Ruckus Ramen — Restaurant in Lansing

This place is hands down the best ramen bowl I have ever had that wasn’t a 4/5-star restaurant/price. I literally just finished my dinner and felt compelled to write a review despite me not typically being a “review guy”. This is probably the 5th or 6th review I have ever done and for context, this was an online takeout order.

We ordered tempura shrimp to share as an appetizer that was perfectly crisped and had just the slightest hint of spiciness (not hot at all) that took it over the top. The pieces were large and not oily like a lot of the average Chinese takeout places are.

The biggest reason I wanted to share my experience is because it is sometimes difficult for us to find a restaurant that we both like bc I am a very picky eater when it comes to vegetables and she is the complete opposite. If you’re in a similar situation, this is the place to go.

I ordered the pork belly rice bowl with hoisin and despite me ordering online, I was able to write in the instructions to ask not only if they could give me the hoisin on the side, but if I could sub the rice out for noodles. They did exactly that and it was pretty awesome that they didn’t charge extra. The meal was absolutely delicious and the ingredients taste fresh. The pork belly was amazing and had just the right amount of fat left for the flavor but was not overly fatty at all. Everything was seasoned perfectly and I highly suggest trying some of the fried garlic oil.

The other dish ordered was their most popular item-the miso ramen, which also came with pork belly and added fried tofu with it. There are tons of different protein options and they put the broth into a quality soup to-go container so that the dishes aren’t soggy/overcooked when you get home.

They do what a lot of restaurants don’t do, which is simplify the menu and flavor combinations so that you can taste the layered flavors instead of how others throw too many things into the dish and complicate the palate.

If I had one “complaint” (despite it being much better than similar ordering from other takeout places) it would be that they don’t have a website but instead redirects you to their Facebook page where a link to order is available but not easily accessible without having to search for it. I would note that despite that, the ordering process was extremely easy and lets you make changes/choices that many other similar places do not. Upon entering to pick the order up, I was pleasantly surprised how spacious the attached bar/pool tables etc was and we plan on making another trip soon to dine in because the atmosphere is really cool. Really great experience and the staff was very friendly as well. Very excited to try more items...

I've had some really great food from here and some really disappointing food too. I feel like the consistency and quality control aren't there. Sometimes it just feels like no one actually tastes the food. The prices are too high to deal with the hit or miss nature of the product.

Compare to Tomukun in Ann Arbor which is the same price range and consistently better ramen, bao, etc (albeit without the pinball, but you can find some not too far away)

Updating this review over a year later - I'm here often for pinball events so I tend to get food in spite of the concerns. I feel like 8 times out of 10 the food is great, 1 time out of 10 it's mindblowing good, and 1 time out of 10 it's absolutely terrible. the reason I feel 3 stars is still relevant is that absolutely no one cares if the food is bad. You can't get remakes, replaced with something else, or even taken...

Their Spicy Red Curry Ramen has consistently been THEE best in town + the Karaage is unmatched!

I missed it so much during the pandemic shutdown + where other restaurants have struggled with quality + consistency since re-opening, Ruckus Ramen has not faltered whether dining in or taking out.

We always order Spicy Red Curry Ramen with Karaage. I don't know why I hadn't thought to add sweet potato to it before — it was nice complement to the eggplant + zucchini. 😋

We also got the Banh Mi Scallion Pancake. My only complaint: They don't offer a variety of fillings for the pancakes like they with do the Bao! It's sooo damn good, I just know they could get hella creative + make next-level "sandwiches" with those...