J Y Ramen — Restaurant in San Antonio

The tonkatsu broth was thick and smooth although a bit light for my tastes. Once you mix in your toppings the broth takes on a stronger taste but I feel like the broth should taste a little richer. Maybe the broth is on the lighter side because although the pork belly wasn't charred, it tasted a bit sweet and soy sauce-y alongside it's generous marbled fat. If you do get toppings I highly recommend adding the pickled ginger and fermented mushrooms (and wood ear mushrooms too), to balance all that succulent pork belly. Did I mention the pork belly? Oh yes, the pork belly... one topping to rule them all. You can pass on the fried tofu drenched in soy sauce and the boiled egg as toppings though. The tofu was ok even if it's not all like fried tofu skins. The boiled egg is supposed to be more on the runny side and its white is supposed to taste like sweet soy sauce and maybe some vinegar but it just tasted like a hard boiled egg.

I also had the chared sweet yodas and iced unsweet oolong tea; both refreshing.

I'm coming back for their miso based spicy ramen.

the staff was really nice.

................. 3/31/18 I had the spicy tonkatsu.

Did the pork belly still melt in my mouth? You betcha. Did the noodles still taste homemade? Absolutely. But other than that the ramen was a whole different ramen beast I slurped to death.

That broth got a little thicker but not anywhere near a gravy consistency. It didn't have a hot pepper spice where your whole tongue numbs up but the peppercorn spice that warms up your throat. It complemented the fatty, sweet, milky broth. Hell. It complemented the wheat noodles to the point I'm wondering if they were mixed with buckwheat or something else to be so chewy yet distinctly flavored. They didn't swell up into a mushy paste either.

This time the boiled egg yolk was runny too like it's supposed to be. The white tasted sweet and soy sauce-y too.

Even my other toppings tasted somehow fresher thanks to the broth. The baboo shoots were sweet. The vinegar-y red pickled ginger balanced the fat. The black mushrooms were salty and crunchy. Seaweed is still an acquired taste. The tofu had a crispy skin and soft interior, soaked in less salty soy sauce perfect for soaking that broth. I even noticed some roasted sesame seeds and scallions this time.

Now this place is on par with most ramen I had in Kyoto.

Side note. Yea. There aren't a lot of things in the menu. Totally fine. I rather them do a few things very well than have like 50,000 options. That doesn't let anyone get good at any one thing.

Which brings me to the fish rice bowl. It's grilled with the skin and tiny bones in. Just chew thoroughly. I don't know what kind of fish it was but it sure as hell wasn't the insipid tilapia. It had a fatty, crispy skin almost like salmon but white flesh that didn't flake. It was still very juicy. It soaked in a sweet dark brown mirin sauce... erm, like boiled sweet alcohol and soy sauce to the point of a sticky consistency. It layed on a pillow of steamed jasmine rice, a fresh seawead and pickled red ginger salad on the side. Freshly ground pepper and sesame seeds were sprinkled on top. Even better than at a train...

There's no air conditioning and we came for hot soup.....lmao....I just wanted my fam to try ramen...why

The ramen was good. Tonkatsu broth was savory, and the pork belly was very tender. The egg was salty and the noodles were undercooked and clumped, though, which was disappointing. Everyone mostly enjoyed their food... and that's about it...

We sat down and it took a long time to even just get water. My dad and step mom wanted sweet teas, and sweet tea is not really as big a thing in most places... but we are in Texas.... EVERY restaurant I have ever gone to has at least unsweet tea. They get their tea, and I noticed it's a little purple looking but I didn't say anything until they were like wow this is really fruity! I tried it and it was some kind of raspberry powder tea.... it wasn't until after my dad slammed his back that they started wondering if it was the right drink. Keeping it short : We payed 10 bucks for two 8 oz cups of cheap tea with NO refills. :/ They only brought out two little cups of miso for the four of us and we had to ask twice for the other two. Asked for water after we realized the tea was a mistake, never got it, I shared my cup with my dad.

My dad's portions on the fish bowl were...... small. Two small pieces of fish and a half cup at most of rice... he kept offering to let us try the fish bc he said it was good but none of us wanted to take food off his plate lmao

Perhaps I'm mistaken in thinking the Small Bites portion of the menu was an appetizer.... but this came at the same time as our food. The sweet and sour yodas were good! The sauce wasn't like the usual gelatinous goop you think of with sweet and sour.

All the reviews said the service was good, but we had a hard time. The table next to us sat down maybe 3 or 5 minutes after we did but they didn't even get a chance to place an order until we got our food lmao... My step mom was facing the kitchen where she was sat and she said the cook left???? And that the waitress lady was literally running to the tables, taking orders, running to the kitchen, running back to the front to let ppl pay.... insanity. Idk if that's what was actually happening bc I wasn't peaking over my shoulder but it would explain why everything took so long. If that's the case, I feel bad for complaining but if...

Been here a few times and I cannot just pass by and not talk about how bad the customer service is. The food is delicious but it’s not enough for me to come back. First two times I went was an hour before close and we’ve had the same waiter both times and he was constantly asking if we were almost done. Obviously wanting to go home and he definitely looked liked he didn’t want to be there. Now I worked in the food industry before and I know how it feels to want to go home but seriously don’t make it so obvious and treat your customers like a nuisance! We are fast eaters and knew to leave 20min before you close! The third and last time that I will ever come back to this place was I went in at 6. Plenty of time before they close which was at 9pm. They sat us down and this time I got a girl waitress. Hopeful this experience would be better she forgot to take my order after sitting there for 30mins! Food took forever but that’s to be expected no problem about that. The thing is i ordered gyoza same time I ordered my ramen and I didn’t get it until literally I was half way done with my ramen. & when I asked about what the status of my gyoza was she acted like it was MY fault that I haven’t gotten it yet. Maybe she was new but she definitely wasn’t a good waitress. I ordered a boba tea and water as well and didn’t get my boba tea until I got my ramen.I would understand if the restaurant was packed with people but it was me and another family of 5. If you can’t handle that then maybe get a new job. Never coming back until they get...