Uma Uma Ramen — Restaurant in Ellicott City

For reference, I came on a Saturday evening, at around 6pm.

Upon arrival, I was the only customer, which was a bit disconcerting at that hour. However, I was seated with no wait. The waiter was using a cell phone while they were taking my order, which was a bit confusing and seemed unprofessional until I realized that this restaurant uses a cellphone app to take orders, in lieu of written slips or memory. Soda here is per-can, but ice water and hot tea are refillable (ice water costing nothing extra). I ordered the pork gyoza, and some tonkotsu ramen, with a level 2 spicyness. As a note, you can get it with no heat, all the way up to 5. 2 put the spicyness on par with, if not slightly above, Katana Sushi in Baltimore and their spicy ramen. I found it to be quite enjoyable, but I know there are some heat-fiends out there that might prefer a bit more. Your mileage may vary. The gyoza came out quickly, and was pain-fried together in such a way that it added to the presentation. The fried bits holding it together were easy to break with chop sticks, and tasted delicious. Nearing the end of my gyoza, my ramen came out. The spicyness is not mixed in, so if you want it all the way through, you need to start stirring it in with your chop sticks. The portion provided was delicious and filling, and everything was cooked to perfection. I finally ended my meal with a piece of green tea mochi, which arrived and was summarily devoured, a good, cool ending to the spicy ramen I had just eaten. By the end of my meal, the dining room had brought in a decent few more individuals, and I was happily stuffed. The cost was not horrible, and my meal came out to about $24, which I bumped up to $30 for good service.

All in all, I enjoyed my experience at Uma Uma, and will both recommend it and...

Come here for good Japanese ramen served in an American way. What's different from a ramen shop that you would go to in Japan? The servers don't greet you with the traditional "irasshaimase." There is no permanent water pitcher on the table. But neither of these things matter. This ramen shop has all four main varieties of ramen: Shoyu (soy sauce), Shio (salt), Miso (fermented bean paste), and Tonkotsu (bone broth). You can also pick your spice level from 1 to 5. I would recommend either a 1 or 2 if you're not accustomed to very spicy food. I got the miso bowl with a spice level of 3, an extra marinated egg, and bamboo shoots. My dining partner got the miso ramen without the naruto (fish cakes). We also got an order of pork gyoza. Our total was $35 before tax. The broth deliciously rich and nutty. The noodles were bouncy and held the flavor of the broth well. One of my marinated eggs was a bit over done. But the other egg had a perfectly jammy yolk and both were seasoned well. The miso bowl also comes with standard naruto (fish cake) and corn. I prefer roasted corn in ramen, but there was nothing wrong with the corn they served. The weakest point of the bowl was probably the chashu (pork belly). It was good, but not great like everything else in the bowl. I like my chashu to completely melt in my mouth. While the chashu was tender, I've had better. Normally when ramen comes out of the kitchen it is uncomfortably hot. But this ramen was served at an edible temperature. With very little ramen choices in the area, this is a great addition to Ellicott City's...

Uma Uma is our new go-to ramen place in Maryland. I mean, my wife and I sometimes go all the way to Philadelphia for good ramen (yup, only an Asian would go to Philly for ramen instead of cheese steak😄). The broth has that long, slow-simmered taste, typical of authentic Japanese ramen. It is very flavorful which many describe as salty. What that is actually, is umami; that rich, savory sensation that coats your mouth with each spoonful of soup and every chopstick grab of noodles. We ordered the tonkotsu ramen, I asked for level three spicy; any more than that will dampen the enjoyment of flavors. You can go up to level five or you can sprinkle more blended chili powder which is provided on the table. The noodles make Uma Uma way better then the other ramen places we've tried in Baltimore. They use the hardy straight noodles that stand up to the broth, they don't get soggy yet they absorb the flavors in the bowl. I just wish there was more cuts of pork in it. A whole marinated, poached egg would be nice too instead of just half of it. You can order those as extra however. We also ordered the pork buns. I won't describe it, JUST ORDER IT, trust me!👍 The shrimp gyoza can be better but the presentation was great, I'll try the pork variant next time. There's lots of parking space since it's in a strip mall. The restaurant itself is cozy and well-designed, booths, tables, and bar seating available. Service was courteous and quick. Get your...