Worst of SF Eats: Ramen race to the bottom
San Francisco just isn't the place for ramen.
My favorite in the US is Ippudo in New York; San Franciscans, where can I find the equivalent in our beautiful city?
Worst overall: Hapa Ramen (Ferry Building)
No, I didn't eat any of this $9 "Slow Cooked Pork Ramen Bowl" before taking this picture, and no, I didn't take it from them before they finished assembling it. This is exactly how they smilingly presented it to me. I even had to use the chopsticks to raise up some of the noodles to show what was in the bowl, for the picture! There were about 3 flecks of pork in it, as you can see, and maybe one spear worth of asparagus pieces floating around. Total ripoff. To top it off, the soup was greasy. Avoid at all costs.
Second Worst: Katana-ya (Tenderloin / Civic Center)
Highly praised on Yelp, I just don't know what the deal is. Everything here tastes store-bought. The noodles are no better than the refrigerated stuff you get in a Japanese supermarket, and the broth tastes like it's from the same place too. Gyoza (along with fried chicken, an odd thing to put into ramen) was clearly not homemade. The point was driven home when I saw kitchen staff bringing tubs of pre-made seaweed salad to the dining room. Maybe Sysco has expanded to Japanese cuisine. I really feel sorry for San Franciscans who think this is the ultimate ramen.
Average: Suzu Noodle House (Japantown)
Not bad, not great. The noodles got soggy after a while and the broth wasn't memorable.
Would go back if I got a craving: Ajisen Ramen (Westfield San Francisco Centre)
This was decent tonkotsu ramen. It's conveniently located in the Westfield San Francisco Centre, in an area of town that's otherwise hard to find great eating options.
Best so far, but that's not saying much: Ken Ken Ramen (pop up restaurant in the Mission)
Only operating on Thursdays and Sundays, Ken Ken Ramen is in a restaurant that houses other operations on other days of the week (BBQ, Indian, etc.). The veggies were fresh, the roast pork was excellent with truly defined roasted flavor. Noodles were suitably chewy. Only issue was that the shio broth was far too salty. I had a headache afterwards.
Also had the chicken karaage. Not greasy, but also way too salty. By the way, what is it with San Francisco and chicken karaage. Why does it always appear on the menu with ramen, either as an appetizer or INSIDE of the ramen?
