Ninjas Love Noodles - Restaurant review of Maruichi

Wednesday, June 16 2010 @ 01:40 AM EDT

Contributed by: Jimbo

    Restaurant: Maruichi
    Location: 530 Barber Lane, Milpitas CA
    Style of cuisine: Japanese ramen
    Price: $7.45 for more noodles than you can eat
    Vegetarian options: All broths are either pork based or chicken based
Episode 2 in our ongoing series on the cuisine of 99 Ranch Market brings us to Maruichi, a ramen house that always has a line outside. Loyal patrons who are willing to wait for a table is usually a good sign, and Maruichi does not let down in this regard. When you finally do get your table, you'll notice a plastic container of kimchi awaiting your arrival.



You might be wondering what a Korean staple food is doing in a Japanese ramen house. Apparently kimchi is extremely popular in Japan and is frequently found in Japanese restaurants. If you haven't tried kimchi before then you should probably take the plunge at Maruichi; their kimchi is delicious. If want to know what's in kimchi then I should probably warn you that you're not going to like the list of ingredients (fermented cabbage and, well... fermented cabbage). But like Gestalt psychology or the Mona Lisa, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Maruichi basically serves noodles in broth. The noodles can be wheat based (ramen) or buckwheat based (soba) depending on what you're in the mood for. But just in case you don't want to enjoy the complexity of broth intertwined with fish cake, chives and pork you can also get the best lunch deal in town, which is the donburi bowl. For only $4.95 this gorgeous mix of rice and white tuna arrives at your table:



I'm getting hungry just writing this review. And I haven't even shown you the crown jewels of the Maruichi empire; the noodles. Here is the how the buckwheat noodles are served:



The buckwheat flavor really comes through. If you've yet to be introduced to buckwheat noodles then you must make your way down to Maruichi to try them. They have an earthy taste that's in complete harmony with the chicken based broth.

Finally, I present to you the ramen. An incredible dark oil permeates the broth and gives an oily sheen to the dish.



While the dish may look a bit like a BP oil well exploded offshore the broth is, in fact, perfectly balanced with the fresh, wheat based noodles. For a couple more bucks Maruichi will provide you with a bowl of rice and roe.



If you got through the college years by eating ramen you may have formed some bad associations with this kind of cuisine. Which is why I cannot stress enough the importance of cleansing your palate with a hot bowl of Maruichi ramen. It will soothe your soul and make you a whole person again.

Refrigerator rating = 9 yums (out of a possible 10)

Comments (0)

The Refrigerator
http://therefrigerator.org/article.php?story=20100616014017378