I’m still on my quest to find authentic Japanese noodles. Ramen. I want ramen just like in the noodle houses I went to almost daily during those six months I lived in Japan, years ago.

Some people in Japan take ramen very seriously. To them, it’s like an art form. The perfect ingredients, the correct firmness of the noodles, right amount of broth–I could go on. There was a movie about it years ago called “Tampopo” in which some of the movie’s characters searched for the perfect ramen recipe.

There was this place in SoCal called Ebisu and it was sooo good! I ate lunch there at least once a week. The food was just… perfect. The different ramens, the gyoza, the yakisoba, even the hiyashichuka were all delicious. I felt like I was back in Tokyo.

So I’ve been searching for a place in the Bay Area that compares to Ebisu. So far I’ve been to Gen Ramen in Fremont and Tanpopo in San Francisco. Gen was not very good. Tanpopo was better, but still not what I’m looking for.

Tonight I drove over to San Mateo, wanting to try Santa Ramen. It was so crowded inside; at least 10 people were standing around waiting for someone to leave. AND there was a line out the door, replete with a waiting list tacked to the front window. I ended up going to Tanpopo again instead.

I’ve read about a place called Ryowa Ramen in Berkeley–I’m going to try that place next. I still want to try Santa, but I’ll have to try that during the off-hours.