Maruichi is a Japanese Noodle restaurant on Castro street in Mountain View. With so many restaurants nearby, this place stands out.

The noodles are home made by the worker in the front corner. They specialize in Kuro (Black) Ramen. They just have deep fried chicken for those not looking for noodles.

Decor, Vibe - Minimal Japanese restaurant decor with counter seating in the middle, booths on the sides. People of all ages including locals, shoppers were eating lunch when we were there.

Menu Pictures

Window Sign

Picks:

Combo B - Kuro (Black Ramen) Lunch ($9.65) included average California rolls (3), and crunchy deep fried gyoza (3). Good broth, lots of pork, a delicious egg. Solid noodle dish, great value.

Shoyu Ramen ($7.45) had very good broth with crunchy noodles. Lots of yummy pork, Egg, Sea weed.

Tempura Soba ($7.45) had good noodles, a little bit of chicken, and a seaweed tasting broth. 2 pieces of Shrimp Tempura and Fish cake was nice. All in all a very good hot soba noodle dish.

OK:
None

Pans:
None

Maru Ichi delivers very good Japanese food and has reasonable pricing to give it excellent value. Their service needs work as we never got refills, nor did we get something we ordered. Servers barely came by.
Compared to legendary Santa Ramen in San Mateo, this place has more variety and is definitely in the same class quality wise. It all falls down to personal preference on which is superior.
Kids meal is available. Cash only.

Also at:
530 Barber Lane
Milpitas, CA 95035

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Ramen HALU is a popular Japanese noodle house in a strip mall off 280 in San Jose.  There is wait here most times, but not as crazy as well known Santa Ramen in San Mateo.   The main draw is the tasty ramen noodles in four different styles but just one broth.  This is in contrast to Santa Ramen that has one type of noodle, and 3 types of broth.  There is a limited selection of salads and appetizers. If you are not into noodles, avoid this place.

Decor, Vibe - A slight step up from generic Japanese restaurant decor. 90% of the people in this restaurant are of asian descent.

Menu Pictures

Picks:

Halu Ramen ($7.50) with Cha-shu Sliced Pork, green onions, bamboo shoots ($1), Seaweed ($1), and Kikurage (Ear Mushroom) ($1) . The noodles are soft and chewy, and hot out of the kitchen. The broth is heavy on the pork flavor side.

Lobster Ramen ($15) had lobster blended in the broth and some lobster meat on top. Also fried leek, shallot, Chun sa chan, and Ao Nori are also added. A top flight limited edition noodle dish.

OK:
NONE

Pans:

Cha-shu Sliced Pork ($6) - Cold and lots of fat on this meat. We liked Santa Ramen’s pork better.

It is more a matter of personal preference if you prefer this to Santa Ramen. Frankly geographic proximity would probably dictate which you went to. The draw is the ramen. The service is average.  It takes about 15 minutes to get your ramen, once you order. Ramen HALU is not a place where you linger. Most people are out in 30-45 minutes.

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Santa Ramen is a very popular Japanese noodle house in San Mateo. It has a legendary cult following.

There is almost always a line even before the place opens.  You should arrive about 15 minutes before it opens to ensure you get a seat, otherwise come late and be prepared to wait.  The main draw is the tasty ramen noodles in various broths. If you are not into noodles, avoid this place.

Menu pics

Desserts

Picks:

Soy Sauce Ramen ($7.95) with roasted pork, green onions, bamboo shoots, roasted seaweed. Broth has a heavy soy sauce flavor. This is not instant ramen for sure. Decent quantities but many with larger appetites, order it as we do with extra noodles ($1.25) and extra pork ($1.50) or order an appetizer with it.

Add 2 pieces of the legendary Stewed Pork ($4.50).  It is a fatty pork that has been slowly stewed a long time. It is more of an acquired taste. The noodles are fresh and hot out of the kitchen. The broth is probably one of the better ones around, with the noodles being ok. Noodles are on the al dente side. The roasted pork reminds us of old Swanson’s pork TV dinners. Comfort food for some.

Pork Flavored Ramen ($7.95) with roasted pork, green onions, kikurage mushrooms. Add some Corn ($1) to round it out. Another fairly low cost meal. I prefer pork flavored broth to the other ones, but this is a matter of taste.

OK:

None

Pans:

Grilled Whole Squid ($7.50) is simple and tasty.  Sometimes it is grilled too long and takes like charcoal.

Grilled Chicken wings ($4.75) are just too charcoal grilled flavored to be good. Also there isn’t much meat. Grilled corn is the same.

The draw is the ramen. It is unusual that this home made ramen does not contain eggs. The service is ok. It takes about 30 minutes to get your ramen, once you order. Santa Ramen is not a place where you linger.  Be warned that they start running out of broths around 830pm, so do not come too late. Most people are out in 45 minutes, as the people in line ‘pressure’ you to leave. 90% of the people in this restaurant are of Asian descent.

An other arguably better option is Ramen Halu in San Jose. eat.tanspace.com has a ranking of San Francisco Bay Area Ramen places, ranking Halu #1, Santa Ramen #6.

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