Kawana Ramen and Hawaiian BBQ — Restaurant in San Ramon

wanted to try this new place.

Musubi was fine albeit way too much rice, not enough spam. 2.5 stars

chicken katsu was pretty good 3 out of 5 stars.

chicken wings was pretty bad, 1.5 stars

karrage was nothing like karrage I've ever had. it was sort of like fried tempera style but tasted ok 3 stars

now the bad part. the Hawaiian BBQ chicken and garlic shrimp was awful, 1 star. nothing like real hawaiian especially the shrimp. it was just smothered in sweet teriyaki sauce. real hawaiian it's a nice glaze but not overly done like this. garlic shrimp was also drenched in teriyaki sauce.

Basically, it felt like people who have never cooked hawaiian food before.

I would pass on this place unless they...

I ordered the BBQ rib plate, the tonkatsu ramen, and the walnut shrimp — and honestly, everything was amazing. The BBQ rib had a perfect smoky flavor was super soft and tender, the tonkatsu ramen was rich and comforting, and the walnut shrimp was on a whole different level (definitely way better than Panda Express).

One funny detail though: they slipped a banana into our order. Pretty sure that was someone’s personal snack that accidentally ended up in our bag — but hey, we got an extra piece of fruit with dinner!

Overall, great food, generous portions, and a good laugh with the bonus banana. Would definitely order...

This place is relatively new. My nephew found out about it. My Mom had the Unagi Don, that looked good. I was trying out the Japanese Curry with Chicken Katsu. It was pretty good, a little salty, but it paired well with the plain white rice. I was hoping there would have been more veggies in the curry. The service was good. The food came out fast. Ambiance was fair. Nothing too fancy, kind of a homey feeling. Plenty of parking in the lot. I'll have to come back for the Udon or...