Momoya Ramen and Sushi — Restaurant in Salina

Strange... So I've spent my fair share of time overseas and I've tried a lot of food. The pork belly ramen was an interesting take, the cilantro was just strange, the broth was alright but a bit too earthy because of the sheer quantity of bean sprouts, I loved the quail eggs (made sure to get two because it's hard to mess up an egg) they were perfectly softboiled and sat just on top of the broth so that was a huge +++ the noodles themselves to quote our server with the interesting eyebrows (she was super cool and very polite but seriously doesn't understand the difference between egg noodle and rice noodle or what chow mein is... She referred to everything as "like ramen from the bag") so the noodles were off and seemed like they were from a maruchan packet or maybe top ramen idk, the corn was also a strange addition to the ramen (not saying it's wrong, just not something I ever experienced overseas) and lastly I mean it's in the name Pork Belly ramen... The pork belly was akin to spam (which if you know good ramen, spam can be amazing and even preferred but oh my lord, this must have been set on a grill top for 25 seconds a side on the lowest setting because it was basically mush when I bit into it) the black fungus was nice but way too big in my opinion, I like it, it's a good flavour and provides a pleasant earthy smell but when the chunks are cut to the size of a vanilla wafer or one of those church crisp things that's a problem. Also got green tea boba and it was alright, the balls were good, the actual tea was pretty bland like even the green tea taste was just very mellow. Overall an interesting visit, I've got nothing ill against the staff serving or cooking. Just wanted to try some ramen and this is how it went. Also tried the Las Vegas roll (cause it was half off) it was very very mild which for some people is probably preferred but if it says it's served with spicy salmon and the salmon on the roll isn't spicy I'm a little disappointed. I do want to apologize for not taking any of the food to go. I don't live in Salina and I'm leaving tomorrow otherwise I would have taken it with me, I feel really bad about that because the head lady even asked me if it was alright and I just had to say "yeah it was alright but I'm good". No...

MOMOYA RAMEN AND SUSHI Salina, Kansas

I was visiting from out of town for a family graduation. I tried to guess the nationality of the staff. My sister guessed Chinese. I thought they were one of: Laotian, Cambodian or Vietnamese. So I said " cảm ơn bạn," trying out my Vietnamese, to the waitress. There was no response. Next I tried "xièxie," thank you, in Mandarin. The waitress reacted and replied, asking if we were "Zhōngguórén," Chinese persons. I said, "No, we're Filipino." My sister was right. They were Chinese.

The place does not have a counter, where we could watch a sushi master skillfully prepare sushi. The sushi was brought to our table already prepared. Not a good sign.

We asked for hot tea. They brought a teapot with a teabag in it; the water was far from boiling hot, just above lukewarm, hence the teabag could not flavor the water. No decent sushi and ramen place would serve tea with a teabag, they would boil powdered green tea and serve it hot. Another not-good sign.

Being a lover of genuine Japanese cuisine, I was afraid to order. I played it safe and ordered the fried rice. Not an authentic Japanese item, but I made a bet that it would be hard to mess up fried rice. I was wrong. The fried rice was below average. The rice grains were of different texture; different batches had been steamed separately, and the fried rice on my plate came from different batches of previously steamed rice. Flavored with soy sauce, instead of being gently sauteed in caramelized onions and garlic. In fact, there were no onions or garlic in this place's fried rice. It's amazing what places like this can get away with.

Two members of my family offered for me to try one of their sushi rolls. I did. They were OK. Not bad. Not good. Not genuine sushi rolls made from fresh fish and sticky sushi rice. They could have been better, they could have been worse.

Perhaps it's the only...

What sold me was the quality of their ingredients. You would be amazed at the difference from most places fried rice vs Momoya. I have tried the shrimp and chicken one. The rice itself has all the right flavors in the right amounts which on its own is enough to put it ahead of most places but the real winner is the meat, if you get chicken, its actually small cut cubes of chicken, not that thin sliced dry stuff most places do, the chicken isn't some fake white meat stuff from sodexo, its really tender chicken just like if I got a whole bird cooked it up and diced it at home. The shrimp are large, soft and amazing. I have also tried some rolls all of which were superior to the other places in Salina. The wife has done the seafood combination ramen, It was the best one she has ever had, they actually didn't overcook the scallops!!! Seriously, if you live in the area please support this place, I do not like having to drive to Wichita just to get...