The picture above is the front of Asa Ramen. If you don't know what you are looking for, you may never find it. I was very happy that I can read Japanese, because I knew those red katakana down the middle of the sign (ラーメン) spelled "Ramen". Most people look for the red awning with kanji over top of the restaurant, which also gives no indication of what the restaurant is to the Western eye. The inside of the restaurant is extremely cozy and seems to probably seat no more than around 20 people. It has a very comforting traditional Japanese feel and you may find yourself thinking you've been transported to a small ramen bar outside of Tokyo. There is a bar that is connected to Asa next door, but it was closed when I visited. (and believe me, I tried to get the doors open several times!)
The menus are somewhat of a conversation piece themselves, being half English and half Japanese. Once again, I was happy to be able to use my Japanese reading skills. :) We started off our order with beer (no sake since the bar was closed), edamame, fried oysters and gyoza. I was already comparing Asa's gyoza to Daikokuya's, noting that they had the more traditional crescent shaped ones. I dipped it in their special sauce, took a bite and was able to continue listening to the coversation going on at the table. Sadly I was not mentally drifting away to a happy place like I do at Daikokuya when I eat their gyoza. Asa's seemed to have a little more pork in their gyoza than I prefer, but it was still good.
I was eagerly awaiting the glorious bowl of their kotteri shoyu ramen (I added an egg to my order since it did not seem like it was included with the ramen) and green onion takoyaki (battered & fried octopus). The frosty beer helped my nerves calm down while I sat and imagined what wonderful food was awaiting me. Finally our outrageously hot bowls were served, which were a little on the small side. Note: this is great for those of you who have a gluttony problem, such as myself.
Upon visual inspection, the broth didn't seem as rich as Daikokuya's.. and it wasn't. It was much lighter and didn't pack as much of a "I've been simmering all night in goodness" punch, but was still tasty. The noodles weren't as firm or chewy either. My special egg also seemed different because it had been sliced in half and looked very egg-like (whereas Daikokuya's is whole and looks brown from marinating in secret sauces overnight). It was very soft and still retained its egg flavor, but also had some of the flavor of the broth. Different, but delicious! The chasu pork was also another question mark I eagerly wanted to answer. The pieces were thicker and while they did not melt like butter in my mouth, I did prefer their flavor over Daikokuya's. They had more of a pronounced pork fat flavor, which any lover of bacon products will tell you, it's a good thing. (note: chasu is not bacon hehe) I very easily ate the entire bowl of ramen, since it was of managable size.
The waitress brought out my plate of takoyaki while I was slurping ramen and it looked tempting. About eight little balls of fried octopus stared at me, begging to be eaten. The overall taste was good but was a little squishy for me, I wasn't sure if this was the inside batter or not. One thing that was really good was that they didn't have the token chewiness of octopus, which often times is like chomping down on a balloon. Asa offers all kinds of different ways to flavor takoyaki, including mochi cheese, so I wouldn't mind trying some of these other options out.
All in all, Asa Ramen was good, but it was no Daikokuya. It did have its advantages though-- Asa's portions were much smaller, so I was able to try more things out on the menu. They also have lots of items that Daikokuya doesn't offer. After more conversation and beer though, I was ready for another bowl of ramen. I declined on the thought of how much sodium I'd probably be intaking for the night if I'd had the 2nd bowl. The prices were in the ok range, not too expensive but you got less food for the money. Great spot, but Daikokuya still holds the number one spot in my sodium riddled heart. :)
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