Comforting beef bowls for cool

Ever since ramen started becoming a fixture on the local dining scene with the first wave of Japanese restaurateurs arriving on our shores in the 1980s, the presence of pork chashu on the menu has been a given.

All these years later, I never thought I was missing anything until last week’s rainy weather led me to beef specialist Kamitoku Ramen at Ward Centre. The establishment had previously been one of the vendors at Japan Village Walk at Ala Moana Center until its pandemic closure. Before my visit I had never thought to ask, “Why pork, not beef?”

If I had, the answer would have made perfect sense. Wild boar had been hunted and consumed in Japan since the ancient Yayoi era. Cattle were used as draught animals and weren’t consumed until the opening of Japan to the West during the Meiji Restoration beginning in the late 1800s.

Costly to raise in terms of feed and land use, beef was consumed only by Westerners and after setting an example, only Japan’s elite until the post World War II period. By then, ramen originally introduced by the Chinese to Japan in the mid-1800s, had evolved to be topped with Chinese-style roast pork, char siu, modified to suit Japanese taste.

But in Tottori on Honshu Island, Japan’s least populous prefecture and agrarian in nature, cattle raising had roots in the mid-1700s. In the early 20th century, Tottori became the first prefecture in Japan to introduce a breeding registry for wagyu and beef-based, or gyu-kotsu ramen, found a place on menus following World War II. Today, the Kamitoku brand is one of 100 gyu-kotsu specialists in Tottori prefecture, and the only one to have brought its beef ramen to Honolulu beginning with a food truck in Waikiki in 2014. The new restaurant fills the spot that was formerly home to Agu, A Ramen Bistro.

Bowls start with beef bone broth flavored with traditional condiments of dark soy sauce ($8 small, $13 regular), red miso ($8.50/$13.50), sesame based tantan ($8.50/$13.50), or chile oil ($8.50/$13.50). The small size features half the noodles and no egg. Otherwise, adding to the roast beef and noodle combinations are green onions and bamboo shoots. Add-ons range from $1 for more green onions or bean sprouts to $2 for soft eggs, $4 per additional piece of roast beef, and $1.50 to $4 for extra noodles. For those with a high toler ance for chiles, the spicy version wasn’t fiery to my taste and if you need more heat you could order chile oil or spicy oil on the side for $1 each. The chile oil offered no heat either, so next time I’ll give the spicy oil a try.

I loved the beefy seabura ($15), full of chunks of beef back fat in addition to the roast beef, though because of its rich fatty content, it’s something I’d be afraid to eat too often.

Beef topping each ramen bowl is juicy and packed with flavor, grilled in the aburi style then slowly simmered in a sweetened soy sauce and seasoned with a small amount of black pepper.

Kid ramen combos are also available for $17-$18 featuring ramen with a choice of one side dish.

Beyond ramen, beef fills the menu of appetizers and rice bowls, starting with a traditional accompaniment of deep-fried gyoza ($6.50 for six pieces) filled with beef char siu and vegetables. You can also get the gyoza nanban style ($7), accompanied by tartar sauce and plenty green onions.

I enjoyed an offering of beefy croquettes ($10.50 for three pieces). With their filling of potatoes and beef char siu, they tasted like a breakfast hash, though accompanied by a tonkatsu-style sauce.

The roast beef char siu is also offered as an appetizer ($13 for three pieces or $21 for five pieces), or topping a rice bowl ($14/$22.50); just be aware the overall flavor is closer to Japanese teriyaki than Chinese-style pork char siu.

If you need more carbs, fried rice ($7) is also worth trying, made more flavorful by pieces of beef and accompanied by a small serving of kimchi.

Dessert of ube ice cream makes a nice finish.

Kamitoku Ramen

Ward Centre,
1200 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu
Food: ****
Service: ****
Ambiance: **½
Value: ****
Call: 808-784-0292
Hours: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5-10 p.m. daily
Prices: About $35 for two

Nadine Kam’s restaurant visits are unannounced and paid for by Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Follow Nadine on Instagram (@nadinekam) or on YouTube (youtube.com/nadinekam).