I first posted about Nishiki Ramen right after their soft opening. Now they’ve had a chance to settle in, they have a sparkly new menu and the long lines have disappeared. So we recently went in for a revisit, to try out more menu items.
Takoyaki
I loved the presentation. The balls contained more batter than I prefer. I like mine to have more octopus than batter.
Pumpkin Ramen
This was actually a very limited time special for Halloween. I’m not sure if they’ll bring it back again. I found the jack o’lantern cut-out to be adorable. In addition to a slice of kabocha squash (Japanese pumpkin), there was pumpkin puree in the broth as well, giving it a thicker, more earthy texture.
As I mentioned in my initial post, fresh ramen noodles are served here, which is what makes their ramen really stand out. They serve a thinner wheat noodle for the regular ramen and a thicker noodle for the miso ramen. While I enjoy both noodles, I prefer the thicker ones, and so this time I asked if I could substitute the thin ramen noodles for the miso ones. And they allowed it!
While I enjoyed this bowl of ramen, the soup was a little plain. The pumpkin flavor was very present, but I feel like it needed some spices to it.
I added a soft boiled egg to mine, which was cooked perfectly.
Pork Black Ramen
This isn’t the prettiest, but it is now my new favorite. The classic Nishiki Ramen bowl has a dollop of black garlic oil. It’s very flavorful, savory and garlicky. The Pork Black Ramen has the black garlic oil mixed throughout the broth, adding an umami punch to every bite. We thoroughly enjoyed this liberal use of black garlic sauce mixed with the broth and I’m pretty sure we’ll both be ordering this one from now on.
Mini Chashu-Don
A rice bowl mixed with tender marinated pork. If you’re very hungry, you can add this to your meal. It was a little too much food for us.
Overall, we had a good second visit and I see this becoming part of our rotation, especially with the weather cooling down. It’s definitely our favorite spot for ramen in San Diego right now. Service was quick and efficient and the staff seems to have settled in nicely.
You can read my initial post here.
Menu:
Nishiki Ramen
8055 Armour St Ste 201A, San Diego, CA 92111
Do you guys use peanut oil? The first time we went in, one of the servers said you use peanut oil. So we walked out.
I think this is a better question addressed for the restaurant and not me.
Must try black ramen! I think that is what I wanted all along. 🙂
it’s soo good. I could eat it all the time. I need to try making my own black garlic oil so I can put it on everything
Glad to hear that the lines have died down so I can try Nishiki soon.. I was at Yakyudori yesterday, and it was busier than I remembered. I was attributing it to the wait at Nishiki, but it’s probably the cooler weather.
yes, now’s a good time to check it out!