Food carts! Who in Portland doesn't like them? Seriously, who? We should find them and make them leave. Especially because on SE Division there is a precious little nook of a food cart called Hapa Ramen and from what we could tell walking by, it's very likable.
Amidst the sizzling of taco meat, the smell of waffle sandwiches, and the chatter of happy foodies finding a place to sit, there lies a black cart decorated in red kanji. The mini-ramen bar features an array of Ramune Sodas, spices to top, and the girl behind them is bright and fun to chat with. Inside the tiny kitchen, pots of steaming broth simmer and as soon as dinner hour begins (5:00pm) the line begins to grow. This is the face of Hapa Ramen, a food cart on SE Division that has been serving up hot bowls of umami goodness since 2013. It's a cold autumn evening and I brought my appetite, so I check out the menu with plans to destroy at least two of these bowls.
My strategy going into any first tasting is to try a staple, then try the house favorite. I decide to go with the Shoyu broth ramen ($9) with an extra egg and the apparent house favorite, the tsukemen-style Shaka Bowl ($8.50) in winter form (all-together). Typically "tsukemen" is eaten in the summertime because the noodles are served separately from the broth. This allows the consumer to dip the noodles into a highly concentrated broth rather than hover over a steaming bowl. I opt for the winterized version because it is 35 degrees out and my face is craving a boiling, bone marrow steambath.
So my first bowl comes out (shoyu) and the aromatics are light soy and savory meat with a bit of fresh green onion. Inside the bowl is chashu pork (looks to be roasted), spinach, nori, marinated eggs, and narutomaki (fish cake). Diving in, I immediately recognize the world famous kansui Sun Noodles peeking out from beneath the pork. They are springy and complementary to the wholesome, healthy tasting soy broth I seem to be inhaling. The only issue I had with this bowl was the chashu pork not being seared to bring out some of that meat grizzle flavor. Without it, the bowl stands on it's own (the pork is still good though room temp) but a quick few seconds over piping hot oil and cracked pepper may have thrown this bowl into the dangerously addictive zone. I'll be back for this one none the less.
So my Shaka Bowl comes out and I am so bewildered by the intensely pleasant aroma of this bowl that I forget to take a before photo(it looks a lot like the Shoyu but with pork belly bits strewn about). As I walk back over to my table, the smell of fried rice wafts up into my nostrils and immediately my mouth is watering for a taste. As I dig in, I realize why this bowl won Portland's Summer Food Cart Festival's "Grand Champion" trophy. The thing is packed to the brim with flavor. As I furiously slurp down noodles, I am experiencing a litany of salt, pork flavor, savory onion, a bit of the sea, earthy mushroom, and that delicious bone marrow slickness which dominates my taste buds the entire time. The jewels of fat in this bowl are innumerable, looking more like one thick layer of oil sitting on the top, coating every bite I take. The shiitakes are well prepared, not mushy but the meat again misses the mark by juuuuuust a tad. I found that eating the pork belly was a bit difficult given the size of the bits. If I were to design this bowl, the pork belly would have been a little larger, maybe in strips so to provide the same flavor but with the ease of eating one or two pieces rather than fifteen to twenty. I noticed that the belly was also mostly soft fat, with a light amount of chewy fat/meat morsels. This is probably due to the dish originally being tsukemen, and the belly being a sidenote to the dipping broth. Next time, I will order some chashu in this bowl or even request that the pork be deep fried (I know, I'm gonna die of a clogged artery but chicharrón ramen sounds soooo goooood).
Hapa Ramen is a simple, enjoyable, delicious experience. With a small, bowl centered menu (Donburi also available), Hapa isn't attempting to reinvent the wheel. They stick to basic, soothing formulas which ignite the taste buds without being overly complex. As a traditional ramen spot, Hapa gets points for being the kind of place I will visit again and again because with their menu, there are no losing options. Someday, I hope to stroll by and see a "Bowl of the month" or some kind of seasonal up on their board. Maybe even a house-made noodle? Being only a year and a half old, though, I can understand the need to simply carve out a niche, then color outside the lines later on.
Thanks, Hapa!
[Visit Hapa's website here!]
Rating
Broth: 8/10
Noodles: 8/10
Meat: 5/10
Veggies: 9/10
Hapa Ramen is a simple, enjoyable, delicious experience. With a small, bowl centered menu (Donburi also available), Hapa isn't attempting to reinvent the wheel. They stick to basic, soothing formulas which ignite the taste buds without being overly complex. As a traditional ramen spot, Hapa gets points for being the kind of place I will visit again and again because with their menu, there are no losing options. Someday, I hope to stroll by and see a "Bowl of the month" or some kind of seasonal up on their board. Maybe even a house-made noodle? Being only a year and a half old, though, I can understand the need to simply carve out a niche, then color outside the lines later on.
Thanks, Hapa!
[Visit Hapa's website here!]
Rating
Broth: 8/10
Noodles: 8/10
Meat: 5/10
Veggies: 9/10
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