Gen Kai

Right next to the talin market, just across the exit door.
If you’re craving for Ramen, but you don’t really know what kind. This place has different options of broth and they’re all SO good. I’ve tried other ramens in town, and I’d personally say that this is on top of my Best Ramen place.

Came in after walking by several times prior. Started off with age dashi tofu, very basic but very tasty. Followed up with a bowl of Tonkatsu ramen. The ramen was very tasty. Good consistency to the broth. Noodles have a great feel to them. Definitely worth the trip. Don’t just pass this by next time you are in the area!

The first time I ate here, it was alone after shopping at Talin, and I don’t know how or why but I got that foodie high I’m always chasing. Sunrays came out of my stomach like the holy mother.
My belly was happy about it for hours, it just felt bizarrely good the way it settled. Just makes the whole world seem magic.
I take the bento special to go a few times a week now for lunch. I’ve not got such a «high» since but it’s still so delicious I could eat it every day.
Bento special 9 $ choice of meat, I do sesame chicken, choice of roll, I do avacado, with rice, miso soup, and salad.

The food was excellent, I ordered the bento box for around $ 10 with tax, very filling! The chickens katsu was delicious, I thought they could’ve given a better Katsu sauce, but the tempura was spot on terrific! We left with two full, happy bellies. The last serving us was pleasant, her English is a bit rusty, but we communicated just fine with her in what we needed. The only downfall is that they don’t accept credit cards, so you have to be sure to have cash on hand… there is even a sign explaining how they don’t want to pay for a credit card machine (little strange and dramatic, if you ask me), nonetheless our experience was great.

I am so happy to see such a great traditional Japanese place here in the 505. Going here makes me think of being in little Tokyo, Los Angeles.
They are located right by Talin Market, which is very convenient for those of us that regularly shop there. Upon entering you hear «irrashaimase!», which is a Japanese greeting. I have personally always loved that, so it’s pleasing to hear.
So far I have only had the bento box (mine was ton katsu-​breaded fried pork cutlet) which I was very pleased with and the spicy salmon salad, which I enjoyed, but could have used a bit less iceberg lettuce.
I will continue to come here and I really encourage you to give it a try next time you plan on dropping by Talin.

I used to go to Mirai pretty regularly so I was very excited to find out about Gen Kai (most of the same folks and similar menu).
The first thing that greets you is a flurry of signs admonishing you that credit card fees hurt small businesses and that there’s an ATM nearby. Point taken but not the friendliest greeting. There’s also several signs posted advertising that they have no public restrooms (what they apparently mean is the restrooms are for customers only). The women’s room had an out of order sign on the door which was apparently only there as a deterrent.
I’m guessing we were in on a bad day because the owner was serving, bussing, and presumably also cooking. Needless to say we had a wait which we were willing to ignore because hey… people get sick or call in unexpectedly. It happens.
I had my usual chicken teriyaki don because I’d been craving one for months. The chicken had a lot of fat/​gristle on it and was very very charred (not like a pleasant blackening, more like tree bark). The rice and teriyaki sauce was great as always, as was the miso soup.
I want to give Gen Kai another shot but this last visit left me fairly underwhelmed.

Not as good as my favorite little Japanese style place but in a good location so I’ll come here sometimes instead. Menu is your pretty standard offerings of bentos, soups, sushi and curry. Service is great and so are the prices. I’d give this place a 4 or 5 but their katsu is a bit overcooked sometimes and their menu doesn’t have any «wow» dishes. I still recommend you check this place out.

As far ABQ goes this place is good. I really enjoyed the shoyu ramen and am looking forward to trying the tonkatsu and the udon. I have also had the curry, which was decent but not on the same level as Kokoro. Overall I enjoyed the ramen here as much or more than O Ramen.

OH MY GOSH! I LOVE this place.
They have a great location. Easy to get to by the bus. It’s right next door to Talin Market. The restaurant is small, seating about 25 people, which is ideal, in my opinion. The interior is inviting.
Getting down to the food.
Notice their wasabi. The texture is really smooth. It’s fresher and way spicer than a lot of other local places. That’s because it’s made with real wasabi, unlike most places. Wasabi is difficult to grow, and that makes it expensive. Many places will manufacture an alternative to wasabi by pureeing horseradish, then dyeing it green.
The owners of Gen Kai are from Nagoya.
They serve a nice mix of different types of Japanese cuisine. Ramen, sushi, donburri, udon and Japanese curry. All of their Ramen dishes are very flavorful and authentic. Their nigiri is what you’d hope to expect. Very fresh and a decent size. Try their one of their Bento boxes. A traditional, and tasty variety of dishes. I’ve also enjoyed their mixed veggie curry and their chicken katsu curry.
They provide a list of their dishes which are gluten free, vegetarian and vegan.
Though I’m not an expect in what makes a great Japanese dish, I know what I like. Maybe it helps that I’ve been to Japan. Check out this place and judge for yourself.

Both times I have eaten here have been early dinner (between 5−6pm) and I have been the only one dining in the plain but comfortable dining room. Both times I have ordered «Tonkotsu» ramen. Both times it was fine. Pretty good actually… for ABQ. Not the Japanese destination dining capital of the world if you get my drift. I think if you are craving a steaming bowl of broth and al dente ramen noodles… this is pretty much the place. I have been obsessed with ramen since visiting Aloha Ramen in Seattle… which is where I fell in love with Ramen
and lets face it Abq… it’s just not going to be Aloha or any of your favorite past ramen houses… BUT…I think Gen Kai is pretty dang good compared to the other options in town. I encourage you to give it a try after perusing all the hello kitty merch at TaLin.
Tip: «spice» it up as nearly all New Mexicans like it… try adding a little white pepper and asking for the obligatory siracha bottle… eh.
Tip: Ask for the separate «vegetarian menu» to see veggie options and gluten free options.

Yes I am a fan, and I have 9 check in’s in here so far and still I am giving it a 4 stars instead of 5. Here is why.
Their ramen and donburi are always delicious but sometimes I feel like their ramen (exception of Shoyu Ramen) can be either under seasoned on some days and over seasoned on some days. I do like to come here for their ramen noodles.
I also sometimes order Karaage Chicken and when they opened at first it was a great dish to order. Now that I have visited multiple times, Karaage Chicken is no longer my favorite dish there. Shoyu Ramen has officially taken over as the favorite dish at this restaurant.
Services is always prompt and courteous and the prices are reasonable. I truly enjoy coming to this restaurant, but only for Ramen.

Ramen we ordered was bland. Never had to put salt in ramen before. And thats even after the extra hot oil and garlic.
But the staff was nice & attentive. I may come back & try other things in the menu since others here seem to like the place.

Pretty decent Japanese noodle house. The curry pork katsu (Tonkatsu) is a pretty good dish with a nice thick curry. The portion size was a little off. Lots of rice and curry. Medium size portion on the pork and small portion on the salad. The rice was not very soft and fluffy as I would hope, but decent as curry rice goes. Maybe they should use the sushi rice and just not add the vinegar.
We also had the Okinawa ramen noodle and that was a very nice broth with what looked like hand-​made noodles. The little touch of spices on the side have the broth a nice herbal kick for a good umami taste.
It’s a small place, but a worthy addition to the Abq good scene!

The service is decent the food doesn’t stand out to me though. I had their bento box with the salted salmon and it was okay. My friend ordered the tonkatsu ramen, and she had to add soy sauce to the soup because it was bland and she felt like it needed more flavor.
The décor is nice and inviting. They greet you as soon as you walk in so it felt welcome.

This is one of those little hole in the wall places that are either excellent hidden treasures or, in this case, a small business where the desperation is so thick you can smell it. I went in a little less than a month after the big opening and I would have guessed that they’d been there for years. It was cramped, the sushi chef was not visible to the seating area (not a great sign), and the waiter seemed like he’d been sedated.
The menu was almost too large. There just isn’t a way to make dishes from 10 different countries in a single kitchen and make them all taste good. I ordered the sushi tuna salad. The tuna was room temperature. My dining companions had similar feelings about their meals.
Perhaps their proximity to Talin implies that they are not only authentic, but that they are good. Maybe my expectations were too high. I won’t be making a return visit and I don’t expect them to be there long if they don’t liven things up a bit.

Ordered the Tonkustu broth ramen! All in all, good broth. It had the rich flavor and creamy color typical of Tonkustu unlike the watery version I had from O Ramen. The noodles are chewy (that’s a good thing) and the chashu is average. Only downside is they offer no spicy ramen and the only spicy option was a chili bomb which did little to spice it up. Plus soft boiled eggs would be better than hard boiled (but that’s just me). BUT this little joint probably has the best ramen in town at the moment!
Note: This is in comparison with other ramen joints in NM not ones out of state.

We love it here! The foods were great! The service was a little weird to me because it looked like he needs some rest or something. But he was nice and he did his best as a waiter and I was appreciated everything in there and his service. I love the age dashi tofu. It is literally the best! Everything is good. And I hope it won’t close down like other restaurants were there before. Love and def will come back to try out more!

Eh? It did the job. The katsu was overdone, with the breading a little too dark. The curry was probably from a brick. Staff was friendly with lots on nihongo like iraisshamasen! And hai! All over the place. Atmosphere is largely nonexistent, but that’s appropriate for place claiming to be an authentic ramen-​ya. I will probably head back and try the ramen.
There is better curry rice, even in Albuquerque.

Poor service, mediocre food at best. Burned the breading on the pork katsu bento, terrible pork tonkatsu broth with cheapest quality premade ramen noodles. Didn’t even finish half of our meals.
Eating here made me miss Kokoro something awful.

I found this little ramen/​donburri shop by accident while getting some weekly supplies at TaLin, so glad I did. They have Oyakodon on the menu! I haven’t had this dish in YEARS and it was so comforting to have it on a chilly Saturday afternoon. :D Oyakodon is chicken and egg with rice and onions in a bowl and usually has some sort of pickled veggie on the side. Its cooked in dashi broth. There is NO oil in this dish, so it is some what healthy. I love this little establishment, you are greeted in Japanese when you come in «いらっしゃいませ (irasshaimase)», which means welcome. Its small and cozy with a TV on the wall. Perfect setting for hot ramen on a cold evening. :D They have several different ramen bowls. My green tea was in fact GREEN tea and served in a cool personal thermos. Miso, tasty and warm yumminess. Two thumbs up ~~ 御馳走様(でした (gochisousama deshita)! I’ll be back for sure!