Saiwaii Ramen [San Francisco]

[L C]

Yes, it's open now.
Ramen (miso, shio, shoyu, tonkotsu) for $7.95, price includes chasu (it's homemade, pretty good), menma, nori, kikurage mushrooms and green onions. Surprisingly a boiled egg is NOT included. Add half boiled egg, corn, spinach, butter, kikurage mushrooms, and negi (spring onions) for $1 each - PRICEY!!. Extra chasu for $2, add pork belly for $3 more.

Other menu items: 6 donburi, 10 appetizers (edamame, gyoza, karaage, tempura, etc.), 6 salads, and 8 Americanized sushi (California roll, dragon roll, spider roll, etc.). All the dinnerware looks elegant.

The chicken karaage was pretty good. California roll and tempura also nice. On the other hand the ramen was just okay, not bad. The Tonkotsu broth was non greasy and weak on flavor, a bit similar to Himawari's tonkotsu. Not as good as Santa Ramen or Izakaya Sozai. The noodles are exactly like supermarket fresh (not dried) ramen noodles. The person next to me said that the miso broth was also somewhat weak. I hope that the shio and shoyu versions are better.

The place inside is very nice and clean. Servers were swamped with orders, most everyone had to wait 30 minutes or more for their food. All the food I saw and sampled was well prepared. The fried food was excellent. I wasn't expecting much so for me it was an enjoyable meal. The other people waiting a long time might not say the same thing.

Hours: daily 11am-3pm and 5-10pm (Fri-Sat 5-11pm).

-----
Himawari
202 2nd Ave, San Mateo, CA 94401

Izakaya Sozai
1500 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122

Saiwaii Ramen
2240 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122

[Melanie Wong]

Well, it took more than two years, but I finally made it in to Saiwaii Ramen in December. We ordered the lunch sets that include a bowl of ramen plus sushi maki. The sushi --- California rolls and spicy tuna maki --- might be more successful than the ramen here.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melaniewong/8439677863/

Mom had the shio ramen that tasted of little more than salt (shio). Quite telling that she did not want to take the rest of her broth home, as she usually does with other soup noodles. I ordered the tonkotsu ramen that suffered from the same lack of intensity and focus. Thin noodles turned soft in the soup. Chashu was pretty good, the other toppings were a mess.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/melaniew...

It’s not bad, just feels perfunctory. Saiwaii enters the ramen ranking at #55.

PERSONAL RAMEN RANKING
1. Ramen Halu, 375 Saratoga Ave Ste M, San Jose
2. Tsujita, 2057 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles
3. Himawari, 202 2nd Ave, San Mateo
4. Orenchi Ramen, 3540 Homestead Rd, Santa Clara
5. Santouka, 675 Saratoga Ave, San Jose
6. Maru Ichi, 368 Castro St, Mountain View
7. Izakaya Mai, 212 2nd Avenue, San Mateo
8. Gaku Japanese Charcoal Grill, 5152 Moorpark Ave, San Jose
9. Ajisen Noodle, 47890 Warm Springs Blvd, Fremont
10. Maru Ichi, 530 Barber Lane, Milpitas
11. Ramen Dojo, 805 South B St, San Mateo
12. Shalala, 698 W Dana St, Mountain View
13. Tanto, 1063 E El Camino Real, Sunnyvale
14. Izakaya Restaurant, 1335 N 1st St, San Jose
15. Alexander’s Steakhouse Lounge, 10330 N Wolfe Rd, Cupertino
16. Santa, 1944 South El Camino Real, San Mateo (post-move)
17. Do-Henkotsu House of Tokushima Ramen, 4330 Moorpark Ave, San Jose (closed)
18. Ramen Tenma, 487 Saratoga Ave, San Jose
19. Ryowa, 859 Villa St, Mountain View
20. Orson Restaurant Bar + Lounge, 508 4th St, San Francisco (closed)
21. Sumiya, 2634 Homestead Rd, Santa Clara
22. Gen Ramen, 47890 Warm Springs Blvd, Fremont (closed)
23. Hana Japanese Restaurant, 101 Golf Course Dr, Rohnert Park
24. Ken Ken Ramen, pop-up at The Corner, San Francisco (closed, moved)
25. Kyora Japanese Restaurant, 1217 Wildwood Ave, Sunnyvale (closed)
26. BY Grill, 3226 Geary Blvd, San Francisco (closed)
27. Norikonoko, 2556 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley
28. Dohatsuten, 799 San Antonio Rd, Palo Alto
29. Hana, 4320 Moorpark, San Jose
30. Ozumo, 2251 Broadway, Oakland
31. Muracci’s, 244 State St, Los Altos
32. Katanaya, 430 Geary Blvd., San Francisco
33. Tadamasa, 34672 Alvarado Niles Road, Union City
34. Masa's Sushi, 400 San Antonio Road, Mountain View
35. Ippuku, 2130 Center St, Berkeley
36. Nombe, 2491 Mission St, San Francisco
37. Gochi, 19980 Homestead Rd, Cupertino
38. Oyaji, 3123 Clement St, San Francisco
39. Ramen Misoya, 3541 Homestead Rd, Santa Clara
40. Ame Restaurant, 689 Mission St, San Francisco
41. Yu-Raku, 104 S El Camino Real, San Mateo
42. Namu, 439 Balboa St, San Francisco (moved)
43. Halu Restaurant, 312 8th Ave, San Francisco
44. Sanmi, 3226 Geary Blvd, San Francisco (closed)
45. Hatcho, 1271 Franklin Mall, Santa Clara
46. Kahoo, 4330 Moorpark Ave, San Jose
47. Tomoe, 810 3rd St, San Rafael (closed)
48. Ringer Hut, 1072 Saratoga Ave, San Jose
49. Noodle Theory, 3242 Scott St, San Francisco (closed)
50. Watami Shabu Shabu and Ramen, 5344 Geary Blvd, San Francisco (closed)
51. Where’s Buta by Elgin Espiritu and June Lee, Eat Real Festival, Oakland
52. Kumako, 211 E. Jackson Street, San Jose
53. Japanese Restaurant Hoshi, 246 Saratoga Avenue, Santa Clara
54. Ramen Club, 723 California Dr, Burlingame
55. Saiwaii Ramen, 2240 Irving St, San Francisco
56. Ryowa, 2068 University Ave, Berkeley (after ownership change)
57. King Won Ton, 1936 Irving St, San Francisco
58. Tazaki Sushi, 3420 Judah St, San Francisco
59. Ramen Rama, 19774 Stevens Creek Blvd, Cupertino (closed)
60. Ogi-San Ramen, 10789 Blaney Ave, Cupertino (closed)
61. Kaimuki Grill, 104 S El Camino Real, San Mateo (closed)
62. Tanto, 1306 Saratoga Ave, San Jose (now Dan Izakaya)
63. Okazu Ya SF (Noriega), 2445 Noriega St, San Francisco
64. King's Garden Ramen, 39055 Cedar Blvd, Newark (closed)
65. Sushi Bistro, 445 Balboa St, San Francisco (closed, moved
)66. Genki Ramen, 3944 Geary Blvd, San Francisco
67. Mitsuwa Hokkaido festival booth, 675 Saratoga Ave, San Jose
68. Dan Izakaya, 1306 Saratoga Ave, San Jose
69. Lakuni, 325 E 4th Ave, San Mateo
70. 100% Healthy Desserts, 1155 Taraval St., San Francisco
71. Mifune, 1737 Post St, San Francisco
72. H2A Noodle, 42318 Fremont Blvd., Fremont (closed)
73. Iroha, 1728 Buchanan St, San Francisco
74. Miraku Noodles, 2131 N Broadway, Walnut Creek
75. Manpuku, 2977 College Ave, Berkeley
76. Tanpopo, 1740 Buchanan Street, San Francisco
77. Sushi Yoshi, 39261 Cedar Blvd, Newark
78. La Shang Niang Ramen (OEC), 42 Dixon Rd, Milpitas (closed)
79. Oidon, 71 E. 4th Avenue, San Mateo
80. Taraval Okazu Ya, 1735 Taraval St., San Francisco
81. Suzu Noodle House, 1581 Webster Street, San Francisco
82. Bushido Izakaya, 156 Castro St, Mountain View
83. Fresh Taste, 2107 El Camino Real, Palo Alto
84. Asuka Ramen, 883 Bush St, San Francisco (closed)
85. Sapporo-ya, 1581 Webster St, San Francisco
86. Tokyo Ramen, 678 Barber Lane, Milpitas (closed)
87. Kamakura, 2549 Santa Clara Ave, Alameda
88. Mama-san!, 312 8th Ave, San Francisco (closed)
89. Katana-ya Ramen, 10546 San Pablo Ave, El Cerrito
90. Hotei, 1290 9th Ave, San Francisco
91. Bear's Ramen House, 2521 Durant, Berkeley

[L C]

I went back, the tonkotsu broth has improved significantly. No longer weak, much better flavor now. Doesn't change what I said of SR and IS having better tonkotsu, but now the milky white soup is decent enough. The noodles are still the same, but the chasu pork is now sliced thinner, instead of the thick cuts (3 pieces) during the first week.

This week they have 2 "special" ramen toppings (add $3): pork cheeks & buta kakuni (braised pork belly). The kakuni was delicious, big thick cubes of fatty pork belly. Excellent flavor! Yes, Santa Ramen has a better version that is meatier. But saves me the trouble of going to San Mateo. I have not forgotten that Izakaya Sozai & Oyaji have great kakuni too.

-----
Santa Ramen Japanese Restaurant
1944 South El Camino Real, San Mateo, CA

Oyaji Restaurant
3123 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94121

Izakaya Sozai
1500 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122

[drewskiSF]

i was there last Friday and gave them a 2 star review on Yelp! for their tonkotsu ramen.

over the weekend i got a message from an employee that said there were experimenting with more pork broth in the broth based on feedback in various online reviews they've seen.

sounds like the comments about bland broth are having a positive impact on their quality!

[Melanie Wong]

Thanks for the opening report, L C! I heard a rumor that Yoshi Fujita, the owner of now closed Yo's Sushi Club would be working there. Any word on that?

Link to original discussion:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/5488...

-----
Yo's Sushi Club
3369 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94110

[L C]

Had not heard anything about that, but I'll update if I find any news about it.

[L C]

Confirmed, Yoshi Fujita is the sushi chef. But sushi choices on the menu are very limited, so he doesn't get to show his talent.

[wolfe]

Saiwaii Ramen
2240 Irving
[phone]

-----
Saiwaii Ramen
2240 Irving St, San Francisco, CA 94122

[vincentlo]

Not to sound sarcastic, but in my opinion, he didn't get to show his talent either at Yo's Sushi Club, since that place was so small and didn't even have a stove.

-----
Sushi Club
415 N Mary Ave Ste 104, Sunnyvale, CA 94085

[Melanie Wong]

Thanks for the follow-up, L C!

And note to Vincent, remember, Hama-ko doesn't have a stove either. :-J

-----
Hama-Ko Sushi
108B Carl St, San Francisco, CA 94117

[vincentlo]

Really?! Hama-Ko looks quite a bit bigger than Yoshi's Sushi Club though. And I think Hama-Ko's sushi is a step up in quality (and of course price as well) than Yoshi's.

[Melanie Wong]

Yep, really. Hama-ko doesn't have a stove or a vent for cooking. I consider Hama-ko high quality but never went to Yo's so can't offer a direct comparison.