Is Orochon Ramen worth the trip or was the Man vs Food Challenge just hype?
It was not AS SEEN ON TV. Super crowded at 9pm on a Saturday night, even though it was an hour before closing there were still crowds of people waiting to get in. So what is the hype all about? Service was slow (this was as expected), they forgot our fried rice order and then wouldn’t let us cancel it when it didn’t come out before the noodles. CAN I HAVE SOME NOODLES WITH MY VEGGIES…big freaking bowl of soup…A LOT of bean sprouts and bamboo shoots, a small handful of noodles, and a few slivers of char siu/pork. NOT worth the wait, NOT worth the crowd, NOT worth the $$$. I’m sticking with Hakata Ramen. * Pros: featured on man v food on the travel channel * Cons: bad parking, long wait, crowded, mediocre food We used to love this place, but our last visit there was a very poor experience. The noodle in our soup was undercooked and was stuck together in a lump, and when we made the waiter take it back, they simply fished out the noodles, cooked it some more, and gave the same bowl ba
‘m sure this place has gotten a lot of notoriety since the Man vs. Food challenge, but I hope that people who are unfamiliar with ramen don’t think that jalapenos and spiciness are all there is to it. There is an art to good ramen! (note: I noticed that a lot of my Korean and Caucasian friends love this place, but my Japanese friends prefer to eat elsewhere.) I came here twice with friends with the sole purpose of having someone finish the Special 2 challenge. Amazingly enough, we were successful both times!! Since I know I can’t handle it, and you’re not supposed to cheat by having anyone else eat the stuff, I haven’t been able to try the Special 2, but I’ve gotten the mild broth and it’s pretty good. The noodles aren’t as good as Daikokuya’s or Koraku’s, but they’re a lot better than Cup O’ Noodle 🙂 Sources: http://www.yelp.
