Pin Ramen — Restaurant in Jersey Village

ABSOLUTELY THE BEST RAMEN in Houston. Chef Koji had lived in Japan for more than 10 years, and he is obsessed with ramen, he said he would eat ramen every day while he was there. So I was super duper excited when I found out he finally opened his own ramen shop.

Koji's Ramen is a very cute mom and pop shop located in a pretty busy center up north. Loved the very traditional Japanese decor they did. After I sit down, they first gave me a small plate of complimentary marinated redish sweet and sour appetizer, its so crispy and fresh, immediately I feel I am ready to have a big meal.

They suggested I try their fried Gyoza, because they make it very traditional. It came out to be golden color and looked like freshly made bubble waffles. It taste awesome of course because the dumpling is home made. Since there's not a lot of people there, Chef Koji told me a bit ramen history, he moderately said I wouldn't say my ramen is traditional because different regions have different tradition. Which is true, just like food in China.

The fried homemade veggie eggrolls are super crispy, sweet and sour sauce with chilli in it is perfectly paired with it.

We tried several of their different ramen, I enjoy them not so so rich, but very mellow. You know some ramen place makes the soup super greasy and it might take good for a second but afterwards you will feel too oily. The most impress part of their ramen is their noodle. I love the thickness, love the chewiness texture and even I left it for a while it still didn't get soggy.

The extra pork chashu that they put on the side taste like soft grilled bacon. I like the fatty in it. It's rich enough to have couple of them.

And at last, chef Koji offered their homemade coconut milk boba desert, nicely touch at the end. Smooth ending for this meal.

If I wasn't living so far away, I would go at least twice a week especially in this weather.

Anyways, highly highly recommended for their food. I don't expect the service to be superb when I come to a mom and pop shop as long as their food is impressive and...

There are your typical corporate Ramen restaurants, however, the true gems are the small, family-owned ones. Pin Ramen is one of those gems. Tucked away in an aged strip center, you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for when it comes to ramen. A specials board welcomes you inside a small and quaint dining room furnished with comfortable seating and authentic Japanese decor. You are greeted with an exciting welcome by the owner. She provides prompt service and checks in regularly to ensure satisfaction while maintaining a friendly and respectful demeanor.

When it comes to the menu, there are many options and she is there to answer any questions or give recommendations. I’m a foodie, so when it came to choosing, my eyes are bigger than my stomach. Our order arrived promptly: Edamame, Spring rolls, Crab Rangoons, pan fried Gyoza, and Vegetable Tempura. The Edamame were perfect temperature and salted to perfection. The spring rolls were crisp and flavorful. Crab rangoons were full and creamy. The pan fried gyoza had a perfect texture and balanced well with the dipping sauce. The vegetable tempura was light and refreshing. My teenage son had the special Pin Ramen. It came in a bowl the size of his head with a long and well battered shrimp tempura. The color of the broth was a beautiful sunset color and the flavor was a good balance of spiciness. I had the Tonkatsu Ramen. I’m not lying when I say that was the best flavor Pork Chashu I’ve ever tasted. It had a bbq flavor, was tender, yet held its shape at the same time. It was like butter. The broth was peppery and creamy. Absolutely amazing.

We had such a great experience, we came back for lunch two days later. Take a chance to try them out- you just may have a new favorite restaurant in your...

Well this location is no longer Koji’s Ramen Bistro, it’s called Pin Ramen and it is nothing like the previous restaurant. The signage out front still says Koji’s but there are new owners. We thought maybe they hired more staff and remodeled the inside, and we should have noticed when the menu’s looked different- but we always get the same thing so I ordered our usual meal and did not inspect the menu. I usually get the pan fried dumplings, which were OK but were drastically different. We stayed wondering what was going on, then the chicken ramen came to the table- with chicken nuggets in it?!? I have never seen ramen with chicken nuggets in it, it’s usually chicken breast or dark meat. It was nothing even close to what we were used to, it did not smell or taste appealing at all. To be fair, she did mention this was their first day open, I suppose I just thought they meant first day open since remodeling. So I definitely place the blame on myself for not paying attention well enough, but if you go here expecting anything close to what Koji’s was, it is not that. We will really miss Koji’s and the family that owned it as we have been patrons for years. They really need to change the signage as that is...