Akasaru Ramen and Poke — Restaurant in Portland

The first time my wife ordered from Akasaru, she had it delivered via DoorDash. The second time, she had it delivered via HusbandDash. Both of these occurred within days of each other, indicating that she was pretty darn happy with her order. This meant I had to get in on the action as well, to see what I was missing out on.

When it was my turn to taste their namesake dish, which came with a warning about its level of spiciness (please! do you know who I am?!), my body was ready. We ordered ahead, and once more, I drove across town to Alberta Street, arriving a few minutes early. Everyone present was incredibly friendly and conversational during my wait, in a way that has become so uncommon, it was almost alien. A sign of good things to come.

I rushed home with our order, finding it to still be piping hot upon arrival and transference into proper tableware. The Akasaru ramen broth does have a fierce heat to it, almost too much for my wife, who could be heard sniffling and seen with watery eyes, but it's just perfect for me. The savory, umami combination of chicken broth, pork belly and bonito immediately warms and comforts you from the inside out. This will easily be my go-to order here, so for anyone looking for reviews of other entrées on their menu, I am sorry to say, you're going to be disappointed: I see no other reason to order anything else! Although, I've heard wonderful things about their spicy tuna poke don, and my wife has been side-eyeing the spicy coconut miso ramen, so perhaps I should hold off on carving our default order into stone.

All that said, we've also sampled the side of kimchi (great! but isn't all kimchi great?!), gyoza (great!) and chicken karaage (great!), for the kids. There has never been a grumble of complaint from anyone in our house, and considering how finicky our kids can be, that's saying something.

So far, we've never actually dined in the restaurant itself, since everything has been ordered and carted across town. Thus, since we're experts on ordering to-go, here's my take-away for Akasaru Ramen: don't skip this place, or you'll...

It's cold and wet out and I wanted ramen. I was on my way to Boxer down the street when I realized I was too early but Akasaru was open so I thought I would give it a try. I wanted something that would clear my nose and the spicy miso I thought would do the trick. I was disappointed. First off I am confused why they are using spaghetti noodles... I know this is not traditional ramen but really not even the right style of noodles? The broth tasted like generic chicken broth with a paste mixed in and there was fat pooled at the top, more fat then I wanted. The veggies were ok in the soup but again I was confused why there was dumplings in the broth. By the time I got to the dumplings they were so soggy it was not worth it. The spice level for spicy was ok but I did end up adding about 2 oz of chili paste to it to make it to the spice level that I wanted. The pork belly was cooked but not seared or braised. I think it was just boiled.

Over all if you want good soup this place is ok for the money. Would I call it Ramen?? No but it was good and hot...

11/09/16: 4.5 out of 5 - This place is so accommodating. The food... WOW! We tried the Coconut Miso Ramen and it was very tasty. I would definitely say, if you have an opportunity, this is a "must try" Ramen bowl. The Squid Leg Kara-age is still done well.

09/25/16: 4.5 out of 5 - First, let it be known, I really like a good bowl of ramen. What I don't like is paying too much for an okay bowl, let alone a subpar one.

Akasaru Ramen is a small place, but it's just right. The menu is to match with its four prefixes and its small plates (just love Izakaya). The ramen were excellent and just the right size, right amount of toppings, and fantastic broth. The small plates were good portions and prepped quite well. Everything was tasty.

The service staff are nice, very accommodating and attentive. The place itself is kept clean.

Definitely will be coming back, and I would definitely recommend trying this place once and decide...