Hiromaru Fusion Ramen

My wife and I were out shopping on Saturday and as is our custom we were looking for a new and interesting lunch spot.
She spotted Hiromaru Fusion Ramen and said «That’s it!».
The simple yet colorful décor was bright and refreshing compared to some ramen houses I have been in. The waitress was quick to bring our drinks and explain some menu items to my wife.
I ordered the TATE-​YAMA RAMEN which was truly a mountain of vegetables, sprouts, and delicious ramen. My wife ordered TONKOTSU CURRY TSUKEMEN and it looked and smelled delicious. Both dishes were beautifully prepared and presented.
We only had the ramen dishes listed but saw many other interesting meals being served to our fellow diners. We will visit again to try out other menu items!
Highly recommend Hiromaru Fusion Ramen for a great meal with a little twist.

I’ve been wanting to try Hiromaru since they opened because I found that their fusion ramen creations are pretty interesting. Seeing the Carbonara Ramen pics on Unilocal really had me curious. And that’s exactly what I ordered.
Carbonara Ramen —
I’m probably one of the few minority that actually enjoyed their Carbonara Ramen. It’s like a breakfast ramen! Crispy Bacon and Egg. The bacon gave the Ramen a very nice smoked flavor.
Though my visit was pretty short and that I only had one of their Ramen bowls, I’d say Hiromaru is a decent place and I like how they have a different approach to Ramen with their fusion creations. If I’m around the area again, I’d probably go back to try their other Ramen bowls.

Unilocal 365 CHALLENGE 2014−(69÷365) «Hiromaru is HERE!!!»
This is the latest Ramen spot to open up in Chinatown, and after people had a little taste of Hiromaru at the Aki Matsuri Festival, Unilocalers are making the trek here like a bunch of flies on a freshly made turd!
In the former Café De Japon spot, the interior has been redone with bursts of red and white, and the other half of the room still under construction to feature more Japanese Fusion items. We ordered The Carbonara ($ 10.95), Karaage ($ 5), and Tate-​Yama Ramen ($ 9.95) The Karaage, although juicy, barely had flavor, pretty skimpy, and lacked the crisp exterior I’m used to having in other tastier versions.
Our Ramen arrives, and the portions are pretty huge! Wifey’s Carbonara is very good, as was mine, but the Tate-​Yama advertised a double portion of the thick noodles… my bowl was more like one third thick noodles and two third bean sprouts. Banchan for days I tell you! Another bummer? Hard boiled egg…:(It advertises it on the menu, but there’s nothing like SOFT boiled egg with your ramen IMHO…
Great thick noodles, and very tasty broth, but the kinks still need to be refined, and we’ll definitely return when Hiromaru is up to speed. ALOHA!!!
Shaka Meter: \uuu/​\uuu/​\uuu/​\uu 3.5
*Great thick noodles with perfect texture and tasty broths, they’ll only get better as time goes by…

Hiromaru originated in Japan and they still have locations there. They have 2 doors — use the left one. My main mission was to try their black garlic ramen since that’s my favorite ramen of all. I was very impressed with how clean and slick the interior looks. Red accent wall, white walls, red chairs — my favorite color. I had great expectations but I was very much disappointed. This replaced the good ol’ Café de Japon (you will be missed). I thought this place would be packed since they’re new and people would want to try this place — but no.
I went here with Tu Anh and Tony who’ve been here a few times since they opened. We got some appetizers. I asked for oolong tea but they ran out of tea. Seriously? We were given a mixed greens salad with a light dressing and immedicately, Tony said the salad was better when they first opened.
Hiromaru Buns:
The pork belly was tasty. It has greens and Kewpie (Japanese mayo) in it. I lost the pork belly somewhere in the steamed buns. Too much bun, not enough meat. 3.5÷5
Gyoza:
I’ve never been so disappointed with gyoza before. One side is supposed to be soft and the other side crisp with slight burn marks. Well, theirs has burn marks around one side of each gyoza and the rest seemed raw. According to cooking expert, Tony this is due to the fact that it was cooked from frozen. The pork filling didn’t have much taste and the dipping sauce had too much soy sauce. ¹⁄₅
Kuroi Tonkotsu:
Thin noodles in tonkotsu pork broth with ma-​yu/​black garlic oil topped with 3 thin slices of chashu pork, hard-​boiled egg, kikurage, and scallions. There’s not enough broth. 3.5÷5
Kaedama:
Tony let me try his thick flat noodles for comparison since we have the same broth anyway. These noodles are unnecessarily chewy. It was like chewing on cartilage. I heard/​felt a pop from my mouth — my jaw locked for a second. «They were softer the other time I went here». ¹⁄₅
Those red chairs are so darn heavy. I workout but I was not expecting those suckers to be THAT heavy. I kinda like my back and I don’t want to break it. The consensus: INCONSISTENCY. How things were cooked and tasted on opening day is different from 2 days ago and last night. I’m willing to give them another try and hopefully, I catch them on a «good night». I would have to go to Carson/​Torrance for my favorite bowl of black garlic ramen for now. *sigh*