OEC / Dosanko Le San Niang Ramen

Basically, OEC is CLOSED… We will all miss you guys.
The New owner is Wonderful.
This is where all the bad taste is from that people are complaining on this post. They should be diverted over to Wonderful.

I’ve been to this place twice, both of which were to get shabu shabu… Is it just me, or did this place start to suck?
Last time I went here, there were tons of options and you could get lots of different types of food… now there are very limited (and not necessarily appealing) options. The meat did not look very fresh, nor did the fish. The waitress did not speak any English and she kept looking for the owner to answer our questions (the owner was trying to eat dinner at the time).
I’m just not a fan anymore… sorry =/

This place’s cleanliness has an inverse relationship to its service in that the service downright sucks. Between ordering your food and receiving the bill, the employees are non-​existent. In fact, their presence is so apparently absent that that they didn’t even look twice when my dad went behind the counter and took ALL the bowls and the sauces and multiple chopsticks without asking (I don’t know what he was doing at this point either, there were only 3 of us). They have lots of sauces at the counter that are self-​serve.
The shabu shabu selection is visually appealing and came with a variety of meats but it was not worth its price. I feel if it was a little cheaper, they’d attract more customers. The yam addition was the best part.
I ordered the oyster omelet appetizer which was steaming, fresh, and drenched in tomato sauce by the time they brought it out. This place gets 3 stars solely on the delicious appetizers they have to offer.

I like that my review of this place will be comprehensive of what it is now as well as what it was before. A HUGE note … this place NO LONGER serves ramen and they have converted it into a hot pot and Chinese restaurant … however …
Before, I loved the shabu shabu here, it was well priced, closer than Shabuway and I thought the service was good, they gave you lots of goodies with your shabu shabu and you could order many, many different smaller dishes to compliment the main shabu. Things like fish balls and ramen and other types of noodles or mushrooms, etc. you name it. They always cut the meat right there and I thought the meat quality was pretty good for the price ($ 16.99, $ 18.99 all you can eat on some nights).
I also loved the ramen here. I never had ramen in the actual bowl but always ordered extra ramen as a side dish to my shabu. I loved that they had many different flavors of soup to go with the shabu so I could essentially have ramen without sitting at a different table. I thought their ramen was very tasty, well made noodles, etc.
NOW: This place is now a Chinese restaurant, I’m not sure if they still have shabu but they definitely still have hot pot which I imagine would be probably the same deal as their shabu. Everything inside looks the same, in fact I don’t even know what the new name is except that they blocked it out on the sign. I wasn’t sure what to think when my gf and I came here because we actually came for ramen and was disappointed to see they didn’t serve any.
However, we got some pork chops and traditional mandarin fare like pork chop over rice or noodles and their combination noodle, and both were very good! I was surprised since the combination noodle looked plain and I was waiting for a mediocre to bad experience.
I must say, their Chinese food is quite delicious and quite well priced! it’s definitely a $ lunch spot and MAYBE $$ for dinner if you’re really hungry. Fantastic change! I do miss the ramen though.

THIS IS WHAT RAMEN NOODLES ARE SUPPOSED TO TASTE LIKE? I highly doubt it… I went here, hoping to try something that I would fall in love with, but I was mistaken. I don’t know why I chose this place to try some ramen noodles, maybe cause the sign looked appealing… SO I walk in and we were seated fast because the place was basically empty, sad. I should have taken it as a warning of some sort, but I didn’t…
So me and my boyfriend skimmed through the menu, which was very small with no variations. It didn’t take that long to decide. So, my boyfriend ordered some ramen, I forgot what flavor, but it had a lot of beef, so I’m guessing something beef flavored. And I ordered Korean BBQ so we can try two different things. My boyfriend got his food first. Probably a good 20 minutes before my food. The sad thing was he was almost done before I got my dish. So when mine FINALLY came, I was ready to devour. Sigh, it was a complete failure. The pieces of meat were 30% FAT and the other was chewy VERY CHEWY meat. It was not good at all. Flavored horribly. Nothing like what Korean BBQ should taste like… I was very disappointed. The Ramen was just okay. Bland, something you can get from the packaged stuff.
The good thing about this place? You will always get a table, it’s open super late and I guess the prices were DECENT. I wouldn’t go back. I wouldn’t recommend anyone to try this place… EPIC FAIL.

I met up some friends here and our waitress kept hovering over us when we were trying to decide from the menu. I mean, the place was practically empty… she could of at least pretended to be busy. After frantically trying to make a choice, I went with the #1 with extraaaa corn. When my orders came out, it was in the biggest bowl my noodles was ever served in! Our «spoon» was more like a ladle. In the end, the presentation won versus the product. The broth was a bit bland and the noodles tasted a little off. I’m glad I ordered extra corn because it was very appetizing with the pork and was probably the only two things I enjoyed.

Corn ramen is one of my favorite dishes in the whole wide world. Among the variety of ramen offered here (about 10 or so combinations), I still had to get it. They were quite generous with the corn bits. The ramen is definitely Chinese style all the way. Even the «kim chee» sitting in the jar on the table is Chinese like. Who knows how long it was sitting out there?
The broth was salty and creamy. Noodles were medium consistency. You get two big slices of char siu and half a tea egg. The bowl that it comes in is ginormous but they only fill it halfway. It was more than enough food for me but my friend who came here a while back said that they used to fill the bowl higher.
For $ 7.50, it’s not so bad. The restaurant is really clean and looks sleek inside. I wouldn’t mind coming back for the shabu shabu.

Originally, I’d driven to New Hwong Kok to satiate a sudden craving for dim sum, but much to my dismay, the restaurant/​eatery was closed, observing the previous day’s Chinese New Year holiday.
At a loss, I drove to the plaza across the street and came across OEC. I’d eaten here before and found it unremarkable, disappointing even, but decided to try it again despite my better sensibilities. Why I don’t pay heed to my own intuition I’ll never understand; stubborn comfort in the familiar, or misplaced hopefulness of change?
I was promptly seated in the nigh-​vacant restaurant and given a menu. As cold as it was inside the restaurant (somehow colder than outside, so much so that the staff wore hoodies!), ramen seemed like a good bet; I ordered the «manager recommended» OEC Ramen.
Mere minutes later, the large ceramic bowl of ramen was set before me. Inside? An aesthetically unappealing cauldron of cloudy broth obscured the contents (noodles, slices of pork, bamboo, sprouts, cabbage, fishcake, etc.) and at first sip, was notably NOT hot. I suspect that the all the ingredients tossed into the simmering broth cooled the entire concoction… meh!
The noodles were frankly sub-​par and unsatisfying; soft to the point of mushy, with no resistance to the bite. Other ingredients helped add flavor to the broth, but minutes into the meal, the dish was lukewarm, at best.
Side-​qualm: at some point during my brief lunch, the scent and stench of tobacco smoke was pungent in the air. At first I disregarded it as temporary/​brief, perhaps a passerby. But it persisted and lingered for the duration; I’m more inclined to think that the server, during the lull, stepped out for a smoke break. Even as an ex-​smoker, I found the scent/​presence of cigarette smoke highly unappetizing…
An already unfulfilling meal ruined.
I’ll give them one more chance… definitely must try the shabu shabu before I write off the whole place.
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Shabu-​shabu? I’m gonna give THEM
one last chance by letting ME cook MY OWN food?

I frequently have noodle soup cravings, which is why I decided to randomly try this restaurant. There was a pretty extensive ramen menu, so I decided to go for that. I went for the «Manager’s Recommend» ramen because I figured it would be good– but it was so bland, I may have well been eating noodles with water. I normally enjoy huge portions, but only if I actually want to eat the dish. The noodles were decent– I saw that they make them there, so that means they’re fresh at least. The only part of the ramen that I thought was remotely decent were the little bamboo pieces– and there were only a couple in there. The service wasn’t horrible, considering there was only one other customer in the restaurant at the time.
Anyway, maybe the shabu-​shabu tastes better. My friend’s unagi was decent. But I would definitely never come here again.

The service here sucks. The broth is absolutely loaded with MSG even though the menu «Promise no MSG.» But this place is notable because their chasu and noodles are very good and fresh.
I’ve tried their shabu-​shabu and I’m going to stick to their ramen, it was quite underwhelming.

Like shabu-​shabu? Like to frequent Vegas buffets and gorge yourself til you’re about to burst like an over ripened watermelon? Come to this place and order yourself the all-​you-​can-​eat shabu.
I like this place because they have variety to their broth… original, spicy, and drop-it-like-it’s-hot-flambé spicy. and wide selection of meats, tofu, and garnishes to fill your bowl to your heart’s content. I’m a voracious carnivore so I’ll take a triple order of marbled beef please.
Sure, the service can be slow, and they might not get it right the first time, but the workers there are from out of town, and don’t speak english too well. I don’t care much, as long as my belly is full, and I feel like a fatty. With the all-​you-​can-​eat shabu, it’s all but guaranteed.

This place is suffering from an identity crisis depending on whether you read the sign and the menu (OEC), or the ramen bowls (Le Sheng Niang Ramen) or the article posted by the door (Dosanko Sapporo).
Anyways, my friend said I should check this place out and I was hesitant after seeing the reviews, especially for Dosanko Le San Niang (which now have been merged with this fine establishment).
I got the Cha Shu Shoyu Ramen for $ 8.50. Regular Shoyu Ramen is $ 7.
Six huge slices of chashu were the highlight of the bowl. I’ve had tastier pork, but the sheer volume was somewhat overwhelming! When the bowl came out all I could see was pork slices and the half ni-​tamago (stewed boiled egg)!! Some sprouts, cabbage, 2 piece of bamboo shoots, and some scallions rounded out the toppings that came into view once I pushed aside the meat.
The broth was very sweet and had a strong bamboo flavor despite there only being a couple of pieces in the bowl. For shoyu ramen broth, it didn’t do it for me at all. The noodles were cooked alright, but were missing that «chewy» something something. The egg tasted great except for the yolk which was hard boiled; this was one of the more flavorful stewed eggs I’ve had in awhile. Just wish it was soft-​boiled!
Broth & noodles are the heart of ramen for me (not that I’m a ramen expert or anything). They missed on both of these. Below average overall. I’d say maybe 2 – 2.5 stars, but I’m rounding up to 3 stars because they were better than Ajisen
Yes, another failure of the whole star system. ..

I have been here many times before for lunch. The food and service are average but my buddies and I like to meet up here for shabu because it’s way too far to go up to SF for our favorite, Café Mums, for their all-​you-​can-​eat shabu. On this particular visit though, my encounter with the service was particularly aggravating.
I had ordered the large, ribeye plate with Japanese soup. What came was a large, marbled ribeye plate.
Me: I just want the regular ribeye, not marbled.
Server: Oh OK.
After several minutes, a regular plate of marbled ribeye is placed before me.
Me: No I want the regular ribeye.
Server: Oh OK, sorry about that.
Another several minutes pass by and a regular plate of ribeye is placed before me.
Me: (annoyed) No I want a large ribeye. Regular.
Server: (looking confused)
Me: (aggravated) When I mean «regular», I mean not marbled. I want the large size, but not marbled.
Server: (finally understanding) Oh OK, sorry about that.
Finally I got my large, ribeye plate and had my meal. My friends were almost done but I caught up to them quickly. Throwing almost everything into the boiling soup can do that. Despite the service, for my $ 11.99 lunch meal, it was pretty satisfying.

The good: Visa and Mastercard are now accepted.
The bad: Service sucks even more than the last time I came here
The ugly:
1) Spicy ramen broth taste like the chemical from the pot it was prepared in was accidentally released — almost called American Association for Poison Control as a precautionary action.
2) ‘Japanese’ dipping sauce for shabu looked like a congealed peanut butter, tasteless and bears no resemblance to the real shabu shabu dipping sauce (alternative: buy a bottle from Galleria Market, Sunnyvale, and BYOS — bring your own sauce).
3) Shabu comes with the option of spicy broth. If we go all around Japan looking for a shabu that is served with spicy broth, we’ll be looking until the cows come home.
In short — a confused identity often found in Chinese-​owned-​and-​operated fake Japanese joint.

Ever eat at a place and say to yourself «now I know I don’t have a cold, but why is there no taste to my food»? I came here for ramen because Ajisen was closed. First impression was «Ramen and Shabu-Shabu»…what does this restaurant really want to be?
I spied the huge bowl of noodles on the next table, and got excited. Little did I know it was only noodles in hot water with a few ingredients thrown in. Broth needed an Emeril to kick it up, or kick it out. I chose to kick it out.
One star for the cleanliness, one for the quantity.

Okay, I don’t know why there are two different pages for the same place (OEC=Dosanko Le San Niang Ramen). I didn’t plan on eating here, but me and my friends were driving around and one of them persuaded us into going here. I was feeling like noodles, but I saw the menu in here and ended up getting a bento box.
It wasn’t too expensive, about $ 7, and came with rice, soup, meat entrée (I got sesame beef, or something of that sort), bamboo, gyoza, salad, tempura (or if you can call it that), and half a peeled orange. (Check out the picture!)
It was good; nothing spectacular though. I didn’t eat the tempura because it was WEIRD. My friend got a bento too and she didn’t eat any of hers either. They had a WHOLE fried fish in there! I don’t know how people can eat that. And I usually like any kind of tempura but I guess I’ll stick to shrimp, broccoli, carrots, etc (the normal stuff).
The service isn’t horrible, though it did take a while for our food to come out. I guess I can’t really mark them down on that since we were the most loudest and obnoxious group in there. Points for not yelling at us I suppose.

This place is pretty good. We came here for my mom’s 50^th birthday and left happy, which is saying a lot. In my family, if we try to spend more than 20 minutes together, someone usually ends up pissed.
We ordered a plate of rib eye, marble rib eye (a fattier cut), and seafood, all with chicken broth. The seafood platter came with prawns, oysters, calamari, and fish balls. And there was plenty of meat to go around. The satay and sesame dipping sauces were tasty too.
The best part about these places is the soup that’s leftover at the end. Soooooo good. Also, this place gives you free shaved ice for dessert, so that’s a plus.
I knocked off a star cuz i wasn’t completely full when I left, but they do have an all-​you-​can-​eat option on the menu. Maybe i’ll try that next time cuz i’m probably gonna come back.

Ramen Review.
The restaurant is divided in half: Ramen in the front, Shabu Shabu in the back. Hence, a Ramen-​specific review.
I ordered the Spicy Ramen and the gyoza/​potstickers.
I liked it… I guess I’m not much of a Ramen connoisseur, so I’m not really sure what «hella good» ramen is supposed to taste like (I’ll have to wait until I try the all-​famous Santa Ramen to give a valid comparison). Anyway, I enjoyed my ramen. The medium spicy was just right. The gyozas were tasty… a little pricey at 6 for $ 3.99, but I imagine that’s how it usually is at restaurants.
Would I come back? Yeah, probably. I think it’s comparable to some of the places I went to on Sawtelle down in West LA. Haven’t gone to many in the Bay to really compare OEC to anyplace up here.

I’ve made tastier ramen at home in the microwave.
An overly huge bowl of ramen doesn’t make up for its lack of flavor. Lots of meat, lots of noodles, lots of veggies, no flavor. The broth tasted like water with a little bit of salt. Only with the help of soy sauce does the ramen here become bareable.
The fried chicken wings were awesome. I would have rather eaten 2 orders of the chicken wing appetizer than my bowl of ramen.
By coming here I gained even more of a respect for the better ramen places out there. (Santa Ramen in San Mateo!)
+1 star for the chicken wings.

My boyfriend and i were driving around looking for a place to eat and he suggested this place…
i thought. it’s ramen… you can’t go wrong with ramen… trust me it went wrong.
when we entered, i was pleasantly surprised cause the place looked nice and promising. it was huge and it was kinda old-​school chic. Too bad i was dressed in sweats.
My boyfriend ended up ordering miso ramen, and i had the udon cause i didnt want to pay for ramen cause i had that at home. Food came out super quick.
I didnt like how the kimchee was placed outside on the table like that, cause it’s much better cold. Being korean, the kimchee was just OK nothing too great.
The miso ramen was wayyy to strong in flavor and pretty salty. To balance that out i had the udon which was very bland. It was like noodles in hot water. After a bit of seasoning, i got it to be edible.
The service there isn’t that great. It was not even a packed house and we didnt get a refill of water till the end of our meal.
but it was cheap… and of they open late… potential to get a lot of drunk, hungry soap seeking people in there.