Mugen Noodle — Restaurant in Hood River

After a scenic drive up HWY30 from Portland I drove to Hood River for an early dinner. We stopped in and were quickly seated. Very busy for a early Sunday so some of my complaints aren't warranted but it is what it is. We ordered 2 garlic Ramen with cashew pork and a shoyu ramen with cashew pork and crab rangoons. A thai iced tea, one of those pop top sodas and some kind of sprite with salted rim drink. All the food and drinks were brought in a timely fashion without to much waiting. The drinks were good and the crab rangoons were the best we've had in a long time. When we got the ramen it looked a bit disappointing, nothing like what's on the website menu. I had almost no green onion, or really any other veg in my bowl, neither did anyone else in our group. I thought ok maybe that's what it looks like. I get it pandemic, low wages, people quitting for more reasons these days. One of us didn't even have egg which I thought I had specified as an add-on, it wasn't in the receipt. Speaking of egg, you only get HALF an egg for 2$. Really? They're like 7 cents each in bulk at winco. The pork was good, it however, wasn't cashew pork. Finally, well almost finally. The broth and the overall flavor of the ramen had no hint of garlic, None. I literally thought we didn't get the right broth. So I'm looking around to find someone to get a hold of but they're so busy by this point I knew well enough to just chow and bounce. Finally, for real this time. So, for 86$ including a precalculated tip selection. We got two non-garlic flavored black garlic ramen with 2 tablespoons of veg and half an egg and a very tasty strip of not cashew pork. A shoyu ramen with a tablespoon of veg with no egg and again a very tasty not cashew pork and THE BEST Rangoons we've ever had! HANDS DOWN the Rangoons saved this from a one star review. THE BEST! FIGHT ME! Ok, so after all this I won't be back except for the rangoons.

A side note. Paying for parking in downtown hood river is the dumbest thing I've ever seen. I know, at least I think I know, the the businesses down there don't have anything to do with it. However, I'm just going to go park next to your houses and walk 3 blocks, that's what we do...

Absolutely incredible! It took our dinner from a whim to date!! You must remember to get the mango mousse!!!

My partner and I decided to travel to Hood River from Portland on a whim and have dinner. We were interested in having some Japanese food and Mugen came up on our searches. You can tell a place is good if every photo isn't just Sushi!! We had two different types of ramen. Both were appropriately nuanced in their flavors. When it came time to decide if we were done, I just decided to try their mango mousse.... ... ... best decision ever!

Usually anything mango flavored as a dessert is so overpowered and sweet. Not this! Mugen's mango mousse was so beautiful and it's tasted WAY better!! You could taste the compliments of the mango with the raspberry syrup and whip cream. It was the perfect amount of sweet. We took one bite and our eyes just lit up! I looked over at one of the owners, who just happened to be looking at our direction. I just nodded with delight and put up my two thumbs like an overexhuberant geek!

Aside from the food, the owners were wonderfully nice. They just opened around the time of the start of the pandemic. Thank fully they have survived this long and I cannot wait to visit Mugen again. I truly hope that next time we do, we'll need to reserve a seat because I wish them immense...

Update! After eating here again, the people are just so delightful that I changed the stars to five stars. The black garlic chintan with pork is next level. Like nothing else. Delicious! Go try. The duck soup hasn’t changed, I keep giving it a try because it is one of my favorite dishes in the whole world. But that and the crab puffs are the only things I don’t like.

I really enjoy this restaurant. I had Black Garlic Soup, spicy shrimp soup (it tastes like Tom Yam), a dry black garlic noodle, duck soup, curry soup, chicken ramen soup (with broth), calamari skewers, crab Rangoon, crab puffs, spicy wonton, and pot stickers.

The soup is consistently delicious, especially with the added pork and egg. The crab puffs are interesting. They are sweet-ish and more like fried empanadas. The crab Rangoon is more traditional and delicious. The pot stickers are a win. The Thai iced tea is sooooooo good.

The only reason why I’m giving 4 stars is because I went previously and ordered the duck soup (I’ve tried it 3 times!). It’s just not flavorful compared to other asian duck soups I’ve had. So, in fairness, I want people to know that they will get a spectrum of flavors that are not consistently amazing. That being said, I come here twice a month. It’s the best noodle I have ever had (and I lived in Southeast Asia...