Ramen Nagi

(Palo Alto/Cupertino)

Ramen Nagi is my FAVORITE ramen place in the bay area. Typically, if the ramen is good I won’t say much about the broth, but this place has excelled in every aspect. I wasn’t expecting much initially since there tends to be hype at first but it dies later on. Moreover, I’ve been to places where I’ve waited a while and the food wasn’t amazing. HOWEVER, the broth, noodle, toppings, and sides blew me away! It could be due to the fact that you actually get to choose exactly how you want everything so it’s more accustomed to each person’s taste, but that’s just what makes it so great 🙂 They have a location in downtown Palo Alto and recently opened another one inside the Westfield Valley Fair mall in Santa Clara.

I tend to go for less salt, normal oil and garlic, thick noodles, and pork belly. The noodles have come out with the perfect texture every time I’ve eaten there. I like thick noodles since it tends to be chewier, whereas thin noodles are crunchier. Additionally, I prefer the pork belly over the chashu because it’s so soft and tender. Not to mention, most ramen places offer chashu so pork belly is more unique. Another special feature of this place is the side condiments they offer! I’ve never been to any other place (even in Japan) that offers bean sprouts, pickled veggies, hand-grounded sesame seeds. The bean sprouts are seasoned with sesame oil and sesame seeds, so it’s very flavorful. The pickled veggies aren’t bad either for someone like myself who doesn’t like pickled anything. I’d give them all a try! 

• Red King: This one’s my go-to because the broth is actually spicy! I even get to make it up to 10x spicier 😀 I’ve tried it before, but I like to stick to 8x, so I don’t have a tough time later. The one part I’m not the biggest fan of is the minced meat. It’s quite sweet and similar to the ones you get with tantanmen. However, the overall ramen dish is very flavorful. 
• Black King: The squid ink is very apparent in this dish as you can tell by the dark black color it gives off. You can make this spicy as well, but it’s definitely not as spicy as the red king. The minced meat in this one isn’t sweet, so the squid ink and garlic flavor are very apparent in it. 

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The last time I went they noticed both my friend and I wore white clothing, so they even gave us a bib like the ones at the boiling crab. I didn’t know they offered those, but they’re super helpful since the soup tends to splash and you have oil stains on your clothes before you know it :/ It’s definitely worth making a trip out here, but be prepared for a wait! I’d recommend going after 2pm on the weekdays and after 8pm on the weekends for a shorter wait. 

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