Hong’s Cave

805 South B Street
San Mateo, CA
650.344.5918
M-Sat: 11:30-14:00 / 17:30-22:00
Sun: 11:30-14:00 / 17:30-21:30
(Off from JInAOnline.org, but Tuesdays might be closed.)

This is also one I found through WorldRamen.net. It has a pretty good review, and I have to agree.

Ramen Santa (ラーメンサン太) is a couple of blocks off of the main street in San Mateo. The place seems to have gained quite a bit of followers since there is always a waiting list posted outside.

The shop is, maybe, a bit bigger than Tokushima Ramen, and has about 10 seats around the bar, and about 6 tables. The decor is pretty blend. No TV, no manga/magazines.

The menu is on the wall only and it seems there isn’t anything else beside ramen. But the soup comes in three flavor: shouyu (しょうゆ, soy sauce), tonkotsu (豚骨, pork), and miso (味噌, soy bean paste). I prefer shouyu, but others aren’t bad, either. Their soup has the strongest flavor among the places I’ve been to, and you can actually see the thickness of the oil layer on top of the soup.

They have a matrix of topping selection for each flavor. Some interesting ones were curry and ginger. They have a special “stewed pork” chaashuu (I couldn’t get the kanji, but it said タ－ロ－), which seems to be quite popular. Their normal chaashuu is thinly sliced pork belly that you can see in most ramen-ya. This one is a thick (almost cube-like) chunk of pork belly, which adds more flavor.

Also, the portion is quite big. I noticed that there is an “extra noodle” (大盤, “big bowl”) option ($1.00), but I doubt anyone would need it.

The only thing that I don’t like about the place is the service. It’s quite slow. Not that it’s bad, but it’s slow. Maybe the kitchen is overwhelmed, but don’t expect it to quick in-and-out.

Anyway, I noticed that there was a “poem” behind the counter. I am not sure if I remembered it exactly (but the meaning is similar).

　　            さがしているのは
              ほんものの
     らーめんだっ太

I asked the lady who worked there if that’s what the name of the shop really meant. She told me that the name was there before the current owner got it. She said maybe the new owner wanted to put some meaning into it. Who knows.