Goma Tei Ramen Pearlridge — Restaurant in Oʻahu

Some of the worst ramen I've ever had in my life!! 🤬

Where do I start? (I have been a Maps Local Guide for a long time and this is the longest review I have ever written).

First, you can't call something tan tan men if there isn't any chili oil in it! You could literally have a bowl of hot garbage with some broth, noodles and chili oil and call it tan tan men. This bowl met that criteria in that description, except they left out the chili oil.

Next, the toppings. I ordered the vegetable tan tan men, which had porcini, dry-as-hell button mushrooms, and disappointingly, a single shiitake. There were also unevenly sliced carrots and some sort of green, which the chef decided to take the nearly raw stems of and slice into small discs, making them almost inedible with chopsticks. I opted to add their chashu to my ramen. The texture was actually good (4/5), but left much to be desired with it's bland taste (2.5/5).

Next, the ultimate downfall of this dish, the broth. Could a broth be more bland? Could a ramen broth be so removed from it's Japanese origins that you question whether there is even a hint of umami inside it? Could a ramen broth be so reliant on a single ingredient that they would name a restaurant after it (ごま(sesame))? These were some of the questions that ran through my head as I attempted to slurp down this sesame sludge.

The store is named goma (sesame) tei for a reason. They attempt to cover up their flavorless broth with a sesame paste, which may have been a slightly redeeming quality if it weren't for the poor execution by the cooks. Inside my ramen were giant chunks of undissolved sesame paste, which I had the unfortunate experience of squishing between my flappy-mouth-muscle and hard-pearly-bits. The trauma of which, I will not be forgetting for quite some time.

Lastly, the mini curry wasn't bad. I will not elaborate further for fear of giving this store any sense of undeserved self-confidence.

Overall, I'm angry and traumatized. How could a ramen be so bad? How could a bowl of hot garbage be paraded around as the signature dish of a chain of restaurants? Dear reader, I implore you, do not seek the answers to these questions yourself. Go spend your time and money on...

I had the Shoyu Ramen and it was soooooo good. The broth was rich and light. There was so much flavor. The chasu pork was so good. It was so tender and soaked the flavor of the broth right up. The noodles were chewy and springy. The vegetables add a nice crunch and bite while eating. I have never had broccoli in my ramen before, but it was good. My friend got this pork dish. I am unsure of what it was, but it was also good. He INSISTED heavily to try it. The pork was even more tender than the chasu in my ramen. When I picked it up with my chopsticks it started falling apart. Some people might not like that, but I do. We also split an order of Karaage. The outside had a nice crunch and provided a nice break from eating noodles. The sauce was very good as well. There was a lemon wedge on the side that I wanted to put on top of the chicken, but my friend ate it. I will definitely have to go back to try the karaage with the lemon juice. The experience was overall very good. I did not try anything from their beverage selection, but their water was very refreshing :) I recommend the shoyu ramen to eat and split an order of karaage with your friends. It was lots of fun sharing it. I will come back sometime in the future to take photos of the food and try...

Gomatei have always been one of my favorite go-tos when I'm craving some soup and noodles. Their menu quite simple, but that makes it easy for them to keep up with demands and quality over the years.

My favorites are the Tan Tan Ramen (sesame allergy allert!), Banbanji chicken (sesame allergy alert!) and their chili sauces, I always get them with a side of the fried garlic topping. 😋 But my friend prefers the Wakame shoyu ramen and Teriyaki chicken (side), I've also tried those and they were yummy as well, but I'm a sesame lover so I just can't resist the Tan Tan. Lol

Definitely recommend this place. Please do note that they have a sign-in sheet located by the front door (mall entrance side) and they do not have intercom or any fancy buzzers so you will need to stay close after signing in to hear their calls.

Service is at a decent pace, tho sometimes you will have to flag someone down if you need something (like refills) and the staff are too busy running around doing one thing at a time. But the staff do not have assigned sections unlike western style establishments so you can literally just wave down whoever is closest for...