So what’s the deal with our ramen?
We use the good stuff: organically raised pork, chickens that enjoyed roaming around their pastures, and locally sourced konbu. We also use seasonal, local vegetables from the best farms—Catalan, Dirty Girl, Star Route, Serendipity, Knoll, and Marin Roots, to name a few. Perhaps you have read Omnivore’s Dilemma and watched Food Inc., now realizing that local, organic is the way to go with food. For us, the reasons are even simpler: it tastes way better and we want to support the local farmer to complete the circle for the local economy.
Then we take all these ingredients and apply modern techniques, like sous vide, and low-temperature stock making to help evolve the traditional ramen recipe. We cook our eggs at a low temperature for an hour, to yield the best egg to pair with our ramen. This allows the egg to hold its shape but retain a creamy yolk. You’ll have to experience it yourself. It is amazing. When we first thought of our broth, the goal was to attain a flavor between delicate-sweet-dashi and rich-fatty-porky. We found that sweet spot and the result of all the trials is now in your bowl, opening your taste buds to a whole new ramen experience. Our noodles are made from only natural ingredients; eggs, water and flour. (Never alkaline salts!) We make them by hand, with love, and cook them al dente.
Basically, we believe that while food can be magical, it is not magic. Everything happens for a reason. We want to provide you with a new ramen bowl; one that represents the distinctive bounty of our home and the tastiness that every season has to offer. So take your old ramen notions and throw them away before you take your first slurp of our bowl. We don’t belong in any old-school category of ramen, we are striving to redefine the bowl. And with great ingredients, attention to our craft, and a little imagination, we strive to bring you an outstanding bowl of Hapa Ramen.
Enjoy!