Build Your Own Ramen — Restaurant in Oʻahu

Well. I've found my new comfort food restaurant in Aiea. Like I've eaten and gotten takeout here way too many times, and I'll continue to do so cause it's sooooo good.

Now I tend to avoid weigh-your-food places cause they're so dangerous. But alas, when it's good it's good. I tend to go heavier on the proteins, and really appreciate they've got some good ones like oxtail, tendon, tripe, seafood and different meat/fish balls. Plenty of vegetable options too. My weight is usually in the 0.7-0.8 lbs range.

So you put some gloves on, grab a basket and tongs, and just make your way down the buffet. Jk not buffet lol. First case is proteins, second case is vegetables and tofu products. There's a scale there to keep track of what you're out, and a chart of weight prices. Also a little holder with slips for other sliced common proteins (beef, pork, etc). These cost extra, about $3 for 4-5 slices, which I tend to avoid these as they'll add up fast. Note minimum charge is around $13, or half a pound of food.

My favorites are udon noodles with the healthy herb soup. It's milky because of creamer, and oh man is this broth delicious. The bowl that it comes out in is HUGE. Like I usually have half a bowl left of broth that I take home to make my own ramen. You can also ask for it to be spicy, and I like that they have their homemade chili spice available at each table for me to load up on and make extra spicy.

As if I didn't love their savory foods enough, when dining in they provide a free Taiwanese style shave ice dessert. They'll bring out a portion large enough for your party, and the best part is that it's free!!! There are plenty of tables inside, and it's usually pretty chilly with the AC blasting (which is preferred when eating hot soup). The servers are quite friendly and work hard. Whenever I order takeout they stay true to the weight-to-cost ratio and i get my money's worth.

Parking can sometimes get crowded in the Plaza. There's a credit card...

We’ve been regulars at this place for a while, and it’s honestly disappointing to have to write this review because we used to really like it here. However, after our recent experience, we won’t be coming back.

This time, we found a hair in our food, which is completely disgusting and unacceptable. When we told them, they offered to make a new dish, but since we were in a hurry, we asked them not to charge us instead. My wife had only taken a few bites before noticing the hair, so we thought this was a reasonable request.

Instead of apologizing and making things right, they argued with us, said we had a bad attitude, and even implied that the hair could have been my wife’s, which was insulting and unprofessional. To make matters worse, they still charged us for the dish and only offered a small discount—even though it was clearly contaminated.

What makes this situation even more upsetting is that this isn’t even the first time we’ve had an issue here. On a previous visit, we found plastic in our food, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt because they seemed like nice people. I’m honestly kicking myself for not taking that as a red flag back then.

It’s clear that they don’t value customer loyalty or long-term business. Instead, they seem to only care about getting paid today—even if it means charging us for food with hair in it and completely disregarding our concerns.

We’ve supported this place regularly, and it’s a shame to see how little they care about customer satisfaction and food safety. Good food doesn’t excuse bad service, and after giving them multiple chances, we’re done. Avoid this place if you value cleanliness, professionalism,...

NOTE: the pin for this restaurant seems to be misplaced a little bit. The restaurant is actually in that line of restaurants that include "Blazing Steaks".

Service was very attentive and friendly. Included a generous "deluxe" shave ice for dessert (which was pretty impressive - i posted a photo of it in this post).

Interesting concept where you get to build your ramen, picking from something of a buffet line for your toppings, then take it to the counter for to make your other selections (soup base, noodle type, etc...).

Price is per pound (or fraction thereof), so don't be like me (I didn't periodically check on my basket weight)...I'd recommend being mindful of how much you're putting in your "toppings basked" and weighing it periodically as you go along. The price chart is right there for you to see, so you'll know how much you're racking up for your final charge.

Bottom line - it's certainly an experience for sure. Imho, it was a little bit pricey for ramen - BUT, that's my own fault for not keeping an eye on my basket getting weighted - NOT a ding on the restaurant. They're very upfront on...