Nishiki Ramen — Restaurant in Plano

I visited this establishment tonight. PB was here last week with his new found friends and had a good meal, so he wanted me to try it. I didn’t want to come here when they had a grand opening with 50% off ramen and tried to fight other frugal customers just like free pancakes at IHOP. Not my thing. Anyhow, I need to clarify one thing before proceeding with my review. There is nothing Japanese about this establishment and I will tell you why. PB and I ordered gyoza, Takoyaki, Notorious GGG and Black Bomb ramen. Btw, they don’t have fountain drinks. They sell cans. I don’t like that. So cheap and very unAmerican! JS! American folks like soda refills and they’re not going to keep buying cans after cans. When gyoza was brought to our table, it came with unfamiliar dipping sauce like Hoisin sauce. I tasted though it didn’t taste bad, it’s not what’s supposed to be served with gyoza. I should know this, bc I’m Japanese who grew up in a Japanese(not Japanese American)household eating Japanese food and speaking Japanese in Japan. Japanese Gyoza should traditionally be served with soy sauce, rice vinegar and hot chili oil(Rayu). Another thing that made me totally flabbergasted was when I asked the server for a side of rice and her reply was she didn’t have any rice!!!! What kind of Japanese eatery don’t have rice???? It’s our staple!!! SMH!! I should had got up and left and I really regretted it. Anyhow, when Takoyaki came out to our table and when PB took one bite and said this tasted funny, so when the server came to our table asking how was everything and he told her the Takoyaki was no good and tasted funny, so she took them back and took it off the bill. It’s pretty hard to mess up Takoyaki, but they did. I wasn’t rude about it. I was straight forward and kept it real. The wait staff were friendly and apologetic and the runner even brought me Shichimi peppers(they’re used on Udon noodles and soba noodles)and hot chili oil, but I didn’t have anything to put it on. The young man(manager)seemed sincere as well. However, Notorious GGG(tons of garlic, but in reality, it looked like ramen cereal)was not hot and not enough and the noodles were sticky and not al dente. I didn’t want to say anything anymore, but I just wanted to eat, pay and leave. PB’s black ramen was steaming hot and he had to wait for it to cool down and he said that soft boiled eggs were good. What irritated me the most at the end for this ordeal was when I was ready to pay and took out my AX, she said we don’t take AX!!!!! Braums take AX, grocery stores take AX, majority of restaurants take AX, city of Plano take AX for utilities and car registration, hotels take AX, airlines take AX and list goes on!!! I was so fed up with the foolishness nonsense of this non authenticity of this restaurant and I didn’t complain, but I left a 10% tip the poor quality and service. I seriously doubt that the owner is Japanese, bc if he were, the food would be of authenticity, but they’re not. Kura Revolving Sushi has better quality of ramen and they have rice and so do the Japanese food court across the street. I wished I went to Ramen Hakata in Allen, bc the food is very tasty and very authentic there though the owner is not Japanese. It’s pretty bad non Japanese owner can pull off better, more authentic food than supposedly a native person. With that being said, I will not be returning, but I will continue to go to other great ramen eateries elsewhere in DFW Metro. Sadly, Nishiki in Plano is not it. They have to do better or...

Tried out the place. What got my attention first was the prices. $18.45 for the black ramen and $17.45 for the regular ramen. They also had an appetizer fries dish for $16.95, yes $17 for french fries garnished with sauce, some meat (and not much), and other stuff. They had a chicken app priced at $9.95 so I don't know how they justify charging $17 for potatoes and very small amount of meat (yes we ordered it). Ramen is the typical ramen, the same size you would expect at other ramen restaurants. The fries dish was not big at all and really nothing special. Nice to try once but not paying that much again. Overall the 3 menu items we got for the two of us were overpriced. It wasn't like the place was in a really nice shopping center or the restaurant had really nice fancy ambiance that would warrant higher prices. Then I saw the menu listed all of their locations and the Plano location was the only one outside of California (where we are from). They have several locations in the San Diego area. I thought to myself are they charging CA prices in Texas, their first location? Wham! They are, just checked at home (visited on 10/13 and checked their website 10/16) and their SD locations has the same price as the Plano location. Don't think I'll be coming here again as I really hate over spending just because the merchant wants to charge more. I mean how much are noodles (even though home made which I couldn't tell the difference with many ramen soups I've had), one egg, and 1 or 2 slice of meat (can't remember, but again same as other places). Giving 2 stars as I felt prices could come down $3 - 4 for the dishes we ordered.

Edit: we like apps that are like the nachos type so that's why we ordered the french fry dish. Anyone who want to try a really good nacho app, go to HG SPLY restaurant. They have a nacho app called Cochinita Nachos. It's made with pulled pork (and LOTS of it). It's about $17 and at least twice the size of this one from Nishiki albeit it is chips instead of fries. They are also pet friendly outside and the inside is nice. The nachos is more like an entree than an app due to it's size. It's huge and delicious! You won't be disappointed. There are several locations in the DFW area. We went to the Trophy...

Finally got to try Nishiki Ramen right around the neighborhood. Driven by the plaza so many time as I enter the 75-S but never bothered to check it out until today.

We arrived at 11AM, their opening time, to grab a quick bite before catching a movie at the Cinemark down the street. After being seated and waiting for our ramen, about ¼ of the restaurant was already filled. Service is prompt and friendly, not different from many of the ramen joints we frequented around here.

I ordered the #2 Nishiki ramen while my wife ordered the #1 Black Bomb ramen. We always order our ramen without pickled ginger and it was omitted from our order. The tonkotsu broth is on point, delicious, salted and seasoned perfectly. Equally rich and flavorful. The noodles are springy and chewy, catching a decent amount of broth with each bite. I gotta mention the egg flavor though and I'm surprised no other reviews mentioned it. The egg is served whole instead of sliced in half as most ramen joint serves it. The flavor, well, it's not the usual ajitama we're all accustomed to. Nishiki's egg yolks are very soft and slightly runny even, with a unique fruity flavor to it. I can't really describe the flavor but for some reason a very light hint of durian comes to mind. Can someone else confirm? My wife loves eggs with her ramen and after taken a big bite out of hers, she gave it a hard pass and didn't finish the rest. I kinda like it in its unique flavor.

Price is on the higher end for ramen. A #1, #2, can of Coke and Asahi draft came out to about a cool...