Umami
21 E 6th St
Tempe
Having heard people talk about how they liked this place
and how inexpensive it was for the college crowd to eat there, I had to try it
myself. This place is known for its
bowls of ramen soup that is supposed to be similar to what one would get in
Japan.
Having lived in Japan for a while, I found little
similarity to what one would get there other than the bowl and chopsticks.
To be fair, you decide on the type of broth and
ingredients that are put into it, unlike Japan where the combinations are
mostly figured out for you and you order from a picture description.
I ordered the paitan broth, which is supposed to be their
signature broth made from a meat stock. It was o.k. but nothing to brag about.
A somewhat thin, watery stock lacking in any punch of flavor. The chasu (pork
belly) on the other hand was nicely done and had very good flavor. I also
ordered the soft boiled egg in my soup along with the garlic. The egg was close
to being properly cooked and the garlic was just a smear on the edge of the
bowl.
Perhaps the biggest problem for me was the noodles. In
Japan, the noodles are a basic part of the soup and cooking them properly is a
requirement for any noodle shop to survive. These noodles were not even of the
right type for a ramen soup, and were undercooked. Very disappointing to say
the least.
I also ordered their 6 item plate to try. It had an
excellent seaweed salad, a very good squid salad, and four other items that I
will try to describe properly.
First was a hand roll. Having eaten literally more than a
hundred hand rolls, this left a lot to be desired. It was like no other hand roll I have ever been
served. Next was the garlic edamame. Nothing special here, with little garlic
flavor and your typical beans. Next was the kimchi. Even though kimchi is Korean
and not Japanese, it had the potential to be a nice if somewhat unusual
addition to the menu. Unfortunately, the kimchi was too young and had not had
enough time to ferment properly and develop its flavor. It was very harsh on
the palate. Last on the plate was tofu. There isn’t much to say here either as
the tofu was not served with any special sauce or flavoring at all.
I drank a green tea with my meal ($2.50) which was
adequate.
Parking was underneath in the public garage, and the
cashier stamped my ticket so that parking was free. Cleanliness was apparent
throughout, and the waitress I had was cheery and nice.
I’m not sure what the budget of college students is
today, but my meal came to $25.94. That doesn’t seem to be on most college
students budgets that I know of, but perhaps times have changed and students
have a lot more money to spend.
Overall, I was fairly disappointed by my visit.
2 stars for cleanliness and service.
