Grayson and I have been to the Ramen Taka location downtown a handful of times so we were excited to find that they opened a “new” location in Richmond inside Aberdeen Center!
The Ramen Taka Richmond location is completely different in ambiance when compared to the downtown one because it’s much more spacious and well lit. This made our visit much more comfortable because we always felt that the downtown location was crammed and stuffy.
Shoyu ramen
I decided to go with the basic shoyu ramen since I wanted something with light broth. Even though it was a clear broth, it still had quite a bit of oil on the top. I’m not sure where it was from but it made it difficult for me to really taste the flavor of the broth. The ramen noodles they use here are the thin ones which I prefer over the thicker ones because I find that you can taste more of the soup when you’re eating the noodles this way. The noodles weren’t on the chewy side but they still had some bite to it.
My favorite part about ramen is when I get to eat the seasoned egg. The eggs here have a gooey yolk and are seasoned in a soy based marinade. The ramen also came with chashu bamboo shoots, nori, wood ear mushrooms and green onions. We could tell that the way that they prepared the chashu was different from the last time we visited because it wasn’t as dry as before. We saw that they merely put pre-sliced piece of chashu in the bowls of ramen and heat it up with a blow torch before serving. I’ve never seen it prepared like this before so it was interesting to see.
Miso Tonkotsu
Grayson got his ramen with a miso tonkotsu base. He said that the broth was flavorful and agreed that the chashu wasn’t as dry as it used to be. Portion wise, it wouldn’t be big enough for him on a regular day but this day he wasn’t too hungry so he was okay with it.
With so many ramen shops in Richmond, it’s hard to compete against the rest. We wouldn’t say ramen taka is the best option in the area but it is pretty good if you’re shopping at the mall and need a place to eat that isn’t too pricy.
Quick bites
- Limited ramen options on menu
- Brightly lit, nice atmosphere
- Has stamp card for loyalty points