Ramen Hakata

Finally getting around to posting again. You'd think being done with school would give me all this free time. But hasn't happened yet! :-/

Anyhoo, I finally got around to checking out the new ramen place in Addison about a month ago. We had a group of 5 people. 3 of my friends go there around 12:15PMish. I was running late. They were able to get a table with no problem, no wait!

Ramen Hakata
3720 Belt Line Rd #3714
Addison, TX 75001
(972) 247-2401
http://ramenhakata.com/
Price: $$

We got there about 12:30 or so and it was almost all filled. My friends had just ordered. The place is cute! Pretty small space. There's bar seating which looks into the kitchen where they prep the food and maybe like 10 other small tables/booths? I liked the decor a lot. The waiter takes the order at your table and brings it out to you.

They have part of the menu still unavailable. I really want to try their cold ramen whenever they release it.

I got the Chashu Bun (steamed buns filled with grilled pork belly served with spicy sauce) 2 pcs. $5~ 

 

Even though I ordered later, this came out before any of the noodles. But the food came out at a decent time after being ordered. The pork in this was so tender... almost a little TOO soft? But it was good. Heavy handed on the sauce, which is creamy and slightly sweet. But I liked that it was loaded to the brim and more! The buns were steamed nicely. I would get it again, but maybe ask them to hold back on the sauce.

Then the noodles came. It was served on a tray with a giant spoon (a ladle is more like it), and reminded me of places in Japan. This is pretty typical. It was a good portion size too.

Spicy Miso Ramen (pork based broth with special spicy miso sauce, chashu, soft-boiled egg, green onion, black mushroom, bean sprouts, corn, fragrant garlic oil) $9~ 

 

I got the spicy. It came with 2 slices of pork whereas everyone else's came with only 1. Woot! The meat was super tender and the noodles were cooked well. Personally they could've been a tad more al dente, but I also like really chewy noodles. The noodles weren't the typical curly ones.. I was a bit disappointed. I did love the corn and the black mushrooms and bean sprouts that added extra texture. Now to the flavor. It was ok. It was not spicy at all. The noodles didn't really absorb any of the flavor. The broth started out a little bland, but the more you ate, the saltier it got. I wouldn't recommend drinking all the broth. Too much sodium!

Hakata Miso Ramen (pork based broth with special miso sauce, chashu, soft-boiled egg, green onion, black mushroom, bean sprouts, corn, fragrant garlic oil) $8.50~ (no picture. Just imagine the Garlic Miso without the garlic flakes on top.) 2 people got this. It was their namesake dish so I expected it to be more special. It tasted very similar to mine, with just 1 piece of pork.

Garlic Miso Ramen (pork based broth with special miso sauce, chashu, soft-boiled egg, green onion, black mushroom, bean sprouts, corn, fragrant garlic oil, garlic flake) $9.50~ The other 2 got this. The only difference between this and the Hakata is the garlic flakes on top. -___- Really? And for an extra dollar?

All in all, it was good. The best in Dallas? Eh... there's not much competition.. but I still can't say it's the best. A little disappointed, but I really didn't have high expectations to get a phenomenal ramen place in Dallas. Sigh... The noodles all pretty much tasted the same. So don't spend too much time deciding what you want. I'd say still give it a shot. I think I'm spoiled by having ramen in LA, NY, and Japan. I do still want to go try their cold ramen sometime though.

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~