Richmond: Chika Ramen - Pacific East Mall, East Bay

[AntarcticWidow]

Walking through the mall I saw that this restaurant was open. It looked busy but I was not in the mood for ramen. After having dinner at Great Szechuan, I stopped and picked up their menu. Funny thing though, I noticed that it does not have the restaurant name written in English.

Their menu is pretty extensive and goes well beyond ramen.

APPETIZERS

1. Hokkaido thin slice jelly $16.95
2. All shrimp tempura $5.95
3. Mixed tempura $5.95
4. Soft shell crab $7.95
5. Beef foil $8.95
6. Hama sakamushi $9.95
7. Donbin mushi $6.95
8. Chawa mushi $4.95
9. Ika maruyaki $7.95
10. Saba Shioyaki $7.95
11. Shishamon $4.95
12. Kaki fry $4.95
13. Seafood fry $7.95
14. Misoyaki $8.95
15. Ankimon $7.95
16. Namakaki $10.95
17. Short ribs $7.95
18. Hamachi kama $11.95
19. Niku maki $7.95
20. Gyoza $5.95

FRIED RICE ~ served with miso soup, salad, chicken wing

21. Vegetable fried rice $7.95
22. Seafood fried rice $9.95
23. Shrimp fried rice $9.95
24. Chicken fried rice $7.95
25. Pork fried rice $8.95
26. Beef fried rice $8.95

RAMEN ~ Tonkatsu flavor, beef stock flavor, miso flavor, shoyu flavor

27. Ramen mixed in miso paste $6.95
28. Chika ramen $8.95
29. Kyujo ramen $8.95
30. Unagi ramen $8.95
31. Tonkatsu ramen $7.95
32. Vegetable ramen $7.95
33. Boiled chicken leg ramen $7.95
34. Seafood ramen $9.95
35. Beef ramen $7.95
36. Spicy beef stew ramen $7.95
37. Wonton ramen $8.95

SIZZLING PLATES

38. Seafood special $12.95
39. Sizzling beef $11.95
40. Sizzling chicken $9.95
41. Sizzling ramen:
Chicken $8.95
Pork $9.95
Beef $9.95
Seafood $11.95
42. Sizzling udon (seafood $11.95)

HOT POT

43. Seafood tofu pot $14.95
44. Special seafood pepper pot $12.95
45. Seafood udon $12.95
46. Curry beef stew udon $8.95
47. Curry beef stew rice $8.95

BENTO BOX ~ choose any two of the following items, served with miso soup, rice, salad

1. Vegetable tempura $3.95
2. Chicken katsu $3.95
3. Combination vegetable $3.95
4. Spicy lily bulb $3.95
5. Gyoza $3.95
6. Agedashi Tofu $3.95
7. California roll $3.95
8. Ma po tofu $3.95
9. Ma po eggplant $3.95
10. Tonkatsu $4.95
11. Beef teriyaki $4.95
12. Curry beef $4.95
13. Enoki beef belly stew $4.95
14. Black pepper beef $4.95
15. Boiled chicken leg $4.95
16. Pork stew $4.95
17. Nigiri sushi $4.95
18. Spicy beef stew $4.95
19. Combination seafood $5.95
20. All shrimp tempura $5.95
21. Curry shrimp $5.95
22. Unaju $5.95
23. Kaki fry $5.95
24. Salmon teriyaki $5.95
25. Sashimi $5.95
26. Short ribs $5.95

SUSHI MENU

1. Maguro $3.95
2. Hamachi $3.95
3. Sake $3.50
4. Shiro Maguro $3.95
5. Suzuki $3.50
6. Hirame $3.95
7. Katsuo $3.95
8. Smoked sake $3.95
9. Saba $3.50
10. Ebi $3.95
11. Kani $3.50
12. Unagi $3.50
13. Ika $3.50
14. Tako $3.50
15. Tobiko $3.50
16. Ikura $3.95
17. Hotategai #4.50
18. Spicy scallop $4.50
19. Amaebi $7.95
20. Kanikama $2.95
21. Tamago $2.95
22. Inari $2.95
23. Uni – market price

SPECIAL ROLLS (Note: I have no idea what some of these rolls might be; hopefully their in-dining menu is more descriptive.)

24. Spider roll $8.95
25. Titanic roll $11.95
26. Oakland A’s roll $12.95
27. Double salmon roll $8.95
28. Double hamachi roll $9.95
29. Under the sea roll $9.95
30. Cherry blossom $9.95
31. Cinderella $7.95
32. Romeo & Juliet Roll $8.95
33. Swamp roll $6.95
34. 49er’s roll $8.95
35. Godzilla roll $6.95
36. Raders roll $10.95
37. Dynamite roll $7.95
38. Oyster bat roll $7.95
39. Bay view roll $8.95
40. Super dynamite roll $8.95
41. Super California roll $9.95
42. Dragon roll $11.95
43. Alaska roll $4.25
44. California roll $3.95
45. Philadelphia roll $4.95
46. New York roll $4.95
47. Rock ‘n’ roll $4.25
48. Spicy tuna roll $4.50
49. Spicy scallops roll $5.95
50. Tempura roll $4.95
51. Kappa maki $3.50
52. Tekka make $3.50
53. Negi hama $3.50

TEMAKI (HAND ROLLS)
54. Spicy tuna hand roll $3.95
55. California hand roll $3.50
56. Unagi hand roll $3.50
57. Tempura hand roll $3.50

SASHIMI COMBINATION
10 pieces $15.95
20 pieces $28.95

[AntarcticWidow]

link

[Melanie Wong]

I poked my head in there last month. All the staff spoke Chinese to each other.

[kc72]

I think I remember someone mentioning in another thread that the owners of the Chika Ramen were former partners in Great Szechwan.

[K K]

I was looking at the Yelp listing pictures, and it just dawned on me.

The Chinese/Japanese characters for the restaurant's other name, are shall we say "inspired by" Ajisen Ramen (a successful chain out of Japan that is popular in the Asian/China market). They wrote the 2nd character slightly different possibly Mainland China shorthand form.

Reminds me of how the Little Sheep Mongolian Hot Pot brand got pseudo cloned and copied from Milpitas to Monterey Park (only to have 2 legit locations), or how there's a Ding Tai Fung XLB in Toronto but has absolutely nothing to do with Din Tai Fung Taipei or LA. :-)

As far as I know there is no law in the SF Bay Area saying that you cannot have two restaurants having the same non English name. As a result you have Ling Nam in Chinatown (aka R&G Lounge's Chinese name) and a Ling Nam in South San Francisco (a Filipino Chinese noodle house).

But going back, Chika in Japanese means "underground" or in the shopping/food sense, basement (of a mall) where food is found.