On a cold January night, a bowl of soup just sounds right. And even better if you’ve made a resolution to eat a little healthier in the new year.
And while it’s been unseasonably warm this year, soup still sounds good anytime, especially if it’s ramen and even more so if it’s a birthday dinner.
For his January birthday, my brother Mark chose Zen Ramen & Bar, located on Washington Road in the former Zoe’s Kitchen location. It’s a local restaurant developed by the owners of KOI on Washington Road and Top Crab on Wrightsboro Road. But with its bright red lanterns, cool bar and modern interior, I could completely see the concept becoming a chain one day (and in fact, my other brother, Piers, thought it was!).
Read more: Dine and Dish: Royal Tea on Reynolds
That concept is simple: big bowls of hearty broth, generously filled with ramen or udon noodles, and topped with delicious sliced proteins, perhaps a handful of bean sprouts or mushrooms, a scattering of seaweed, and a halved boiled egg with a deep golden yolk. Or, if soup’s not your thing, there are also rice bowls with beef, eel or pork plus curry katsus (katsu is the Japanese term for a fried cutlet, which in Zen Ramen’s case means pork or chicken). Zen Ramen & Bar also features a full menu of spirits and cocktails — making it a great place for going out.
We all ordered soup, but to add to the celebration, an array of appetizers to share. The edamame was a natural choice — and came appropriately steamed with flecks of salt. We also tried the potato shrimp, fat and sweet shrimp wrapped in strings of crunchy fried potato (we added a little salt); the chili oil shumai, super tender little round dumplings stuffed with a shrimp filling, just a little spicy; and the takoyaki, or little dough-wrapped and fried balls with a bit of octopus inside, which were a bit soggy inside for me and best hot, said Piers. Best of all were the calamari, not made with squid, but instead with octopus. It had a salty, crispy panko-style crust, with just a slight chew on the tender octopus. It was just about perfect — and didn’t even need the sweet Japanese mayo dipping sauce it came with.
Read more: Dine and Dish: Emil’s
For my soup, I waffled between the creamy chicken ramen or the mayu ramen, but chose the latter when our server said it was the most popular item on the menu — plus it features slices of pork belly! I could have further customized my soup, which came with black garlic oil, bean sprouts, corn and seaweed, but opted just to hold the egg, which Piers happily added to his bowl.
The bowl came steaming and smelled deliciously of garlic. I didn’t realize it was a creamy soup, with a light broth, which I’ve never had with ramen before. The noodles themselves were nice and tender, but still firm enough, and there was tons of flavor in the broth and the noodles thanks to the pork. The meat itself was sliced thin and not too fatty, and the bean sprouts and corn added some nice crunch and sweetness.
If we’d wanted dessert there, we could have even enjoyed that: The restaurant offers a Japanese crepe cake filled with your choice of flavored cream or ice cream mochi.
Read more: Dine and Dish: Kettle Creek Creamery
Zen Ramen & Bar offers the best of both worlds — comfort in a bowl with the spirit of celebration. I liked their take on the humble ramen bowl a lot— i t was packed with flavor with lots of fun customizations available. Whether cold or hot outside, it’s worth a try.
Make your reservation
Zen Ramen & Bar
2907 Washington Road
Find them on Facebook
Cost: $15.95 to $17.95
AloJapan.com