Ramen Champ is Back with New Owner and Revamped Menu

by guest blogger @iam_robot

A few weeks after closing for a much needed “vacay”, Chinatown Far East Plaza’s ramen joint Ramen Champ will reopen with new owner and new menu on October 2nd.
Yoshimasa Kasai, former director of Ramen Yokocho Festival and famed founder of Ramen Iroha, took over the shop from one of Eggslut co-owners, Alvin Cailan, and would bring his vast experience (winning 5 Tokyo Ramen Championships among others) to this already popular noodle shop.

Alvin Cailan will stay on board as consultant while Kasai will keep the outlook of the shop, which includes a Robot Ramen interior mural by New York artist Mike Houston.
The tiny soup noodle joint started earlier this year as a partnership between Eggslut co-owners Alvin Cailan & Johnny Lee along with Men-Oh-Tokushima Chef Nathan Asamoto. Kasai revamped the entire menu and would start with 3 different bowls of ramen. Tonkotsu Ramen will be the main star with noodles, chashu, mushrooms, green onions and sesame oil; Tonkotsu Tan Tan Men will be the Chinese fusion flavor with noodles, greens and a Sichuan peppercorn paste; and Vegan Ramen will be the healthier options with spinach noodles and broth made with kombu & dried shitake mushrooms.

Last weekend, I had the chance to taste the broth for the Tonkotsu Ramen and a full bowl of the Tan Tan Men.
Tonkotsu Ramen

I was quite speechless when I tried the Tonkotsu Ramen broth, thought it was the most savory broth. It was rich but it didn’t feel overwhelming or overly salty, just felt right with the medium soft noodles and strong toasty flavor from the sesame oil.

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Trying out Tava Ghee: Butter Coffee and Cooking with Ghee

I really first heard about ghee when the trend of butter tea and butter coffee came about. Ghee is a type of clarified butter that originated from India. It's widely used not only in cooking but also ayurvedic medicine and hence, ripe for the health trends of the western world. The preparation of ghee is slightly different than clarified butter (to make ghee, the butter is simmered along with milk solids until they caramelize) and gives it a nutty aroma and taste.

Anyway, I got curious about butter coffee because a fellow blogger Eating LA had been taking it and told me she felt more energetic throughout the day and that butter coffee actually tasted pretty good. So when Tava Life Provisions offered to send me some ghee to try, I took them up on the offer so I can try butter coffee!

Making butter coffee is pretty simple, here's the directions I got from Eating LA: Brew a strong cup of coffee. Add 1 tablespoon of ghee, and 1 tablespoon of coconut oil. Blend. Add vanilla or cinnamon if you like.
So, Tava actually has different flavors of ghee! I used their Vanilla Bean Ghee for my butter coffee so I didn't even need to add any vanilla! The butter coffee didn't taste as weird as I had expected. In fact, it was smooth and just a bit rich - drink it quick, though, it starts to get weird as the coffee gets cold and the ghee separates. But before that, the butter coffee is easy to drink for your caffeine and energy fix in the morning!
Plus, ghee is supposed to increase your metabolism - so hey, if you can reason your coffee fix as a diet drink, why not?

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Pinkberry Does Breakfast

I knew Pinkberry serves greek yogurt, and I've also tasted their oatmeal bowl before, but I haven't really thought about going there for breakfast until now. Did you know Pinkberry serves coffee? They brew Barrington coffee in a French press to-order. It's pretty strong and smooth.

I've tried many versions of their greek yogurt and also their oatmeal before, and they also are doing a quinoa bowl which I have not tried, but I decided to go with the acai bowl, since I'm nearing the end of the season to eat cold stuff! Oh, Boston winter is coming ...

Anyway, I got my acai bowl topped with a bunch of fruits, granola, and a dollop of honey.

Pinkberry makes their acai bowl using Sambazon acai which they blend with other things, so it takes a bit longer to prepare than the soft serve froyo, and not as firm, but I quite liked the way it tastes. Acai is supposed to be healthy for you and I got a my daily dose of fruits.

Overall it was a nice breakfast with pretty good coffee, making Pinkberry a nice option for breakfast if you have a location convenient to you! Next time, I'm going to check if they still do their PB&J oatmeal, where they mix in the peanut butter in the oatmeal, because that was delicious!