RainBowl — Restaurant in Christiansburg

Tweeks Hometown Food Review: A couple of weeks ago I was excited to hear that we had a new ramen place here in town with a Korean twist. I'm a big Korean fan, so I first tried their Bibimbap with a side of gochang sauce for takeout back to my office. It also came with some kind of tasty ginger sauce that was quite yummy. Overall it was very tasty.. and very satisfying. But I really wanted to try to ramen with a side of kimchee.

Then today I took my family back and we tried a number of items. My wife and kids all wanted the chicken teriyaki bowl.. and I had the spicy tonkotsu ramen with pork, extra soy eggs and a side of kimchee.

The bone broth in my spicy tonkotsu was awesome. Creamy smooth, thought the spice level was a little more than I was expecting, which was perfect. For some reason, I really remember the halved soy eggs being really flavorful.. and I loved the texture of perfectly cooked, soft boiled eggs. Super creamy and yummy that was perfect with the both. The kimchee though was special. It wasn't just store bought napa cabbage. It had shredded carrot, and at least three other flavorful veggies I wouldn't identify (maybe bamboo root?). I asked the lady behind the counter and she told me that the store owner makes it himself.. which if true, is really awesome. I gotta meet him to ask him about his Kimchee.. She said he might be in later in the week, so I'll going to go back and ask what all is going on with that kimchee. Yum!

Oh.. I also ordered a $13 "chef's special" salmon, crab-meat wrap. It's was a seaweed wrap.. kind of like a fat sushi roll. It was pretty good too (good dipping sauces). But not as good as the tonkotsu.

The only thing I wouldn't recommend is the powder based "boboa tea". It's not tea at all.. but just a powdered mix . I asked for a real tea boboa, but they didn't have any real tea. Sad. I might have given them five stars if they could have whipped up a real black or oolong tea boboa, or even a fresh avacado smoothy boboa. NOM! Guess I'll just stick with water.

Glad I found this place though.. when I have lunch errands.. it's nice knowing I can look forward to something on this side of town as fresh and yummy as Japanese/Korean rather than just Jimmy...

Usually okay if nowhere else to eat... but today was pretty awful. Ordered spicy tonkausu with extra egg which was $17.40. No bean sprouts or bamboo shoots or mushrooms. They accidentally put bean sprouts which is fine.... I can remove them. The soup was bland, not rich my any means. Watered down with chili oil. Got an extra egg. Usually ramen eggs are creamy in the middle. This time around it was very very hard boiled. I get extra egg at ramen places because usually they are the best part about the ramen. Usually it is creamy and has a hint of soy sauce. These were beyond hard boiled to the point it was flaking off and dry. Also the amount of pork cha chu I got this time around was not even two bites. It's was the size of half a strip of bacon. I've had way better ramen at Kuma Moon across town. I know blacksburg is not supposed to have the best ramen but this was a net negative. Wouldn't even eat this meal of it were free. I usually don't write reviews but even for a place like Christiansburg/Blacksburg, the ramen was pretty bad. I've been trying to give this place a chance but like even the other times the pieces of meat in the ramen were cold. It looks like they are trying to charge restaurant prices at a fast food place with subpar quality. Rather go to Kuma Moon now. Wouldn't come back here for ramen. Kuma Moon has service and better quality and more food for about the same price as this fast food place :( The hard boiled eggs were the...

I love this place; it is an instant favorite! I chose the Korean inspired, Bibimbap bowl. The steak in it was so tender and wonderfully flavored. Everything was fresh, healthy and delicious! My date chose the Asian Crunch Bowl. Although he enjoyed it, he would have rather had mine. For the first time, I tried bubble tea. The Taro Root flavor was incredible! The tapioca bubbles were surprisingly chewy but evidently, that is standard and a treasured ingredient in Japan. I did hear a woman order it without the "bubbles". I don't usually order drinks out but I certainly would consider ordering that alone because it was so great! The prices were so reasonable for the value: both the quality and the quantity. Both of us took some home for lunch the next day. We ate inside. The restaurant was very clean- the restroom too. The young lady that served us was very kind, informative and helpful- like she enjoys eating there, as well. I look forward to...