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Nothing is as comforting as a hot bowl of noodles on a chilly evening. If you want to warm up this winter, check out these ramen eateries.
Wagaya
Wagaya is a family-run business that was opened in 2015 by husband-and- wife team Tadaaki and Pearl Hirose. This restaurant is known for its tonkotsu broth, which is an organic chicken and kurobuta pork bone broth that simmers for two days. The full-bodied broth is packed with umami flavor.
Wagaya also offers a vegetarian broth made with miso and sesame, as well as a lighter shoyu broth that’s a blend of chicken, fish and konbu dashi.
The garlic Wagaya ramen ($13.25) is the eatery’s signature dish. Other popular menu items include Wagaya tsukemen ($13.25) and tan tan men ($14.25).
Wagaya uses locally sourced and organic products as much as possible, and its housemade dishes and sauces are created in small batches.
Wagaya
2080 S. King St., Honolulu
808-949-0670
wagayahawaii.com
Instagram: @Wagayahawaii
Ono-ya Ramen
Ono-ya Ramen uses a new technique to create a special savory yet light tonkotsu broth. The restaurant offers an array of ramen flavors and toppings for customers to try.
The eatery also chose to switch to a thinner ramen noodle to change the balance of noodles and soup to match diners’ preferences. The thinner noodle helps the soup’s flavor stand out a little more than the thicker ramen noodles that were previously used.
Popular dishes include the tonkatsu special and ramen combo, which offers guests side dishes that complement ramen.
Ono-ya Ramen
611 Kapahulu Ave., Honolulu
808-425-4415
onoyaramen.com
Instagram: @Onoyaramen
Goma Tei Ramen
Goma Tei Ramen first opened in 2006 at Ward Centre and has three additional restaurant locations in Ala Moana Center, Pearlridge Center and Kahala Mall.
The biz is known for its smooth, delicious, al dente ramen noodles, which are made fresh in-house using a special machine from Japan that was engineered and designed exclusively for the company. Some of Goma Tei’s signature dishes include the tan tan ramen — which comes in 11 different styles including garlic tan tan and tonkatsu tan tan — as well as housemade gyoza and Japanese wonton.
Goma Tei Ramen also offers a breakfast menu exclusively at its Kahala Mall location from 7 to 10:30 a.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. You’ll find Japanese-style souffle pancakes, waffles, spicy kakuni baos and more.
Visit gomatei.com to learn more.
Goma Tei Ramen
Various Locations
gomatei.com
Instagram: @Gomateihawaii
Golden Pork Tonkotsu Ramen Bar
At Golden Pork Tonkotsu Ramen Bar, you’ll find six ramen varieties that include three types of Hakata-style tonkotsu ramen and three types of Gyokai (seafood) tonkotsu tsukemen (dipping-style noodles). The eatery prides itself on its pork bone broth that’s carefully simmered for more than 20 hours using only pork bone.
Black garlic tsukemen ($13.75) is one of the restaurant’s signature dishes. It features a rich, creamy, Gyokai tonkotsu broth with a garlic seafood flavor. Diners can add extra toppings like char siu, green onions, garlic chips, corn and more to customize their noodles.
Golden Pork Tonkotsu Ramen Bar
1279 S. King St., Honolulu
808-888-5358
Instagram: @goldenpork_hi
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