Yes, otaku's and Japanese food enthusiasts, you read that correctly. Norfolk has it's very own ramen shop, called Norfolk Ramen. This has definitely made me love Norfolk. I just happen to run across it while surfing the web.
It has become so popular that the Virginia Pilot has completed a review of the restaurant.
From the Virginia Pilot:
"Occasionally, I have what I'd call a big-city restaurant experience right here in Norfolk. And I don't mean a place with big-city prices or standing-room-only crowds. I mean a restaurant that dares to try something new and that carves out a previously unoccupied niche to do so. On Sundays, I find just that at Norfolk Ramen.
This restaurant is all about authentic Japanese ramen, a dish of noodles, broth and whatever else a chef tastily packs in. Ramen shops have started up in some major cities - New York, D.C., San Francisco - but for our area, Norfolk Ramen seems to be testing new ground. It's a mini-restaurant of sorts, making waves on social media. Check it out on Twitter and Facebook, where I first got wind of it.The eatery is open on Sundays only inside a spot otherwise occupied by Chin's Chinese Cafe, owned by the ramen chef's family.
The menu is small and focused. The shop serves piping hot bowls of its namesake dish for $8 a pop in two varieties - pork and vegan. The pork option is officially called a Norfolk Bowl and is packed with pork broth, noodles, a sous-vide egg, sliced pork and mustard greens. Request "spicy", and you'll get a dollop of a house-made hot sauce to stir in.
(Chef Paul Chin told me that when he opened a few months ago, customers asked for sriracha to give the ramen some heat. He thought he could make something better in the kitchen, and he was right. The paste-like hot sauce gives the broth the kick it needs.)
After a few trips, I can attest that the dish is just about perfect every time. The pork is tender, the greens fresh. The noodles have a good, chewy bite. You'll slurp up the salty, homey broth to the very bottom of the bowl. Eggs are not my thing, so I order mine without. But my dining companions praised the texture they add.
The Norfolk Ramen experience goes beyond the bowl, though.
A visit is complete only with a side of char siu bao - pork buns. The dough is divine, and the tender pork inside has a bit of spice. If you're extra-hungry or have a big group, add an order of rice flour dumplings, filled with taro for a unique flavor. But skip Norfolk Ramen's third appetizer offering: the cold tofu sashimi. I found the tofu mushy and the accompanying sauce nothing special.
My group of four barely touched the plate. I must assume the vegetarian ramen bowl has better quality tofu. Though I have not tried the dish - which also has mushrooms and scallions - others have raved about it. Your Sunday experience at Norfolk Ramen can be enhanced by the beer selection, including my favorite, the Japanese Sapporo.
Sunday is still the weekend, after all. Ramen shops in D.C. and New York should look out. They've got some competition for the hottest bowl down here."
The Norfolk Ramen sounds like a place worth checking out. Remember it's only open on Sunday's. More Information:
Norfolk Ramen
8401 Hampton Blvd #11,
Norfolk, VA 23505
Hours: Sunday
| 11:00 am | - | 9:00 pm |
The Virginian-Pilot
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