Weekend Food Choices Week 60: Artisanal Ramen

Our good friends know that we are always on a hunt for good ramen. So it’s to no one’s surprise that when we heard about the soft opening of Nomama we just had to book a reservation

Nomama is the brainchild of Chef Him Uy de Baron. He prides on the ingredients of his dishes which he sources from local produce.

For its soft opening they offer a set menu to enthusiastic ramen fans like us

we started dinner with a bottle of japanese white ale

White ale is brewed with wheat malt, flavored with coriander, orange peel, and nutmeg

It had a nice light flavor which is delicious ice cold

As we were enjoying our drinks, we saw Chef Him busy behind the counter preparing our dishes

it wasn’t long before the first of our 7 course set meal was served

Beef Tataki with Sweet Potato Chips

Tataki is a japanese word for pounded or hitting into pieces. It’s a manner of preparing meat by searing over a hot flame, marinating then slicing thinly and seasoning.

Hubby loved this dish.

Soft Shell Crab Salad with Nomama Dairy Dressing

Initially hubby and i thought that soft shell crabs are a type of crab with…well, soft shells *giggle*

Apparently, its a term for crabs that have recently shed their old shells and are still soft.

These crabs are from the seafood capital of the Philippines -Roxas City. I thought that they were delicious! With the crisp flavorful soft shell crab perfectly paired with the fresh greens and light dressing. I wish there was more!

Gyoza Classic Pork and Mushroom

One of Hubby’s favorite food next to ramen and maguro sashimi is gyoza so he was excited to see this dish being served. I was more than happy to gobble on these delicious pieces, perfect with my ice cold drink!

Snapper with Orange Gastrique and Cherry Tomato Salad

When this was served, i thought that the colors of items in the dish were so pretty. Once we tasted it, we realized that it was not just pretty to look at but quite delicious as well! I loved how the slightly sweet sauce glazed the buttery soft snapper and cherry tomatoes

Short Rib Curry with Roasted Kabocha

This dish is a good example of how the Japanese like their curry, more English than Indian. Although majority of the rib meat was tender, i thought that the sides were still a little tough. The flavor was definitely good and I loved how the sweet kabocha was incorporated in the dish.

The set menu gives you a choice from 3 kinds of Ramen: Nomama Ramen, Thai Green Curry Ramen, or the Ox Tongue and Chili Tofu Ramen. Chef Him told us that he boils the broth of his ramen for 8 hours so hubby and i were pretty excited to sample our choices.

Ox Tongue and Chili Tofu Ramen

This was hubby’s choice. He liked the quality of the noodles. As for me, for someone who doesn’t really care for ox tongue, i thought the flavor was pretty good. The broth had just the right heat (and by heat i mean the chili -the temperature was just right as well)

Nomama Ramen

This is Nomama’s signature ramen. Like Hubby, i thought the noodles were great and the pork in my ramen was very tender. However, i thought the broth was too overwhelming with shoyu. I would have wanted to taste more of the flavors of the pork it was boiled in. But did you notice the tamago?

Not only is the tamago marinated, it’s soft boiled! What a great innovation -definitely worthy of the term artisanal!

Kitkat Bar
When i saw the term kitkat bar in the menu, i actually thought that we were going to get a kitkat bar for dessert! How weird i thought…apparently Chef Him’s Kitkat bar is a textured chocolate crisp with chocolate mouse.

The light taste was a perfect ending to the gastronomic dinner!

Nomama Artisanal Ramen
Scout Tuazon cor Scout Castor
Quezon City
(02) 542. 2558