Ajisen Ramen

Yavuz Selim Durmaz

2.0

RAMEN WARS REVIEWI have eaten at several ramen restaurants that are within my office vicinity in Makati, so Ajisen was one I had to check off my list eventually. When I had asked my best friend about it, he said his dining experience there was nothing too memorable - so my expectations were quite low.Surprisingly enough, the place was packed. We were lucky to get a table despite the obvious lunch rush. The place is simple, with nothing very Japanese about it aside from the chopsticks on the table. Very fast-food vibe. The service was okay, despite the craziness of the place. They gave us cold house tea right away, which is always a plus.Before ordering, I looked around and noticed a lot of the patrons had not ordered ramen but rather other options from the menu. This is always an instant red flag, but I went ahead and picked out a dish.Chasu Ramen (P305)We both ordered this and I asked for extra Aji Tamago on the side for P50. It was a plus for me that they offered that side-dish. Our food arrived within 10-15 minutes. Presentation looked pretty good because they even had the mini-soup ladles and the serving size was quite big.At my first sip of the broth, I found the flavors were pretty average. It was not piping hot either. It was actually at that temperature of warmth that is a few minutes from getting cold. With every successive sip, it was as if there was flavor at first but once you swallowed it left a watery after-taste. It ended up being quite bland at some point so I had to mix in chili oil - but even that did not improve the flavor very much.The meat was actually quite good, with the Chashu Ramen had five round slices of pork. They broke apart perfectly and were very tender and tasty. It was probably the best tasting thing in the bowl. The egg that came with the order is actually a hard-boiled egg with a smokey-looking color, which I have never seen that dark before. It tasted like a regular egg though. The Aji Tamago I ordered also had that same almost black or smokey outside color but a molten inside. When I ate it with my broth, it actually lacked flavor for a marinated egg. The toppings were the usual leeks and mushrooms but they also had some cabbage, which I could have done without. The noodles were strange. I found them okay, but the more I slurped down, the more I realized that they actually looked and tasted like thin spaghetti noodles. Maybe if the texture had not been so soft and limp then they would have tasted better. Over-all, I am giving this establishment a 2.5 with regards to their ramen because even if it is rather affordable, I have gotten TEN times better quality ramen for the same price in other establishments. Sad to say, this will be my first and last time to eat here.

D.Y.

3.0

I tried this place out of my mom's recommendation. I haven't had breakfast nor lunch before I went to this place so I was super hungry. My mom recommended that I tried their donburi but since this is a ramen place, of course I would try first their ramen. So I got their seafood ramen and I gotta say. It was okay. Nothing special really. The difference of this ramen from the other places I've tried is that its noodles are so thick it could pass off as spaghetti! Nonetheless, I still enjoyed the meal and the service crew were nice. Although they were not really acting professional at the time I was eating, but I just let it pass since it was a dead hour anyway and there were practically just two customers.

Bernand Simanjuntak

3.0

Me want ramen! Good thing Ajisen was near my place when I had this craving.For starters, I ordered the Chizu Maki. Got curious of how cheese would taste as maki. Surprisingly, it tastes good. Although, they should have used a different type of cheese. Seemed like they used regular cheese. But, for its price (P178), quality was fair enough.I then ordered the Ajisen ramen, which is ramen topped with cabbage, fungus, egg, and sliced pork meat. The broth was a bit garlicky but fine with me since I like garlic. Broth was also not too salty (the way I like it with ramen). Pork meat was tender and seasoned well. The egg though is a bit overcooked. The yolk was super well done. Noodles looked like it came out of the pasta pack from the groceries. But, again, given the proce range, ramen was ok.Ajisen Ramen satisfies your ramen cravings. But, it's not something that would make you go "Oishidesu!". 👌