Ramen Dojo is a relatively new (a few months) ramen restaurant just off downtown San Mateo. It's owned by the folks behind the wildly popular Santa Ramen in San Mateo, which happens to be my favorite ramen stop in the Bay Area, and is located in their former location which can seat only around 30 diners at a time. The ramen style at Ramen Dojo is quite different than that at Santa, with Dojo emphasizing their "spicy" styles.
We came in for a slightly early lunch on a Sunday and were seated right away; if we arrived 15 minutes later, there would have been a wait. The ramen is all listed on their blackboard with three types of broth: soy sauce, garlic pork, and soy bean. In addition, diners can ask for their broth to be non-spicy, or they can choose between three levels of spiciness: mild, regular, or extra spicy. All ramen bowls come with two pieces of roasted pork, fried whole garlic, kikuuage mushroom, fresh green chives, a quail egg, shredded red pepper, and this thing which they call "chicken gravy", namely, a mixure of cooked ground chicken, chopped ginger, and chopped shitake mushrooms. Diners can, for an extra fee, add other toppings such as more roasted pork, curry powder, corn, etc. Other than the ramen, they have only a few other offerings, such were gyoza (potstickers), edamame, seaweed salad, and a couple of desserts.
Garlic Pork Flavor Ramen
Being the garlic and fatty pork lover that I am, I ordered the garlic pork flavor ramen, mild. Although I can eat relatively spicy food, it's not my preference, especially for a comforting bowl of ramen.
The roast pork was supple and flavorful, much better than the roast pork in Santa's ramen. The broth had a rich roasted garlic flavor, and was quite delicious, with the over-easy fried quail egg a lovely addition. However there was way too much green chive in the bowl, and it lent it an overly raw, vegetal flavor that wasn't that pleasant. However if you take out half the chives and dunk the rest in the broth to cook for a while, they because much tastier. The lettuce leaf was also pure decoration and I wished it wasn't there, but overall I would definitely come back for another bowl of this ramen.
Soy Bean Flavor Ramen with Extra Roast Pork
My husband ordered the miso flavored ramen with extra pork, extra spicy. I took a sip and the extra spicy isn't that spicy, but the broth flavoring was rich and delicious. Like in my bowl, the chives were too strong and so he took almost all his out of the bowl.
Dessert
There was a discount on the dessert, which was some type of gelatin (lychee flavored?) in a light green tea custard-gelatin base. It was a refreshing ending to the meal but I'm not sure I would order it again.
Overall, good times and another solid Peninsula ramen joint!
Ramen Dojo
805 S B Street
San Mateo, CA 94401
(650) 401-6568
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