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Himawari (Ramen cuisine)  $$

 7
JaT Rating

202 2nd Avenue, San Mateo, 94401  (Directions)


650.375.1005


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Late night ramen house decked out with snazzy furniture and smooth beats


Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 992
Reviewed: 8/12/2007
Rating: 7
My photo gallery 		The cousins wanted ramen, I thought about Santa but wanted to gamble on Himawari. We were running late and hit them up 20 minutes before they closed. The restaurant was completely packed and had to wait 5 minutes for a table. Decorations are modern with ambient music floating in the air. Reminds me of the swanky restaurants in San Francisco.

Not to waste any time, we immediately ordered our bowls of ramen, gyozas, karaage, yellowtail carpaccio, and edamame.

gyozas (image 8) - I liked them, fried on 1 side, wasn't spectacular but I'd reorder again.

karaage (image 9) - marinated chicken thighs with light batter. 5-6 pieces with mayo and lime wedges. Decently good.

yellowtail carpaccio (image 10) - presented very nicely and hamachi was fresh but the main problem was the temperature of the fish. I know carpaccio is suppose to be served at room temperature but when you're dealing with fish, I gotta have it chilled. If you can deal with warm fish, go right ahead, you'll probably enjoy it. I don't think I'd re-order as the appetizer was too expensive for my blood.

shio negi ramen (images 11 and 12) - salt broth with a couple slices of pork and a dump truck worth of green onions. I don't know how much green onions are suppose to be in the bowl but it was overwhelming. I scooped out 5 spoonfuls of greens and proceeded to eat. Broth was clear and rich in onion flavor, surprise. Noodles were skinny and semi-firm. Average amount of noodles and slices of pork were just ok. I was still hungry after the bowl.

Can I really ding them for service when all they had in mind was let's get the heck out here we are closing in 15 minutes? They took our toppings tray in picture 7 for no reason, our great tasting barley teas weren't refilled, waters had to be requested twice, and like always, I'm the last person to get served. Everyone else had the ramen and had to remind the waitress what I ordered. She did apologize and brought my bowl 10 minutes after everyone else.

The meal was expensive at $75 for 3 1/2 people. 2 of the items were a surprise for me; carpaccio and negi ramen. Was the fish suppose to be room temperature? Was the broth suppose to be green onion bath? If they are both true, bump my score 1 full point up. The ingredients were excellent but I think the execution fell short of what other restaurants in the area are doing. Tonight's meal was average but I'd be interested in trying other menu items.
 
6.5
Agent Rating


Reviewer: Lainie
Total Reviews: 41
Reviewed: 8/23/2007
Rating: 6.5
My photo gallery		 I agree with the review blurb on the right... The decor is very "Japanese sophisticated," which means it's clean but still cute. The ramen is alright, but there's not much distinctive about it flavor-wise. I prefer Santa much more because of the quality of ingredients. It's a rather generic bowl of ramen and you can get better at other spots around the Bay Area.
 
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budbandit ate...

tonkotsu ramen

“tonkotsu ramen rather weak and flavorless, especially in comparison with Santa. Other stuff is OK, nice decoration, but ramen should be about the ramen, not the decor.”

8/22/2007 4:10:20 PM