FINALLY! I made it to NAMA RAMEN.

After months of trying to find time, and convincing my friends to go, I finally made it to NAMA RAMEN in San Antonio at 6565 Babcock Rd.  Ramen shops are popping up all over town, and foodies everywhere debate which one is the best.  I can not make that judgement just yet, so I will be visiting all of them.  But, Nama Ramen is very popular in these parts, so I decided to take a gander for myself.

Pulling up to Nama Ramen, the first thing you notice is that there is going to be a wait.  The wait is not usually long.  I went with my friends Lauren and Justin, who had been to Nama twice before.  The diners who usually come to Nama are young.  Usually 18 to 35.  After a 20 minute wait, we got a table.  What struck me was that the inside of Nama looked like a skinny bar in the Shinjuku prefecture of Tokyo.  Kitchen is open with attached bar seating, and small tables in the main dining area.  The menu at Nama is actually bigger than the one featured on their website.  As an appetizer, I ordered pork belly yakitori skewers with grilled green onions.  Delicious!  The pork belly was perfectly grilled, and the green onions were sweet.  Two pork belly yakitori for $3.75?  Can't beat that.  

For the main course, I ordered shoyu ramen.  It had naruto maki, soft boiled egg, chicken and soy sauce broth, sliced pork belly, woodear mushrooms, ajitama, green onion, and sesame seeds.  The serving is of decent size, and smells great.  No forks at Nama, you have to use chopsticks.  The ramen was excellent.  The egg was delicious.  Its yolk had the texture of mashed potatoes. The naruto maki was very good.  I should have added more.  The noodles were fresh, and never lost its texture.  The pork belly was great.  An excellent bowl of ramen.  It hit the spot.  I absolutely will be coming back to Nama Ramen.  

Though Nama Ramen is a small place, it is a treat for the tastebuds.  Nama also offers a huge variety of sushi beautifully prepared and served.  I emphatically enjoyed my dining experience there and would advise anyone who love Asian noodles to give Nama Ramen a try.  It's a cozy atmosphere with great service.  Slurp away at Nama Ramen!  You will want to come back.  I am.

Get your Harajuku dessert at KUMA

After leaving Hometown Burger, I wanted dessert.  I normally don't do dessert.  I have been doing well staying in shape, but I saw a sign across the way that was begging me to come hither. The day before, I hurt my knee, so I was not very mobile at the time.  Thankfully, KUMA was close by.  This was a place I have wanted to go to for quite some time.  Luckily, they have a new location at the Shaenfield Ranch Center at 7915 W. Loop 1604 N.  I limped over there to indulge my curiousity.  

KUMA offers Hong Kong/Harajuku style ice cream desserts served in a freshly made pod waffle.  The menu at may seem complicated, but it is very simple to get a grasp on thanks to KUMA's friendly staff.  First you pick your flavor of ice cream.  Keep in mind the flavors here at KUMA are Asian popular.  Some of the choices are Matcha, Unicorn, Black Sesame, and plum wine.  I chose Matcha.  Next you choose 4 toppings. I chose green tea Pocky, almonds, chocolate wafers, and pop rocks.  Seems unusual, but trust me it is sweet bliss.  Finally you choose a sauce.  I chose caramel.  Considering the size of this dessert I ordered, its price of $7.50 is a bargain.  In Tokyo, a confection such as this would cost $10 easy.  

And boy........was my creation amazing.

Here is a picture of the dessert my cousin's daughter ordered. 

And yes, those are panda cookies.  

For $7.50, you can get an Asian ice cream delight.  You have endless possibilities as far as toppings.  You can put fruity pebbles in your dessert.  KUMA is fun and a great place to hang out with your friends.  I guarantee you will fall in love with  KUMA.  For those wondering, KUMA is Japanese for bear.  Get yourself to KUMA and have fun.  It's Gai Dan Jai time!

Miss the MALT HOUSE? Then head head over to Hometown Burger.

When I started this blog, my first entry was about my favorite restaurant that no longer is around.  The Malt House was a special place to me.  The building was recently demolished, and a piece of San Antonio tradition was gone.  The closest burger I had tried that was remotely close to The Malt House was Burger Boy.   That was until I made my way to Hometown Burger.  A place where possibly the ghost of The Malt House lives.

Hometown Burger is a local burger joint with two locations in San Antonio.  I happened to go to the location at 7907 W Loop 1604 N.  The place is very small, but has a cozy 50's retro feel.  The booths in Hometown Burger look like they belong in a Chevy Bel-Air, and oldies of yesteryear can be heard blasted through the sound system.  The menu is small as like the menu at In and Out Burger, but Hometown Burger have more size options for their menu items.  I ordered the 2/3 lb. double classic combo with onion rings.  I also noticed they have Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs here as well.  After a 10 minute wait, I got my meal.  Nostalgia hit me upside the face.

The burger was great.  It is similar to The Pig Stands King Burger Combo as far as taste.  Perfect balance of meat, veggies, and condiments.  Very mouth-watering.  The bun is lightly toasted, and is very fresh.  I fell in love with the onion rings.  Almost made exactly like the legendary onion rings of The Malt House.  In comparison, Hometown Burger's onion rings are similar in texture and taste to the Malt House onion rings.  They were delicious.  They were great enough for me to want to come back.  It's best to order the onion rings since if you order fries, you will not be getting a good amount of them.  An order of onion rings towers over an order of fries.  

The prices are fair, and the service is great.  I will definitely be coming back for more.  Will absolutely doubling my order of onion rings.  Great food with a bit of a blast from the past.  Stick around for my next post and I will let you know where I went for dessert.