Shoki Ramen House

I recently had my first experience at Shoki Ramen House in Curtis park. We are not talking about no 10 pack of ramen from Costco. This is hand made, fresh, and good enough to punch your own mother to get another bowl. I know this place has been reviewed several times but it is to distinct not to throw my two cents in. As I looked over the menu I couldn't help noticing how awesomely Japanese the entire place is. From the staff shouting "Irasshaimase!" when we entered to fact there was only about ten two-seater tables in the entire place, the place screams Japanese perfection in the small details. I really dug the soup-nazi vibe of the place, it's our way or the highway. Here are a few things you need to know when eating at Shoki: CASH ONLY, no hot soup to go(it ruins the noodles), vegetarian broth ONLY on request, last lunch order at 1:50, dinner at 8:50 exactly and there words not mine "Shoki will not be held responsible for errors". If you've never had ramen like this before it's all about the broth, at least according to me. They offer several different kinds of broth Shoyu Ramen (soy sauce-based), Shio Ramen (sea-salt based), Soy Milk Ramen (soy-sauce with soy milk) and my favorite Tan Tan Men (spice soy-sauce). All of the soups come in three sizes small, regular, large. Since I have a love affair with foods so spicy it will literally burn your face off I went with the Tan Tan Men. You can get your Tan Tan Men four levels of spiciness; mild, regular, extra spicy, and super spicy. I got extra spicy because, well I'll be honest, I pussed out at the last second. I vow to not disappoint you again dear reader. I also ordered an Asahi Dark beer, which is imported from Japan unlike the Asahi Dry(in the bottle) crap that is brewed by Miller brewing somewhere in the US. I read on the back of the menu that all of their of the ingredients in the soup are either imported directly from Japan or bought from local farms. This is a good sign. I also read that the broth is simmered fresh everyday for six hours. This could be a good sign. The only worry being that since it is a shoyu(soy-sauce) based broth they could simmer to much water out and raise the salt content to high. As I looked around at an entire restaurant of people quietly slurping soup I highly doubted they would make such a mistake. When I finally got my soup(actual wait time about 12 minutes)the ramen was topped with a three or four ounces of ground beef, spinach, bamboo shoots, and a good helping of chili sauce. The moment of truth, my first bite. I couldn't believe it I almost kicked over the table next to me it was so good. The broth; a perfect balance of shoyu, beef flavor, garlic, ginger and chili sauces while still maintaining a remarkable freshness. The noddles contained a certain quality all in to themselves, they were not over cooked, not dried, and they were crisp with an organic taste to them. I'll call them perfection in cooked dough form. I did not like the ground beef. I know it's local beef and all but it was so lean it tasted woody. But I can not recommend this place enough I truly cannot say enough good things. The bill for two bowls of Ramen and two beers was twenty-four bucks and some change, which this day in age is pretty reasonable. The staff while very rushed due to the high turn over of tables was still fairly friendly. I can tell you expect a wait, apparently they are crazy busy all the time. Seriously, go it is well worth the wait.

Anthony
Ps. I know I can't spell or punctuate correctly