Ramen Jin — Restaurant in Houston

--- NK Score = 7.5/10 ---

7/10 = Tables/Atmosphere 8/10 = Food Quality 7/10 = Variety/Styles 6/10 = Service/Prices (Other Ratings Hidden)

--- Price Range ($5.00 - $10.00) --- --- Small Bowl Snack - Big Bowl Ramen --- --- Solo or Group = Applicable ---

Hello, I'm NK and I'm going to describe my personal experience with this Ramen Jin. I hope to provide an honest and helpful review for those who want to know more about this place.

When you enter, you witness a pretty modern theme with dark red, black, and wood colors surrounding the interior. The place is pretty small-average in size, with around 10 small tables, 1 big center table, and 1 long window table, and is usually mild when it comes to noisiness. One problem with this place is that all the seats are just plain wood, so if you stay too long, or have a small butt, you could end up having a sore bum.

Food Quality here is a little mixed, I liked the texture of their broth, it was thick and soft to the touch, but it was also a little bland and lacking. It felt like I was drinking warm boiled soy milk that only has a little bit of flavor added, but that's alright for some people. Luckily, they have Salt, Pepper, and Spice on their tables that you can add whenever you want to enhance the flavor of your Ramen. I'd say both the Tonkotsu ($9.90) and Spicy Miso ($9.90) were pretty decent after adding some flavor to it. My friend also noted that her Unagi Don ($5.00) was pretty good, even though the portion was a little small.

For Variety, they have 4 types of Ramen (Tonkatsu, Miso/SpicyMiso, Sesame, Shoyu), which are all priced at $9.90. They do have rice dishes and snacks, but those come in small bowls that I wouldn't consider worth the money. The style of their Ramen was alright, just doesn't enough meat and other ingredients added to it, which I believe will cost extra if you want it.

The service here is pretty mediocre, nothing really happening besides them bringing you the food, which was a pretty short wait. I wouldn't consider the prices here to be fair though, but that defines most places that serve Japanese cuisine, overpriced when compared to the quantity and quality of the food.

Recommendations: The Tonkotsu ($9.90) had a pretty neat flavor after you add some Salt, Pepper, and Spice to it (Available on the Table).

Signed NK...

5/5 mostly

RAMEN -Broth was seasoned perfectly. -i got tonkatsu and even though it didn’t have an authentic Japanese ramen flavor it was as good in its own special way. American modern ramen fashion. As someone who has been to japan every year for the last decade and is moving there in one month I assure you this ramen is plenty good. -Pork was cooked almost perfectly. -Noodles were almost perfect. i could hear that they set timers which is a good sign that the doneness will be fairly consistent. If i were to go back i would request that they cook them a bit less since i prefer more bite. -portions are fair but not generous. I would order more noodles next time.

SERVICE -service was friendly -i would recommend cleaning up tables a bit more immediately but im fine with it. Not everyone will be -i would recommend checking in on customers experience a bit more and being present enough to say bye to customers as that leaves a good impression

ATMOSPHERE -the atmosphere is quite simple but nice enough with nice wooden touches which makes it feel closer to an experience in japan -it would leave a great impression on diners if there wasn’t a vacuum and work space in sight of the dinning room. If it must be there at least remove the vacuum and tidy up the table dedicated to employees computer/workspace -i think putting up a tv with japanese media / music etc would boost the energy/atmosphere of the place.

I would say this is the second best ramen in Houston a good ways behind ramen tatsuya. If the owner were to act on my recommendations for change I believe they would find even...

For the price this was a really good Ramen! Tonkotsu with a dollop of spicy. I think they say their spicy chili is homemade, but it seemed like it was just a regular Sriracha. It was very spicy though. The broth was good. It was, temperature wise, hot. It was a very simple broth (flavored somewhat like cup ramen) with a very simple, buttery taste to it, but what I appreciate it about this one is that they took the time to marinated the pork and the egg in the sweet soy sauce which, of course, mixed in with that simple broth taste to make it a little more complex. Not really a stand out, but in terms of prices, it was definitely a stand out. The Ramen was very inexpensive. Maybe $11 or $12 dollars max without tip. I can tell people like this place because there was at least three to go orders waiting to be picked up, despite the building being empty. It’s only getting three stars because the building had its own smell when you walk in, and you can tell it’s a very old building, and a little rundown when you look into the kitchen area. It didn’t seem dirty, but the smell makes you think it’s dirty. They had a self-service water cooler jug, which I really liked but probably needs to be cleaned more often. Probably need to be upgraded because the water wasn’t really cold. And there was no straws from what I saw. There might’ve been, but I didn’t see any.

Good interim ramen spot. You’re craving ramen, but your favorite place is unobtainable at the moment for whatever reason, this is a good place to get an inexpensive fix until you can get to your...