Ramen Seas (Sunnyvale, CA)
8:00:00 AM
Ramen Seas, Ramen Do
What do you do when you’re indecisive? And can’t seem to decide what restaurant you should review?
You throw all the names into your TARDIS cup and let "Sexy" decide for you.
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| I'm finding many ways of using this gift from PC. |
Or at least that’s what I did.
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| Drum roll please! |
And the lucky winner was Ramen Seas! TADAH!
So earlier this year, (if I have to estimate, some time in March), my friends and I wanted ramen and decided to try out Ramen Seas in downtown Sunnyvale. It was a Friday night and downtown Sunnyvale was full of families and couples wandering down the streets.
When we arrived, the restaurant was at capacity, so we had to wait for a table. Perfect time to browse the menu outside and figure out what we wanted to try. Since they’re called Ramen Seas, they’re known for seafood based broth over the more typical pork bone broth.
Once seated, I was able to take in the entire restaurant. The interior feels very warm and welcoming, with the dark tables and walls. The color combination between the black and red gives everything a calming and welcoming effect. Up against the right side of the restaurant are huge blackboards with menu items written in liquid chalk alongside flyers in blocky Japanese brush strokes.
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| Hidden under the blanket of bonito flakes. |
We started off with the takoyaki as an appetizer. Six piping hot octopus balls with a very generous amount of bonito flakes on top. In fact, there was so much bonito flakes that I could not shoot a decent photo. All you see is bonito flakes and some vague resemblance of takoyaki on the bottom. There were good sized chunks of octopus in each of the takoyaki and cooked to perfection.
And now for the main star of the show, she needs no introduction: ramen.
I chose the small miso ramen, which has a rich garlicky broth with chashu, egg, bamboo sprouts, spinach, wood ear mushroom, green onions and sesame seed.
And well? It was definitely rich and garlicky. The RICH should be underlined and bolded because it really hits you during that first sip. It’s also heavy and oilier than I would’ve like. The flavor is strong and bold though. There’s no complaints in the “lack of flavor” department, but I found myself overwhelmed a few bites in.
The soup has so much umami that it coats my mouth and left me feeling like I consumed a large rather a small.
PC also had the miso base but with clams. She also came to a similar conclusion about the miso being on the heavier side.
Meanwhile, YL picked the clear winner by choosing the seafood ramen with a seafood and pork based soup, clams, scallop, shrimp, seaweed, wood ear mushrooms, spinach, green onion and sesame seed.
The broth was perfect and jam-packed with umami flavor without the heaviness from the miso broth. I guess it was a good thing that I went for the small bowl rather than large because we went for milk tea after that too.
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| Peach Jelly Sake Cocktail |
YL also ordered a drink while she was there and it was one of the most interesting alcoholic beverages I’ve seen for a long while. It’s called the peach jelly sake cocktail. In the photo, it looks just like a regular drink, but the moment you lift the glass and tilt it to the side, you notice the viscosity.
What do I mean by that?
It’s thick and moves like a slurry more than a liquid—like water, but doesn’t have quite the consistency of jello. So it was alcoholic jelly with two lone pieces of peach at the bottom. It was unique and quite pleasant to the palate without being strong on the alcohol.
From a pricing standpoint, the bowl of ramen can be steep compared to other ramen places in the Bay Area. However, I think their taste is unique. You don’t see many ramen shops out there that concentrates on seafood. Only pick the miso if you really want something that sticks-to-your-ribs.
Have you tried Ramen Seas? What’s your verdict? List your favorite ramen shops suggestions in the comments below!
173 S Murphy Ave
Sunnyvale, CA 94086
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