Before the bug really hit the country, my current foodie of a boss said as an aside "There's this new authentic Ramen house near your place. You should check it out one of these days."
It got buried somewhere in between purchasing a PS4 console and that Apple TV unit I was drooling about; with a toddler and an infant, who in their right Malay mind would want to go to a Ramen house for crying out loud?! I had visions of screaming children asking for their milk, and chopsticks embedded in eyeballs or some such orifice. Nosiree Boss Bob, this brown man ain't takin' his ass anywhere near a noodle house.
But fate has a funny way of sending you to where you said you wouldn't go. About a month ago, my better half (well I'm the better half, I'm just trying to be polite) decided to go Duke Nukem with the budget while we were at the TriNoma mall, which was completely understandable as we were both frayed and harassed. She wanted to have a treat, and try something new as well. We ended up hightailing it to Hanamaruken.
Admittedly, I was a little taken aback with the space as it was visible while we were approaching. I had two little kids with me, and one of them at the stage where the world is a playground. I was thinking spilled soup and bothered guests. The place looks cramped lemme tell you. Being inside is another matter altogether. There was some elbow room, much more than I thought, and there were families inside having their lunch, most with toddlers in tow. So ok, that's one fear checked out.
Without the comfort of being able to peruse the menu, we ordered two of their signature Ramen, two sodas and an order of Gyoza. We were informed that there were limited plates only for each of the items on the menu, which I thought was both impressive and nice. There should be some attention to detail here. I was not mistaken. The Ramen looked authentic, and beside our wide eyed gushes, smiles and those familiar small nods readable to couples only, the taste was authentic too. I'd strongly recommend it to those looking to recapture memories of visits to Japan, or maybe just a simple authentic culinary experience.
Service was great, as well as the staff. There were some celebs present, but the staff made sure all the patrons were taken cared of. The only black mark, was getting the bill, which took better than thirty minutes. Not that I really mind, but if you have kids in tow, and need some urgency before their attention span expires, you'd need some chop chop, capisce? The whole shebang set her and our budget back by fifteen hundred pesos.
Can be a date place as a stretch, but you may find your Casanova moves a little hampered by children. THREE STARS.
As an exchange for my meal, I was made to promise to write about it, as my muse insists on me writing again at all cost. I'm keeping the promise, and writing this while my infant son tries to suck on my leg, and my toddler daughter is using my right palm as a headrest. Anyway, check out Hanamaruken's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/hanamarukenph
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