Ramen Wakana is a fantastic place that's destined to do well. The flavors are very distinct and has a lot of what you would wish for from a real bowl of ramen.
I ordered the Shoyu [soy sauce based] ramen with extra ajitama [egg], nori [seaweed], and corn. The noodles were ordered normal and had a very good texture, but order as you'd like. The pictures can speak for their first impressions by looks and the flavors were just phenomenal. The broth was very savory and the toppings beautifully complimented that. The chashu [Japanese braised pork belly] was INCREDIBLY juicy in the broth and so delicious, along with the eggs which had that amazingly satisfying texture and taste. The rest of the ingredients were fresh and brought out a good flavor but the chashu and ajitama were some extremely nice highlights. Everything was just done right.
The prices are not yet posted on the menu, nor is the chashu bun or the fried popcorn chicken that you can order as an appetizer as well. The menu is mostly being worked on and will only increase in size as time goes past this soft-opening with the menu re-work. If you've had the pleasure of Vivi (Bubble Tea)'s popcorn chicken, you'll find that same satisfaction at Ramen Wakana's chicken too. The chashu bun is an amazing treat, accompanied by what tastes like hoisin sauce and slices of cucumber and scallion blanketed between a soft steamed bun. If you get the chance and like the aforementioned foods, definitely give these solid appetizers a try! As for numbers, a bowl of ramen will cost $12 with extra toppings each costing +$2, two chashu buns will cost $7, and a small plate of fried chicken with a side of Thai chili sauce(?) will cost you $6.
For service, you can't ask for better. The servers here are seasoned veterans of the trade and know exactly what they are doing. Not only are they experienced, but they are all extremely friendly and have a great dynamic with each other. Larry and Fiona are two very notable servers who spent the time talking to me about the menu and future plans of the restaurant; absolutely everybody wants to see this place succeed, as do I. More meat options will become available as time goes on, the bar area will potentially be remodeled into a boba [bubble tea] bar, and future plans for soft alcohol licenses are in the works. I wish all the best to the fantastic owner and its staff who deeply care about this place with the love in the food to show....
Read moreMyself and two friends came to wakana for dinner. after rudely being told we had to take our temperature we sat and were approached by a very unfriendly waiter who we think was the owner. His demeanor was dry and hostile. We ordered the boa buns which did not taste fresh.you can tell they were frozen. My friend asked if there were different sizes of ramen bowls and was answered with a blunt dry unkind response. We ordered an eel roll that barely had any eel in it.there was a tiny slither of eel in there for almost $8..it was mostly cucumber. When we told our waiter about it he said that the eel roll comes with cucumber and that we should read the menu and know what we are ordering. He was hesitant and unwilling to take it back.We ordered a sweet potato roll with avocado which came with no avocado he took it off the table and threw it out in our face instead of leaving it at the table and making us a new one since it was their mistake. The guy making the sushi was on a video call the whole time he was working.He kept using the microwave to make the sushi.My friend asked for spicy mayo and eel sauce to come with our sushi and our waiter said our sushi hadn't even arrived at the table and that he would get it when it came..overall this was a super bad experience. This place has horrible customer service and they have mediocre food..I don't know how this place has good reviews. Zero stars in my opinion..don't waste your time or money coming here. Spend your money somewhere where they treat their customers nicely and with respect not like you...
Read moreMy first impression as we entered the restaurant was how spacious and nice the inside looked. We were quickly greeted and seated by a friendly woman who would subsequently take out beverage order. I ordered a good old classic coca-cola while my friend ordered a mango bubble tea. We quickly dove into the very visual menu, scanning the photos before reading what exactly we were looking at. We frequent another ramen place and we’re almost immediately familiar with the majority of the menu. We decided to start off with the chashu bun. It didn’t disappoint. The bun was dense, and the pork belly was perfectly juicy while boasting a delicious glazed char. Great choice.
For my main, I decided on the Miso ramen with wavy normal noodles. The bowl was deep and held a lot more broth than I’m used to. In fact, it hid a mountain of corn at the bottom. The noodles were prepared exactly as ordered. The pork was nicely cooked and had a delicious glaze on the outside, but overall had only a slight flavor to it. The egg sat nicely on top, with a great consistency to the yolk, but was also slightly lacking the desired taste. The broth itself was good, but again not super flavorful. I found myself loading it up with a lot more Shichimi Togarashi than I usually do.
Overall, I’d recommend. I will definitely go back and continue to explore the menu and what this place has to offer. By all means, although it wasn’t perfect it was...
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