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Another week of takeout. I’m gonna be so glad when enough people get vaccinated so Covid goes the hell away, but for now, still not super comfy with indoor dining.
I’ve been craving the hell out of some good ramen. I spent a lot of time in Southern California years ago, and good ramen is everywhere there. Here in Memphis, it’s not nearly as ubiquitous. When I heard there was a ramen place in east Memphis with excellent reviews, I knew I had to go check it out.
Kami Ramen Bar is located in East Memphis near Poplar and 240, in the same big shopping center as Target and Best Buy. They have online ordering on their website, and that’s exactly what we decided to do.
Inside, they definitely leaned into the Japanese theme. It honestly reminds me a lot of the little strip mall sushi or ramen places in California.
Our food was ready when we arrived, and pickup went smoothly. Time to go home and eat!
We went a little nuts on getting ALL the things, because it was our first time trying this place, also because I was very hungry. We got both Gyoza and Shumai dumplings, because I obviously need all the dumplings.
Both were good, and the dipping sauce had just the right level of spice for me, a little heat but not anything too crazy. I wouldn’t have minded a little more color on the gyoza, but they tasted good so I’m not gonna complain too much.
The surprise hit was the Takoyaki. Daisy and I both liked them a lot, which wasn’t super surprising, but Ava LOVED them. I didn’t really expect our four year old to be super into minced octopus balls with katsuobushi on top, but she literally ate half the order herself.
We all elected to get a bowl of ramen too. They had a kid’s ramen with chicken, which I really like. A lot of restaurants just have chicken tenders or a burger or something, it’s nice when kids have an option that fits the cuisine of the rest of the food. The kids ramen was well done. It’s a slightly smaller portion of the chicken ramen with kid friendly toppings like corn. Ava definitely enjoyed it.
Daisy also got the chicken ramen, the Kami Chicken to be precise. It features the same chicken and broth, but with green onions, spinach, and fried onions. She added some nori to her’s. She liked it a lot as well, the broth is rich and tasty and the noodles have just the right amount of bite. The chicken portions were pretty generous and the meat was cooked well.
I went with the pork belly Tonkotsu, and I have to say, it’s the way to go. Pork broth just has a depth and richness that nothing else can come close to. Specifically, I got the Kami Tonkotsu with pork belly, fish cake, marinated egg, bamboo shoots, and green onions. This stuff is amazing. I think any of the tonkotsu are gonna be absolutely amazing.
I was overall very impressed with Kami Ramen. Everything tastes fresh, the to-go packaging was great, the service was fast and friendly. It definitely scratched my “Must have ramen” itch, and I’ll definitely be back. Go check them out.
