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At the mere mention of ramen, you can’t help but think of hyper-salty Top Ramen with bits of orange and green dehydrated styrofoam bits posing as carrots and peas. It’s just another staple piece of Americana that you can pick up anywhere, even at gas stations. I’ve been guilty of eating and enjoying it.

Real ramen is a rare bird consisting of wheat noodles swimming in a seasoned meat-based broth. I recently went down to Mitsuwa Japanese market and ate ramen at their resident restaurant Kayaba. They had a ramen promotion which showcased the many different Japanese ramen styles. I had sadly missed the first 2 flavors, but I was able to taste the third: asameshimaeda shoyu ramen.

Shoyu ramen is a soy-based broth made from chicken & vegetable stock. The ramen came with half a hard-boiled egg, sliced shiitake mushrooms, and thinly sliced pork. A little light on looks, it was definitely big on flavor. The mushrooms were fresh and light, while the pork was tender. The healthy portion of noodles were perfect. However, the broth really is the centerpiece of everything. It’s rich, salty, and decadent. I had to get some green tea ice cream afterwards because my taste buds were exploding. I highly recommend hunting down a place that serves ramen and trying the real stuff. It’s a welcomed addiction.

The closest ramen place to me is in Poway, at Yume Cafe. They serve tonkotsu ramen, which is made of a pork-based broth. The broth is made from pork bones that have been boiling and stewing for hours. Yume Cafe’s website claims they stew theirs for 12 hours. I can’t wait to try it out.