{"id":1174,"date":"2020-07-31T14:50:14","date_gmt":"2020-07-31T14:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/willchews.com\/?p=1174"},"modified":"2020-08-02T13:07:27","modified_gmt":"2020-08-02T13:07:27","slug":"ramen153","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willchews.com\/index.php\/ramen153\/","title":{"rendered":"Ramen No. 153: Menya Hosaki | Classic Shoyu Ramen"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Note:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>This is the first of several reviews of each of Hosaki’s bowls in advance of the opening of the DC location in August 2020.<\/em><\/p>

I discovered Menya Hosaki entirely by chance last September because I was too lazy to take the Metro into DC from my confines in suburban Maryland, and decided to look for a lunch place out in DC suburbs.\u00a0 Despite its nondescript office surroundings–a pop-up in the afterhours of a office park deli–Hosaki’s menu featured ramen “gyokai<\/a>,” which is rare to see in US ramen shops and is usually a pretty good indicator of a shop’s seriousness, prompted me to drive up 295 to check it out.<\/p><\/div>

My intuition was correct.\u00a0 Eric Yoo, the owner and chef, originally trained under Shimamoto Keizo of Ramen Shack in its original location in New York’s Long Island City, which had been the only US ramen shop I deemed a Tier 1<\/a>.\u00a0 Unlike Daikaya and its sister shops<\/a>, which dominate the DC ramen scene but which I’ve criticized heavily from both culinary creativity and business standpoints, Yoo wants to use Hosaki to introduce flavors and methods of preparation–with just about everything but the noodles made in-house–that will resonate with Japanese-style ramen lovers and broaden the horizons of American diners who have a more constrained understanding of ramen, usually only associating it with tonkotsu or spicy miso broth.<\/div>
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Eric has successively accomplished that objective.\u00a0 While the menu contains a prerequisite tonkotsu<\/a> ramen spiked with spicy oil–the “Baltimore Sun”–the other options demonstrate a considerable breadth of different styles and flavors.\u00a0 I went with the Classic Shoyu since shoyu<\/a> usually a good barometer of a shop’s skills, where missteps in the preparation of the noodles, toppings, and chashu<\/a> can’t be hidden with a heavy broth.\u00a0 The broth is supposed to be a Tokyo-style chicken-shoyu: I thought it was very good, but I did notice that the seafood notes were much stronger than the chicken notes, and the broth could’ve been served a bit warmer.\u00a0 The noodles are ordered from Shimamoto and are different from the standard Sun\/Nishiyama ones that supply most ramen shops in the US, with a less of a uniform yellowish hue and alkaline<\/a> bite, replaced instead with a batch of fresh noodles where pieces of the individual milled grains are visible.\u00a0 I did think that the noodles should’ve been cooked more al dente, or used more kansui<\/a> for a snappier\/chewier profile.<\/div>
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Note:<\/b> Upon posting an earlier version of this review last year, Eric contacted me and explained that my comments had prompted him to look into the noodle issue.\u00a0 The problem was not a kansui\/noodle problem, but rather that his water boiler bath was running hot.\u00a0 Once he cut the noodle boiling time down by 1\/3, the results were much better, and my subsequent visits (and reviews) reflected this.<\/div>
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Minor reservations of the broth and noodles aside, the chashu is mighty excellent.\u00a0 One can choose from two different options of roast pork belly or chicken breast: the former is slow-roasted and then finished with a blowtorch on a shichirin<\/a> grill; the latter is roasted (or sous vided) and finished with a bit of lemon juice and pepper.\u00a0 Both are cut thick and are as good as any chashu made in a ramen shop in Japan.\u00a0 I generally prefer pork shoulder to pork belly for my chashu, but the blowtorch method is the best way to prepare belly for ramen.\u00a0 The tenderness and juiciness of the chicken chashu was particularly impressive: too many shops tend to over-roast it and end up just using shredded chicken in their ramen.<\/p>

The other toppings are well-chosen, taste excellent, and are artfully plated.\u00a0 Of particular note is the juicy, thick-cut menma<\/a>.\u00a0 Also, the inclusion of boiled and chopped spinach is a clear homage to Yoo’s mentor Shimamoto, who uses the same topping and prep style in his ramen.<\/p><\/div>

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Menya Hosaki is (finally) slated to open in August 2020, but this was promising enough of a bowl that I was willing to drive up BWE\/295 several times last fall to get the best ramen in the DMV area.\u00a0 It was worth it, both in terms of the food at Hosaki as well as what Eric is trying to contribute to broadening the horizons of US ramen culture.\u00a0\u00a0<\/div>
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Tier 2<\/a><\/strong><\/div>
Q Factor: None (Saturday 1220)<\/div>
Sense: Still feels like a office park deli<\/div>
Price: Shoyu Ramen ($13) + Extra Chashu ($5) + Tax\/Tip<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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