Ichiban Ramen — Restaurant in Bismarck

An hour ago, we arrived at our hotel in Bismarck, North Dakota. As we checked in, the receptionist listed two of the top restaurants in the area. We looked them up online.

We chose Ichiban Japanese Grill Ramen & Asian Bistro, and we didn’t have to think twice. After steak, pizza, burgers— all Western cuisine, Japanese seemed pretty appetizing.

After getting the beverages sorted out, we needed to choose some dishes. All of us went with ramen but different types of it. I had Nikusoba Ramen. It had a tonkotsu broth and fish cake. Toppings included green onion, roasted sesame seeds, thin sliced pork belly, and onions simmered in a special sauce. Dad got Shrimp Ramen, while Mom got Tonkotsu Cha-Shu Ramen. When I asked her what she thought, she said, “overly addictive.” Dad said his “had a nice presentation, was tasty, and highly addictive.” And it was “one good sized bowl.”

Mid-way through my soup, the server brought me sushi. It was the Red Lobster Roll (cooked). The ingredients included fried lobster, spicy crab salad, avocado, eel sauce, and spicy mayo. These were wrapped inside pink soy paper.

I couldn’t help but order tiramisu. As a gentleman, I shared it (reluctantly). It was cold but ladyfingers were carefully layered within the mascarpone and cake.

We paid $80.79 USD.

Ramen is loved far beyond Japan, evident in many Canadians and Americans. Now, it’s loved even by my parents. This was a funny experience. I had to teach my parents how to use Asian utensils. It seemed they had even more...

My better half and I rolled into Bismarck needing sustenance after driving from Bimidji, MN all morning. Our first choice restaurant was closed, so after some short deliberation we decided on Ichiban. I will tell you right now that if our “first choice” had been open we would have missed out on an amazing experience at what will now be our only choice when passing through these parts.

Paul started things off with some great humor and was basically a fireball of fun the whole meal. He must have been a hibachi chef at some point, he has the engaging demeanor of one. Actually more hibachi chefs should be like Paul.

We ordered Gyoza, Tempura sweet potato and curry soup as appetizers. All were perfect, the soup was like a Tom Ka/Tom Yum mash up. Very enjoyable and Muy picante.

Then came Chicken Mongolian style loaded with asparagus, broccoli, mushroom and peppers. So good. The Kimchi Ramen was great, could maybe have used a little something like a mushroom tare to give it more body, but not a criticism just an opinion. I slurped the whole bowl down in a few minutes.

We also ordered an Ironman Roll and Esolar sashimi. The presentation and execution were spot on, would hands down have ordered another round if we hadn’t already eaten enough food for six people.

This place is new, but they cook and serve like they have been around for years. We were very lucky to have found Ichiban, you should get lucky and find it too. We love it.

With much love...

I ate at this lovely restaurant recently on a date. We ordered the crab cheese wontons which our very friendly and helpful waiter recommended. His name is Paul. He said they make them from scratch and that they are complimented a lot. I could see why, they are some of the best I’ve ever had. We followed it up with american favorite b sushi platter and mango Thai chili chicken for entrees. Both were delicious with good sized portions. The sushi was very fresh and the chicken was very tender. We had tiramisu for dessert and it was awesome. Everything about this place is superior to the bigger competitors in town. The service is where this begins because this place is run by a small group of people who genuinely care whether the food is good, whether you enjoy eating it, and whether you enjoy the experience of choosing their restaurant to eat at. The service shines bright. It shows and it is a refreshing experience compared to average customer service elsewhere. The helpings, overall flavor of the food, and presentation was excellent. The prices were very reasonable for the quality and size of the meals. I would highly recommend eating here if you are craving sushi, fresh Chinese, or ramen. They will not disappoint you! Please...