Takahashiya Tonkotsu Ramen

I went to Takahashiya Tonkotsu Ramen tonight using a Groupon that said $25 value for $12 so I was very excited to try this place. However, upon showing the Groupon, I was told that I could not order the Specialty ramen. I could only order from the top row of the menu! (Yes, I asked if I could pay the difference but was told no!)

We added gyoza & a boiled egg to the order. The boiled egg was delicious but served ice cold! So you add this very cold boiled egg to your steaming hot bowl of ramen to get lukewarm ramen. Not good. (Yes, I asked them to warm the egg but was told no!)

Finally, when the check came, I was told that I could not use my credit card because the amount was too small since I used a Groupon. I'm pretty sure there is something in the merchant credit card agreement that says no minimum for credit card charges. (Yes, I asked to charge the balance and the waiter took my credit card then returned it to me, yup, you guessed it...NO!)

Definitely not a good experience so I left a shiny new dime as a tip. Well... maybe more of a hint than a tip.

I had the pleasure of coming here again. This time my friend and I was in for a surprise. They now have BBQ sticks. The flavors are either black pepper or spicy shoyu (they said it is spicy but it's not that spicy or at least not for me). We had both and it was delicious.

Another change they did was to give the customer the choice of how they want their broth. Kyushu style is less shoyu/salt base. Tokyo style is a little more salt/shoyu. They even asked how we want our noodle texture... Chewy, soft, hard. Although I liked the original way they made it, I guess now they are making it to order which I guess is a good thing for some people with different taste than what they originally made.

Free Wi-fi for those dinning there so you can Yelp while you eat.

Another good thing is it is BYOB. Yup that's right bring your own and there is no corkage fee.

We stayed till they closed and we offered the owner them some of our sake and we had some good laughs. I will be back for their BBQ sticks and ramen.

I also heard that they are going to add a cold noodle with an amazing secret sauce and shoyu chicken dish which I will most definitely order.

I am a big Ramen fan and have been dying to try this authentic Japanese Style "tonkotsu" Ramen and left with mixed feelings about the restaurant. For starters, Kapahulu has had it's share of trendy new bars and restaurants. Most of these new places on located on busy Kapahulu Avenue, and these establishments occupy space within very old buildings that do not have a parking new air conditioning. Don't expect much for the restaurant design, decor, or restroom facilities (poor condition).
Another strange thing was the fact that their menu offered a cold style noodle that you dip into the soup, but this apparently wasn't available yet?

As Ryan K mentioned, they offer boiled eggs as an appetizer, so why order the Ramen selection with boiled eggs? Anyway, it was a nice starter as opposed to bread or kim chee. I also ordered the Specialty Ramen which basically offered all of their wonderful topping in rich Tonkotsu (pork based) broth :p There were (3) three pieces of char siu, green onions, scallions, roasted garlic, a boiled egg, and firm Japanese style noodles. The noodles and broth tasted very similar to the one offered at Yotteka, but I prefer the way the Ramen from Takahashiya broth.

As mentioned by Brandon S, their staff is very friendly and customer service oriented, but their were some internal communications problems that led to my families order being lost? The manager noticed that did not get our order (before we asked about waiting for 20 minutes). They found our order, and expedited the dishes to our table. We were pleased with their follow up and effort to please their customers :)

I thoroughly enjoyed their flavorful broth and wonderful Specialty Ramen dish and look forward to reviewing their other dishes!

31 Yelps Review Challenge: #1/31

I actually wanted to try the poke place next door but it was closed and we needed sustenance to keep us going while we made like tourists for the rest of the day. So, we went to this place next door and I'm glad we did.

I have to say that I was impressed with the quality of Ramen noodle; fresh and thick. the broth was excellent as well.

I enjoyed the spicy sauce for the very delicious gyoza and the other spicy condiments made readily available on the counter.

Only a couple other patrons were inside when we stopped by and so I'm happy to say that we didn't have any issues with waiting like some of the other reviews noted.

If they had this ramen place in San Diego, it would easily be in my top 3 go to Ramen spots. I think if you like ramen, you will not be disappointed here.

Back to 5 cause it knows what it is. It's a damn good ramen joint.

The classic tonkotsu shoyu ramen is king! The eggy one is good too.
The eggy pork fried rice is good and would be a great dish to share with another person.

The only thing they need is a better menu with pictures.

I felt I needed to update my review because Takahashiya has changed so much from the first times I've went over a year ago.

1. The menu has changed from awesome looking food pics menus to a simple white binder with no pictures. Although there are a ton more menu items, most of the appetizers were not available. Not sure if this is temporary but I think the pictures help a lot more...I eat with my eyes! Lol

2. Sadly, the ramen has changed. The tonkotsu ramen broth was not as flavorful as it was before, and there were no garlic chips. Not necessarily bad, just it was so much better back then. Now it's just OK.

3. The tsukemen (dip noodle) also changed, however, had a lot of different flavor (more ginger/onion-y?). The noodles came chilled in a bowl full of ice, and the toppings came with char siu, shoyu beef, ocean salad on the side. I like it same or almost better than how it was before.

3. Takahashiya is now part shabu shabu/hot pot AND sushi bar (although empty counter).. At one point they were also serving Ethiopian food. Not random at all lol..

Sigh.... I had such high hopes for a new ramen joint on Kapahulu, Sadly, I was QUITE disappointed on this Thursday afternoon.

First of all... they have "Break Time" every day between 3-5pm so don't come during these 2 hours- you will not be serviced! Secondly, they are located on the main Kapapulu Strip- that means street/meter parking only. Luckily, the 4 parking stalls directly in front of their/Ono's shop seems to always have a stall or two available, so just make sure you have coins.

On this particular first and probably last visit to Takahashiya, we ventured here with a groupon I bought ($12 for $25-not for the special ramen). Arrived inside...decor is a little weird (puke green walls), greeted by a Chinese guy who barely speaks english. YES, this is a Japanese noodle shop, owned and run by CHINESE people. This should've been the red flag. But we decided to eat here anyways....

Menu consists of 5 ramens:
-Tonkatsu Ramen...$8.50
-Hard Boiled Egg Ramen...$10.00
-Negi Ramen...$11.00
-Char Siu Ramen...$12.50
-Specialty...$14.80
From my understanding, it's all the same sized portion in the same broth- the only thing different are the toppings. Which is why I don't understand why the groupon didn't apply to the Specialty Ramen, but whatever....
and they also have a couple of curry rice dishes, and gyoza dumplings for $5.00 (1/2 off = $2.60)

My bf and I ordered the Tonkatsu Ramen, Negi Ramen, and gyoza.
Verdict:
-I'm PREEETTTY sure the gyoza are the Ajinomoto packaged dumplings. I was really hoping to have some hand made dumplings but these mushy little ones left a lot to be desired, and I can only assume that they are the cheap store bought ones because they were just pathetic.

-The ramen broth that I was so excited to try lacked ANY flavor. It was bland in color and even blander in taste. I wish there were taste bud controls on my tongue so I could "up" the flavor button but unfortunately, no luck there....

-The ice water was luke warm with virtually no ice..... although the chinese boy DID refill my glass twice, even the water was ALL wrong. There was some white stuff floating around...I'm pretty sure it was wax from his water container. SIGH...

When we went to pay our bill, the VERY RUDE lady (I think she was the owner) made me wait while she punched in the other 2 tables' groupons, even though I was standing there to pay and the other 2 tables were still eating their meal. Um, OK....great customer service lady....
-We ended up having to pay $2.60 for our gyoza (even though our bill only totaled $23 and our groupon was for $25- she rudely said it was for RAMEN ONLY. I gave her my $3 and she THREW BACK MY $0.40 (in all dimes) on the table. I was APPALLED.

Needless to say....the food was bland in taste but the service left a worse than bland taste in my mouth. I give this place another 3 months tops. The food is only mediocre at best, but the customer service surely won't bring you back for seconds. SIGH.....

Even though there are mixed reviews, I was open-minded going in. And I thought my experience was positive.

I've tried many ramens before - tonkotsu and others - at various shops and definitely have my favorites (Santouku in San Jose, Orenchi in Santa Clara, Hakata in Gardena) but Takahashiya is definitely not nixed. I'd say for Hawaii this has been one of the better ones I've tried after Menya Ifu-do-do in Shirokiya and Tenkaippin across the street.

The lady that helped us was so nice too. They were offering a new spicy sauce to add to your ramen and allowed us to taste it first to see if we'd like it. For all you spicy lovers out there, it definitely has a kick.

I would go again.

I've been wanting to try this place our for months, but whenever I'd drive by it never seemed to be open. Well, I got my chance to a few weeks ago and I was pleasantly surprised. The interior is alright, a hell lot nicer than when it was that Chinese restaurant before. When we sat, another couple had just left the restaurant, and another seemed to be mid-way through their meal. No one else came in while we were there, so towards the end of our meal we were the only ones in there (I don't like that....makes me feel so awkward!)

Anyway, I enjoyed the tonkotsu broth, and the noodles were cooked perfectly. There's nothing worse than soggy noodles! I especially enjoyed the egg that came perched on top, and the sprinkling of garlic chips. There's 2 homemade seasonings that you can add that the waitress goes over. One was really really spicy and the other seemed more garlicky.

For around $9 (regular tonkotsu, not the specialty) it is a pretty good deal, because each comes with a starter salad. My BF and I also shared an order of gyoza. I wasn't impressed with these, but then again I'm just biased and only truly love those big Korean style fried mandoo.

Overall, this didn't beat out Tennkaipin's tonkotsu (which I really really like)...but it was nice to try a new place. The service was friendly and attentive (but then again remember that we were the only ones in there). It's a pretty good deal for pretty good ramen.

i have to admit that i don't like paying 10 $ + for a bowl of ramen . just waaaayyy too expensive. had a half of coupon for this place , so we came to give it a try.
had the flavored boiled egg ramen ( 10 $ ) and the char sui ramen ( 12.50 $ ).
broth was milky white and was actually lighter than i thought. taste was ok , nothing to go gaga over.