Juban Ramen & Tapas — Restaurant in Milpitas

Juban is a cozy shop run by Koreans, but by decor and taste, it's authentic by Japanese standards. I ordered the TanTan Men for $13.03 after tax. It was a miserably rainy and windy day, and I was the first customer in for dinner. I lived in Tokyo for five years and was/am quite a ramen fanatic - I like all types, when they fit the archetype for that specific ramen. But I do have a soft spot for TanTan men. Strangely enough, I have yet to find a native Japanese-run shop in the Bay Area with a good TanTan. When done right, the soup should be thick. Juban's was medium thick, flavorful, and spicy enough with roasted red peppers to drive me to sweat profusely - 6/5 - what can I say? Koreans know how to spice it up! The noodles are 4/5 (I like slightly thicker, chewier noodles for TanTan). The toppings are also 5/5 - in place of traditional ground pork, I was served two slices of chashu, which turned out ok, considering how well they were cooked. The half hanjuku tamago had the perfect consistency. Service was prompt and friendly. I'll be back with the intention of trying other items on the menu, but may end up ordering the TanTan again...

1/23/19 Update: with only a dollar difference between the Tantanmen and the miso ramen, I had to have the TanTan again. I asked for harder noodles this time. I also paid more attention to the ingredients and noticed tochi 豆豉 which is common in Chinese dishes, but I've never seen it in Tantanmen before! It actually adds some depth with umami and the texture is a nice contrast - definitely a positive addition. Don't miss it as it's mostly at the bottom...

This place opened in June 2017! It's at where the old MOH Kitchen used to be.

Walking in, the interior decor caught my eyes first. The old Japanese posters on the wall and the wooden benches gave this place a casual and relaxing vibe. However, the wooden benches were very uncomfortable, and the stone tables clinked so loud with the bowls.

Beside that, the ambience was pretty quiet (yes I was probably the loudest inside :p). There was only 1 waiter for all the tables (about 6 or 7 were occupied), so you may have to wait for service.

Now food. I tried the Tonkatsu, my go-to ramen. I would give it 3.5 stars. The noodle was firm, and the broth had okay flavorful but on the bland side, but it was neither too oily nor too salty. The chasu that came with the ramen was also delicious. However, the tsukemen my friend ordered was not as good. First of, the noodles were stuck together. Then, the broth tasted like a vegetable soup. The grilled squid was very fishy, and slightly bitter.

I would come back to try some appetizers and maybe get the...

Don't forget to sign the receipt else they will add the tip themselves. First of a kind experience.😀

I went their last weekend. The food was okay. They have 4 or 5 vegetarian ramen options which is great. It's a nice small place with decent service.

So about adding the tip themselves:

I got the check while I was still eating (no issues there as the restaurant was past closing time), I paid the bill BUT as I was still eating I never signed the payment receipt (and obviously also didn't get a chance to add the tip). I was feeling bad about it BUT to my surprise my credit card statement shows they added the tip themselves how much ever they saw fit. I have never seen such a thing. Not even sure if this is...