After a long day in the med-center we pulled off of 99 on our way back home and after some brief hemming and hawing, landed on Fujiya Ramen and sushi. It apparently used to be another Japanese restaurant at some point that changed. When we got inside we were promptly greeted and seated by a polite hostess/server. The restaurant is cute and clean, with some cool Japanese decorations and murals throughout (the koi mural near the restrooms is particularly cool) and even the little hand-written/drawn special cards at each table seem to have been created thoughtfully.
We ordered drinks and a couple of appetizers to start. Sodas are free refills from a fountain so that was already a pretty big W as that is somewhat rare in these types of restaurants. We started with the gyoza and their Ninja Jalapeños. The gyoza were small but tasty, and as my 10 year old remarked "pan fried very well", and he was not wrong; they were nicely crisped on all the edges, evident of a good pan frying. The ninja jalapeños were also pretty tasty with a good helping of cream cheese and crab mixture on a sliced jalapeno that is then tempura battered and fried, with a drizzling of spicy mayo. So far we're all pleasantly surprised with our visit.
For our entrees, i ordered the spicy curry miso ramen (my son ordered the same), I got a side of fried rice and my wife got the lo mein. The spicy curry miso ramen comes with a katsu chicken cutlet on the side with some dipping sauce which was pretty cool. The chicken was pounded out thin and crispy fried and went well with the dipping sauce (no clue what the sauce was). The ramen was carefully prepared as you could tell from the way each ingredient was perched atop the next, the broth was exactly what was advertised: a creamy, curry flavored broth full of flavor, with noodles, mushrooms, corn and a few other accoutrements. The side of fried rice I got was some of the best fried rice I've had in a while. Definitely freshly made fried rice, not just sitting in a giant vat; this rice was light and fluffy and full of flavor with some chicken and veggies laced throughout. I will get a larger order of the fried rice next time. The wife was very happy with her lo mein as well which had a nice tasty sauce without being too heavy or sweet, with al dente noodles and a variety of meat.
Our server made sure our drinks were full and that we didn't go without anything, but without being overbearing. When I asked about dessert she suggested the not-on-the-menu fried Oreo, which we ended up getting and it was 4 perfectly fried, gooey, chocolatey cookies served with a chocolate mochi in the center. This place really surprised us, I expected an average, dime a dozen ramen bar but you can tell they really take pride in their craft here and are working hard to stand out from the rest. Definitely give them a shot when you're in the area!
**spotless bathrooms also** read more