Ai Ramen & Izakaya — Restaurant in Corvallis

My 3rd time at this place. Weird that my two to go orders aren’t as great as the first time we went to this place and dined in. I think the place still recommended but the content of the soup disappoint. The pork broth is tasty enough. Not too salty and not bland. I don’t believe in sauces but I’ve had ramen in other places and it taste better without addtl sauces added. There is something missing about the soup base. Not sure what it is though. I think there is too much corn, bamboo shoots and seaweed (was on the harder side). Bacon was tasty but too pale. I’m not sure why that didn’t looked appetizing. Half of the egg was cooked really great but it felt cold inside once you take a bite! The noodle is cooked but I think it can probably wait another a few minutes before I ate it esp since this was a to go order. I was too hungry to let it soaked! The portion was too small for the Price of $15. Then I ordered the milk tea classic for $4. I expected it to be serve on a to go cup w/ ice but I was given a bottle. I would not have ordered if I knew it came in a bottle. :( the taste was good but it is not something I would try again. The service is great though! Friendly and the ambience is great as well. Decor super modern but still feels homey. The food prep was quick maybe that’s why it felt uncooked. Maybe next time will dine in and see if the to go order isn’t great for places like...

(2 people, drinks were 1 milk tea ($5) and 1 water total= $50) We were excited to try Ai Ramen & Izakaya because I live in Japan for a while and boy do I miss the food. The two of us each ordered Yakisoba (+- $14) and we wanted just a cup of broth each. The waitress was a sweetheart. She informed use that we are not able to buy just broth rather we would have to buy a regular bowl of ramen in order to enjoy any broth and you can't order it with out noodles or with extra broth. I thought that was unfortunate but told her to go ahead and order it ($14) The food arrived fast but unfortunately I do not feel "Ai Ramen & Izakaya" came anywhere close to meeting the mark. The food was very bland and had virtually no sauce or seasoning at all. The Yakisoba was made with Ramen Noodles and we both only ate a few bits because there was virtually no flavor. (I am not the type to send it back) The little bit of broth in Ramen was delicious but I did not try the Ramen Noodles because I don't like ramen noodles. At checkout, I asked for to-go boxes because I figured my dog would have somewhat health treat. I believe lady that aske how out meal was, might have been the manager. I told her my opinion and she agree with everything I stated as she collected the $50. We left disappointed and hungry but still left a healthy tip simply out of...

So once every couple of weeks I come to AI to get their - what used to be - delicious Agedashi Tofu. Today is that day, and I was anticipating another delicious bowl of the Agedashi T. Unfortunately they've changed the whole dish and it's nearly inedible. When it first came.out the deep fried tofu looked great, shaped a bit differently but nicely cooked with a crisp coating. First bigger difference was the tofu was served on a flat plate rather than in a bowl so no way to bathe the tofu in the sauce. I asked for it to be placed in a bowl, which the server did for me. (BTW - she was fantastic especially being new on the job.)

I did pour the sauce over and noticed there just wasn't enough of it to give each beautiful piece of tofu a nice dip, so requested more, which I received. So I pored that over, dipped a piece of the tofu in the sauce, took a mouthful and was.completely overwhelmed by the saltiness.

I returned the dish and let them know it was.now inedible.

I hope they return to the original recipe as this had been my favorite little treat for myself.every.couple of weeks.

On the good side, my daughter's Kitsune Udon was good she says...

I will give it a go another time and am hopeful the old version will make...