You're in for a surprise if you dine here, the good and the bad!
Situated in a small strip mall hosting a few other eateries, Ramen Wakusei brings in locals and visitors alike with their simple yet loaded menu of ramen, soba, and curry rice dishes. Named for the planets, their menu features dishes with those monikers in addition to constellations.
As you step foot into this well lit and clean shop, your gaze will be captured by the giant moon feature on the wall to your right. Like a wolf howling in yearning for a response from their brethren, your stomach will begin to growl in hopes to satisfy its hunger.
The staff will greet you and seat you with menus, utensils and waters. As you peruse the menu, you'll notice a few differences between the ramen bowls including the type of protein and soup base. Some of the soups are spicy. The soba noodles are similar and have premium meats like wagyu graded beef. Both noodle options have a vegetarian alternative for those looking to skip the meat. There are also options to add extra ingredients at an additional cost (quite a big one at that).
As we weren't all too hungry, we decided to get a bowl of ramen each for the adults and one for the two kids to share. The staff took our orders and even gave a bowl for us to split the kids' order. Little did we know that they ended up adding an extra half egg without telling us (which ended up getting charged as an additional 3 bucks). It was a pleasant surprise at first, thinking they were "giving the pickle" as they say in the old days when it comes to customer service, but then became a downright bummer when we saw the check. That was surprise number one.
The food we ordered at least tasted great. The sticker prices on them were not so great - some sitting at nearly $30 a bowl! Not the best value given that the noodles don't seem to be made in-house. Their seasoned eggs are not very seasoned and are atrociously overcooked. They at least give you a lot of noodles to fill you up.
Neptune - a seafood behemoth swimming with big chunks of scallops and shrimp. The broth was light and paired well with the umami flavors from the protein.
Saturn - the big one that's extremely photogenic with its fried soft shell crab taking center stage. The crab is cooked perfectly and exhibits an incredible crunch with each bite yet retains that soft meaty interior. The soup base is a bit spicy but is manageable and really brings the dish together.
Gemini - interesting flavors with the inclusion of yogurt but the meat was tough, definitely not what I would have expected for something with wagyu in its name. The soba noodles were chewy as advertised and had good texture and taste.
The service was decent. Waters were filled for the most part and dishes were cleared rather timely. The food came out without much of a wait and looked fresh, retained heat well through the meal, and tasted good.
When we asked for the check, we took a look carefully and noticed an additional service charge of 18% which we realized later that there was super tiny fine print on the menu indicating this additional cost. When we inquired about it, the staff simply mentioned it was policy, that it was not considered gratuity or tax, and that other restaurants have started to do this too. Surprise number two and a huge turn off, not just for this place that served mediocre ramen at best with eye catching protein and additional flare, but any other store that decides to apply an additional cost to pay its workers - just bake it into the menu prices; don't hide the cost from your customers. Marketing has certainly won this meal for them.
Overall, Ramen Wakusei has a great concept and does a fine job in building the brand and executing the menu to live up to its image. The ingredients that go into each bowl can probably use an evaluation with a fine tooth comb to ensure its value is as advertised. The prices are exceptionally high for what seems to be served. On top of that, overcharging your customers for additional food when unprompted and seemingly making the "service charge" intentionally obscured seems like awful business practices. It's a shame such good tasting food ended up leaving such a bad taste afterwards. read more