SF Peninsula: Ramen Parlor
I may not venture to San Mateo very often, but even I'm aware that San Mateo boasts of three very popular ramen spots. There's Taishoken, Ramen Dojo, and where I went with Abby and UK (not so) recently, Ramen Parlor:
We were in the area well before Ramen Parlor opened, so we hung out for a bit down the street at Cup of Blooms. We walked over 20 minutes before they opened to find a line already forming. Luckily we were able to get seated with the first round of diners:
Our order was taken outside before we were seated, so the ramen came out very quickly. I got the garlic pork classic ramen ($13.50):
It came with two slices of roasted pork, bean sprouts, half an egg, spinach, and roasted seaweed. Being the weaksauce that I am, I asked for it to be non spicy.
Abby also ordered the garlic pork, but she went with the parlor ramen ($14.95) rather than the classic. In addition to everything that comes in a classic ramen, the parlor ramen also includes lobster oil and a whole deep fried soft shell crab:
And instead of half a soft-boiled egg, you get two quail eggs. Abby is much tougher than me in the spice area, so she got her ramen medium spicy.
Honestly, we weren't all that impressed with the parlor ramen. We could tell that the broth tasted slightly different, but we couldn't particularly detect any lobster flavor. And while getting a whole soft shell crab is nice, personally I would prefer to have a soft-boiled egg than a crab plus two quail eggs.
But I'm an egg yolk fiend, so my opinion probably doesn't align with the majority.
Other than that, the ramen itself was delicious. The noodle texture was bouncy and the soup base solid. I would stick with the classic ramen, but I can see why people would be willing to pay an extra $1.50 for the parlor ramen to get a soft shell crab.
Don't expect extra service at Ramen Parlor. You sit, you eat, and then you get out. There's a line of people outside waiting for your table, so don't dilly dally.
While I enjoyed my ramen, I probably won't be itching to go back anytime soon.
Ramen Parlor
901 S B St
San Mateo, CA 94401
(650) 344-9728
We were in the area well before Ramen Parlor opened, so we hung out for a bit down the street at Cup of Blooms. We walked over 20 minutes before they opened to find a line already forming. Luckily we were able to get seated with the first round of diners:
Our order was taken outside before we were seated, so the ramen came out very quickly. I got the garlic pork classic ramen ($13.50):
It came with two slices of roasted pork, bean sprouts, half an egg, spinach, and roasted seaweed. Being the weaksauce that I am, I asked for it to be non spicy.
Abby also ordered the garlic pork, but she went with the parlor ramen ($14.95) rather than the classic. In addition to everything that comes in a classic ramen, the parlor ramen also includes lobster oil and a whole deep fried soft shell crab:
And instead of half a soft-boiled egg, you get two quail eggs. Abby is much tougher than me in the spice area, so she got her ramen medium spicy.
Honestly, we weren't all that impressed with the parlor ramen. We could tell that the broth tasted slightly different, but we couldn't particularly detect any lobster flavor. And while getting a whole soft shell crab is nice, personally I would prefer to have a soft-boiled egg than a crab plus two quail eggs.
But I'm an egg yolk fiend, so my opinion probably doesn't align with the majority.
Other than that, the ramen itself was delicious. The noodle texture was bouncy and the soup base solid. I would stick with the classic ramen, but I can see why people would be willing to pay an extra $1.50 for the parlor ramen to get a soft shell crab.
Don't expect extra service at Ramen Parlor. You sit, you eat, and then you get out. There's a line of people outside waiting for your table, so don't dilly dally.
While I enjoyed my ramen, I probably won't be itching to go back anytime soon.
Ramen Parlor
901 S B St
San Mateo, CA 94401
(650) 344-9728
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