broth actually reminded me of French Onion soup (???) which is far from what ramen is supposed to be.

We initially came because I saw some of the glowing reviews for this spot. I thought I was tripping but my friend wasn’t really satisfied with her Shoyu ramen either. She mentioned the broth was a bit flavorless and the color of the chicken was off.

I’d like to give them the benefit of the doubt because I don’t want to bring down a local small business. My parent were also small business owners for +25 years. However, I was just really disappointed with my meal and it’s telling when I don’t completely finish my food. I’m somebody that tries to get every piece of rice off my bowl. Tonight, I probably had ~25% of this meal and ended up calling it.

It was also strange that the pork that came in the steamed bun appetizer was pretty much the same as the pork that was in the ramen. Chashu, the pork belly, is often the highlight in a good bowl of ramen and it is also thinly sliced. Instead, the chashu was more like the thick pork you would find in a traditional Korean stew. I’ve never had chuck pork like pork belly.

I would say that the interior ambiance was nice and the service was fine. The food we had was not it. It honestly looks like I might just make some Shin Ramen when I get home tonight to erase the memory...

My husband and I have been waiting for this place to open since we've found out they were going to build this. So today, mother's day weekend we decided to come here with my mother in law. We were at first actually going to the block and Pelicana chicken for some great food but we saw this open and we were like, "that's it! That's where were going!" We've been craving some ramen for weeks now and it just so happened to be a dark, dreary, rainy, & cold day.

We were welcomed right when we got to the door and was sat right away by Jun Park. I told him we've been wanting Togo here and asked how long theyve been open and he said only 2 days. The theme in the restaurant is anime as you can see the mural. I thought the wall There seemed to be only 2 servers but they were amazing. They were attentive and answered all our questions as well as giving us excellent suggestions. My husband ordered the spicy ramen, my mother in law ordered the original ramen, while I ordered the tantanmen. We also ordered the bao and seaweed salad. I was apprehensive about ordering tantanmen at first because I thought it would be really spicy but the other server asked what I thought about Sriracha. I said its tolerable, he said "well if you're using that as a scale, that being a 10, I'd say the sauce for tantanmen is a 7". I told him I'd try it, he then suggested it to be put on the side, that way I can control the heat.

The food came within 7 minutes and the broth was steaming hot-which was perfect! First slurp of the broth felt like a warm hug and it was soooo good. I ended putting everything that was on the other plate to my big bowl of goodness. The broth is reminiscent of this Filipino dish "Kare-kare". The seaweed salad was sufficient and the bao with chashu was a big slice of awesomeness. It was tender and very flavorful.

I loved everything about this place and even my mother in law complemented them and said its the best ramen shes ever had and that's high praise. I just hope they...