Kumamon Ramen （Exton) — Restaurant in West Whiteland Township

Tl;dr Your food may have come from an already-eaten incorrect order from another table.

We were so excited to try this place as we support local restaurants, especially Asian-owned places, and we were really hoping this could be a regular spot. Our experience, however, was horrible, and the food is not good enough to warrant returning to this place, much less turning into a regular. What transpired was as follows:

We made our menu selections using their menu system that includes checkboxes. Since we wanted multiple orders of some items, we replaced the checks with numbers.

Short female server with black hair took our menu. We told her to let us know if anything was confusing and we'd be happy to explain. She looked at it, then said curtly, "Next time just use numbers." A bit rude, but whatever, nbd. She took the menu away without asking a single clarifying question.

Food started arriving. Immediately we realized they had gotten a couple of items incorrect. We called a second server over to figure out what happened.

Second server went to grab our menu with original checkmarks to validate they were in fact incorrect. I verified it for myself. Nothing remotely confusing about those specific areas.

Second server let us know the food would be on the house. We didn't necessarily want them (if we had, we would have included those two items in our original, very abundant order) but truly appreciated the gesture.

A while later, the original server came over to grab the incorrect items. We told her that the other server said they would be on the house and we had already started nibbling on them. Her response? "Well you didn't order them did you?" We said no, we didn't. She blamed us and said the checkmarks were "confusing." She took the items away.

I can only imagine what she did with the food. Best case scenario, in the middle of a pandemic, is that she threw it away out of spite. Worst case scenario is that it went to another table, since it still appeared on the surface like we had never touched the items (we'd only taken a few edamame off the top of the stack, and incorporated the skewer with the rest of the ones we'd already eaten off). Having experienced how she treated us, however, I wouldn't give her the benefit of the doubt.

When we got the check I asked for the original menu with the checkmarks so I could take a photo for this review, but it was conveniently already thrown away to the large trash out back. We still left an 18% tip, though not our customary 25%, hoping that it would be shared by the rest of the staff that we assume are not as rude, even if the original server didn't deserve a tip at all.

If any element of this situation had been different--the original server was less rude, if she had just owned what was clearly her own mistake instead of blaming the customer for her incompetence, if she didn't remove the incorrect items and did heaven knows what with it, if the food itself was so good as to warrant a second chance, we'd be happy to return and introduce this place to our local friends. Alas, I would never recommend going to a restaurant where they'd wonder if they were being served another table's discards. Plus, we make better ramen and yakitori at home, and the company we choose to keep don't blame us for their...

We went on a Sunday for 2 for lunch around 1-2 PM. There were a handful of tables occupied and we were able to be seated right away. They gave us a takeout menu to look at and another one to order from. The servers do not take your order like a traditional restaurant. They also don’t explain how to use the ordering sheet, so if you’re confused, write the quantity of the item that you want in the box beside it. For drinks, if you want additional toppings in your tea, I would recommend drawing a line or somehow indicating which topping goes with which drink.

Onto the food, we ordered the Chasu Pork Buns for an appetizer and I got the Chicken Cutlet with Curry. I also ordered a Bubble Milk Tea (Cold).

The Chasu Pork Buns come in a set of 2. The pork is crispy and the sauce is very mayo-heavy, which is a little different than expected. Pork buns that I’ve had in the past typically have a less crispy pork and a BBQ-based sauce. In terms of taste, it was good, better than the entree. I would recommend trying their Chasu Pork Buns if you come to this restaurant.

The Chicken Cutlet with Curry, though looked promising, was a letdown. First and foremost, it doesn’t come with enough curry. The amount of curry you get is akin to a small dipping bowl; it was only sufficient for maybe half of the cutlet and rice. Secondly, the curry flavor was very disappointing. It tasted like a packet of pre-packaged curry, leaving behind a powdery-film in my mouth afterwards. Third, the underside of the chicken cutlet was moist when served. Not sure if they put the cutlet on a wet plate or what happened, but it was crispy on the top and mushy on the bottom. Unfortunately, I would not recommend trying the Chicken Cutlet with Curry.

The Bubble Milk Tea (Cold) was more on the bitter side. I thought it also tasted a bit watered down. There is only 1 sugar level and only 1 size. The bubbles were soft and mushy.

In terms of service, there really was not much interaction with the waitress after being seated. You basically take your own order. Also, it seemed like the waitresses were chatting amongst themselves at the front and not really paying attention to the customers.

Overall, I thought this restaurant was mediocre. It has a cute anime atmosphere and plenty of seating, but the poor service and disappointing food made the trip...

Parking:

There is a parking lot.

Atmosphere:

Had a nice casual vibe. Plenty of seating. Not loud so you can actually have conversations which is a plus. The wall is decorated with nice artwork consisting of One Piece and Naruto.

Service:

The service was quick. Upon arrival, we were seated immediately. Waitress gave us a menu and a form to fill out our orders with (great if you dont mind minimal interaction with waitress). She then came over and took the form once we filled it out. I dont think filling the table number is required however there are table # indicators (at least for the tables on the edges). 5/5

Drink:

The Passion Fruit Green Tea is as good as the ones you would get from a store dedicated to bubble tea. I recommend getting this with the Lychee Jelly for the best taste. 5/5

Food:

The Chashu Pork Bun comes with (2) pieces in (1) order. It contains pork, lettuce and (2) sauces (mayo + other). The buns were better than some places however wasnt mind-blowing. Only recommendation is to provide thicker pieces of pork. The pork pieces provided were thin and too crispy.

The Rice Platter - Pork Cutlet w/ Curry was pretty similar in taste to other restaraunts that dont specialize in curry. The portion size of the platter is good and will make you full. The platter comes with rice, curry (you have to apply the curry), protein (in this case pork), and a salad (cabbage + ginger + dressing). The presentation of the platter was promising and the katsu had a nice color to it however I was disappointed by the curry. I would have liked if more curry was provided. More importantly, the curry tasted watered-down making it not as flavorful.

Cost:

We spent approximately $60 for two. This includes (2) drinks, (2) entrees, (1) starter + 18% tip.

Overall:

I still would recommend giving this...