Biwa

http://biwarestaurant.com/
215 SE 9th AVE
Portland, Oregon

Growing up in Hawaii and Japan I have acquired a fondness for a nice bowl of ramen. I'm not talking about Top Ramen or any other kind of instant noodles. While those are good and will hold me for awhile, sometimes you need a real bowl. Portland is not Sapporo and is not known for its ramen. Its not really a big deal here. But I have found a couple good places to get ramen. Biwa is one of them and pretty close to home.

Biwa is an izakaya, a Japanese drinking establishment. In Japan after a hard day's work you go to one of these places to socialize, drink and eat. They generally serve small plates, like tapas. There are different salads (like this seaweed salad), yakitori (various grilled meats on a stick), kimchi, gyoza, other pickled vegetables, miso shiru, and also yakionigiri (grilled rice balls) which I was really excited about. They have a decent kare raisu (curry rice) and pretty good ramen. It definitely brought me back to small kid time and made me want to go back to Japan again soon.

Ramen is something that is taken very seriously in Japan. I remember visiting Sapporo when I was really young and there are these ramen shops where you stand in line behind a row of people eating, waiting for them to finish so you can get yours and eat it as fast as possible. It was delicious of course but so much pressure to eat fast! In Japan you slurp noodles, and that means you like it. Here is Jeremy doing his best to slurp. It takes awhile to get used to making all that noise. People might stare but in Japan it would be a compliment to the chef if you made lots of noise. The last time I went to Japan we visited a "Ramen Stadium" where there are maybe a dozen ramen shops with all different kinds of ramen. You look at the different menus and choose what you want, buy it through a machine, take your ticket up to the counter and get your ramen. I want to go back!

Back to Biwa. They have two types of ramen to offer, their "Biwa Ramen" with a thick, rich, dark pork broth and what I call "the other" because I have yet to try it. I've always been a dark broth kind of gal. The only downside to this place is the price. A bowl of ramen is a certain price then for add-ins it costs more. Some of the options include egg, wakame, char siu, miso pork loin and corn. I would want it all but then I'd be buying a $20 bowl of ramen, which is just not right. In my opinion, ramen should always have wakame and char siu, and be cheap!

Their char siu is really good and worth the extra price but I like to have it all! That being said, a plain bowl of Biwa Ramen would be perfect on a cold winter's night and would beat any Top Ramen with even the best toppings. The broth is just really rich and deep. Fills you from the inside out. It's very comforting to me.

Late night menu! No pictures yet but after 10pm they have a different menu for a different crowd, one of their specialties being the Biwa Burger. It's a burger with char siu and a kimchee mayo. Definitely worth staying up late for. One of these days I will return for one with my camera. Unfortunately you cannot get ramen after 10! I know, its horrible. I often want ramen at midnight...