RamenYa — Restaurant in Glen Burnie

READ THIS IF YOU WANT TO TRY THE REAL AUTHENTIC RAMEN BOWL.

I saw a lot of positive comments here, which is great and I respect that! 🌟

For me, AS AN ASIAN WHO’S TRIED RAMEN ON BOTH THE EAST & WEST COAST 🍜, I came on a Wednesday, excited to try one of the most talked-about ramen spots in the DMV.

✅ Positive points: • Friendly staff 😊 • Affordable prices 💰 • Clean, chill space 🪑

Here’s MY HONEST TAKE FROM AN ASIAN TASTE PERSPECTIVE:

• Black Ramen: Broth was average 😕. My wife, who was VERY HUNGRY, even said the flavor didn’t satisfy — and when we all tried it, we agreed. The chashu was TOO THICK, TOO JUICY — and as you can see in the image, it wasn’t even close to the usual chashu style made by rolling pork belly, braising it in a sweet and salty soy sauce mix, and thinly slicing it. Instead, it looked like plain pork belly with light, instant marinade. Importantly, it was MISSING SEAWEED AND BAMBOO SHOOTS — WHICH I CONSIDER THE SOUL OF A GOOD RAMEN BOWL. The egg (ajitsuke tamago) was okay but didn’t elevate the dish. ⭐ 2/5

• Blackjack Ramen: I WAS RECOMMENDED THIS BY THE STAFF AS ONE OF THEIR BESTSELLERS, and MY STYLE IS ALWAYS TO TRY THE TOP-SELLING OR FAMOUS DISH OF A RESTAURANT to feel its best flavors — so I 100% TRUSTED THEIR SUGGESTION and ordered the Blackjack. Unfortunately, the broth was SLIGHTLY SOUR — AND THAT WAS IT. I couldn’t detect much other flavor; it felt like I was just eating noodles with some light vinegar. The noodles were FLAVORLESS, with lots of corn 🌽 and raw shallots. Again, the same thick and underseasoned pork — and once again, MISSING THE SEAWEED AND BAMBOO SHOOTS that are staples in most ramen. I was left confused about the concept of this dish. ⭐ 1/5 for me

• Spicy Tonkotsu: The BEST BOWL we had at the table 🌶️. ⭐ 4/5

Overall: This place is an AVERAGE, AFFORDABLE SPOT 🍜💸 FOR CASUAL MEALS — it’s not the phenomenal ramen destination in the DMV that some reviews suggest.

I know it might have just been not a good day for me to visit 🌧️, given the non-authentic dishes they made that day.

I truly hope I can come back next time and experience a BETTER TASTE ✨, especially since many people have called this place “ONE OF THE BEST IN THE DMV.”

Currently, for me, it felt more like ONE OF THE CASUAL RAMEN BOWLS...

Second trip:

I came here a second time with my coworker who enjoys ramen. I ordered black tonkatsu ramen and coworker ordered miso ramen. The Black tonkatsu ramen got better than previously. Noodles were cooked better and flavor were deeper.

I can definitely say that this ramen house is the best in all of DMV. Based on my experience this establishment is a master in their domain. I would definitely be coming back if they can expand to soy or seafood based ramens.

Intial impressions:

I was initially super hesitant to come here based on pictures alone. It's not the traditional Japanese ramen that I wanted but this establishment still created an extremely delicious ramen. From my discussion with the owner, I found out the owners are Korean but studied in Japan. I can already tell that there is a lot of Korean influence in this ramen which I thoroughly appreciated. Everything is made from scratch. From the noodles, broth, and charsu. They even use imported Japanese flour to create the noodles. Those unfamiliar to the flour world, flour milling process is different per country. This difference is visible in the end result (noodle).

We got the spicy tonkatsu ramen and black tonkatsu ramen. The tonkatsu broth had extreme depth and coated my mouth with a clean and porky flavor. The noodles are made here daily. It starts from scratch in which they use imported Japanese flour . The noodles do a great job of being able to hold the broth flavors as you eat. The chashu wasn't the traditional soy based but more of a Korean influence using miso/bean paste. The chashu was flavorful and cooked to perfection.

Overall impression, I can tell that this establishment genuinely cares for the product that they make. They make ramen from the cradle to the grave and look to push ramen to the next level. At $13 per bowl, there is...

3 hour wait time for the most overhyped adulterated Japanese food in the DMV.

My friend and I walked in and were given a 1-2 hour wait time with a pager. Dozens of customers left after hearing that and dozens more left after waiting too long in the parking lot. We couldn't leave the area with the pager. After we got in and ordered, we waited 30 min for an appetizer, another 1 hour for the ramen, and another 30 min for the check. It's ridiculous that I had to wait over 2-3 hours for food.

Food is not authentic, made with cut corners. I've been to dozens of Ramen restaurants in the DMV area and this is the most overhyped place for adulterated food. The Black Jack Ramen was a scam and the tonkatsu ramen felt like thin korean noodles. There was no bounciness to it. There was so little black oil in the Black Jack. I've seen the online pictures and it didn't match. I asked the waitress that it's supposed to cover half of it, but she dismissed my question and says it was normal. The overpriced chasu-don tasted like pressure cooked pork chunks in teriyaki sauce. Authentic chasu-don is made with thin torched porkbelly slices.

I saw the cooks and waitresses having long conversations in the back without working. They were laughing while we hungry and angry for 2 hours. This is the first time I felt like going full Karen.

If your listening owner, most busy ramen shops takes 10 minutes to 10 seconds to get food after entering in, even on a packed weekend night. Kippo takes 10 minutes, Mi & Yu takes 7, Kizuna 5, Hokkaido 5, Akira 3, and Jinya promises 10 seconds everytime and kept their promise. In Tokyo, my order only took 5 minutes on average. Please fix your operations and hire more cooks...