Tasty, Quality Ramen Keeps Customers Coming Back

With all this cold, stormy weather we’ve been having, nothing sounds better than warming up with a hot bowl of ramen. After opening last month, Nagoya Ramen in Mililani is just in time to provide some much-needed warmth on these cold days.

“Everybody says the food is good,” Nagoya Ramen secretary Sue Chen says. “We have so many regular customers right now. After they come eat, they keep coming back.”

It’s easy to see what keeps customers returning. Nagoya Ramen offers a wide selection of udon, fried noodles, fried rice, curry and of course, ramen.

Chen says that one of the most popular dishes is the house special, Nagoya Ramen ($8.75).

“It has everything,” Chen explains. “It has chicken katsu, char siu, egg, fishcake and seaweed.”

Other ramen options include Char Siu Ramen ($6.50 regular; $4.25 mini), Wonton Ramen ($6.50) and Seafood Ramen ($7.75).

Nagoya Ramen also offers combination meals, including Mochiko Chicken Ramen Combo ($8.95), which comes with gyoza and fried rice.

While the restaurant’s ramen certainly is one of its main draws, it would be a mistake to overlook the rest of the menu.

“So many people like the curry,” Chen says. “Everybody says the curry is very delicious.”

Curry dishes include Beef Stew Curry Rice ($7.25 regular; $5.25 mini) and Chicken Katsu Curry Rice ($7.25 regular; $5.25 mini).

Other offerings include Shrimp Tempura Udon ($7.95), Seafood Crispy Noodle ($7.95) and Shrimp Fried Rice ($6.75 regular; $4.75 mini).

Right now, diners can take advantage of Nagoya Ramen’s Grand Opening Special. With a coupon found in Dining Out, customers can receive a four-piece order of gyoza with any regular entree or a two-piece order of shrimp tempura with any combo meal. And if you don’t have a coupon, stop in from 1:30 to 5:30 p.m., when customers don’t need a coupon to get a four-piece order of gyoza with any regular entree.

On the Side

Located in Mililani Shopping Center, Nagoya Ramen offers a quiet, welcoming environment to enjoy tasty, quality ramen, udon, curry rice and more. Customers will feel right at home in the eatery’s comfortable dining room. And as restaurant secretary Sue Chen explains, many customers already seem to be making Nagoya Ramen their new second home.

Chen attributes much of Nagoya Ramen’s success to the creativity that owner and head chef Steven Lin puts into his cuisine. One thing that sets the restaurant apart is its broth, which is Lin’s original creation. Lin explains that he has concocted a special Paitan-based sauce that he includes in the ramen broth.

The Paitan sauce is the one that Nagoya uses in most of its ramen dishes, but diners also can opt to substitute the broth for other flavors, including miso, shoyu or shio.

Lin has been cooking ramen for more than 10 years. He says that during that time he cultivated a knowledge of customer tastes and preferences.

“We know what the customers like, and we wanted to open a (restaurant) for the customers that has food that is good and prices that are reasonable,” Lin says.

If customers want to share Nagoya Ramen’s tasty cuisine with their family and friends, the restaurant also offers party platters available for takeout. Party Platters cost $19.99 per order, and Chen says that each can feed about eight to 10 people. Party platter dishes include an Appetizer Combination, Mochiko Chicken, Pork or Chicken Fried Noodle and Char Siu or Chicken Fried Rice.

Nagoya Ramen