Wrong Ramen: The Right Kind of Wrong

Wrong Ramen had it coming when they decided to name their resto "Wrong" Ramen for all the right reasons. They created buzz among foodies, ramen lovers, and for those who appreciate things out of the ordinary. They have "BAD RAMEN" written  in different contexts; in "pure pork fat broths" and "amateur chefs".  But the bottomline of it all, try it to believe it. 

This puts Wrong Ramen in a win-win situation. I bet they have two answers prepared to every review they'd get: a "we told you so" and a "thank you for proving us wrong" answer. 

I'd like to prove Wrong Ramen wrong today. 

45 minutes, and there's still a long queue outside the resto

After the busy lunch crowd, they close at 2:00pm and resume operations at 6:00pm. We arrived around 7:30pm and were wait-listed at #17. We got in almost half past 8 only to find out that two of the dishes we'd love to try out were not available that day, the Wrong Ramen Tantanmen and the Poop of the gods.

Surprisingly, this bad news did not disappoint us at all, probably because the resto will constantly remind you that they're bad (see photo below), so you'd expect less.

The place is really small, which explains the crazy line of hungry people waiting outside. Unlike J Co Donuts' mysterious long queue.

Here's the verdict:

Just like most of the bloggers who blogged about Wrong Ramen, I took time to take a photo of their cute salt and pepper shakers. 

The Bacon Katsu was perfectly fried, and the sweet wasabi drizzle complemented the katsu well. Three stars because I think it's too expensive for the serving. 

Their sesame seed mill goes really well with their ramens, ALL OF IT!

This is the second floor, could probably fit 20 hungry people or 15 normal ones.

Same goes for the first floor, this is their small dining area. The place is surprisingly cozy. <3

And now let's meet the ramens!

The Communist is made with 7 asian spices infused in a spicy pork broth. It's spicy alright, and the sliced chashu are cooked just right. The pork broth is drizzled with burnt garlic oil which was consistent, very consistent. 

They weren't joking when they said that this soup is rich. It has that milky goodness blending well with the pork bone and chicken broth. The owner calls this "liquid lechon".  

Of the three, the Sea Men Ramen is the most flavorful. The generous serving of seafood inside this bowl explains why the broth is good. When the Japanese invented the word "Umami", they probably had this ramen in mind. 

And what is a good ramen without runny eggs? But P55 I think is too much.

For such a limited menu, they could have at least made everything on it available. If this is their way of making me want to come back to try out the poop of the gods and the WR Tantanmen, it's working. But I have other reasons to come back of course- good food, good ramen.

WRONG RAMEN is located at:
Forbes Town Center, Forbestown RdFort Bonifacio, Taguig(02) 823-8249

ATSU-ATSU: "Natsu" good for a Japanese resto

It was Ensogo, the online discount site, that brought me to Atsu-Atsu. A P250 coupon for a set meal worth P500 sounded like a great deal, plus the fact that I love ramen that if I was in Japan, I'd marry me a bowl. 

When we got to Atsu-Atsu, the cozy Japanese feel started to sink in. I remembered our chicken karaage boat-sake experience in a local Japanese pub January last year, the wooden walls, the little Japanese warrior figurines, the paper lamps, and the paintings and writings on the wall. Nostalgic. =D

And then I saw Atsu-Atsu's dirty kitchen, my bubble popped. 

Everyone coming in had a coupon, that one from Ensogo. Atsu-Atsu might have been too aggressive in selling vouchers, at least 30 people were crowding the small Atsu place on a weekday dinner. We were approached by a waitress with very little knowledge about their menu. They were not arrogant, the place was just too homey for their very casual service. 

A set meal includes a large bowl of noodles, shrimp tempura/chicken teriyaki, iced tea, california maki and coffee jelly. First came the bottomless iced tea, followed by the california maki. As you can see in the picture below, it looked like a 2-piece maki split in half to make four little ones. It wasn't that good either. 

Then came the shrimp tempura, how can you go wrong with that? A normal order serves six shrimps, the voucher serves only four. 

Then came the Tokyo ramen (shoyu-based ramen topped with simmered pork, green onions, hard boiled egg, bamboo shoots and fishcake) served in a large bowl. The noodles were al-"dented", the soup was okay, and the pork tasted a day old. There was nothing special about this bestseller. 

This was followed by the Tonkotsu ramen (pork bone soup topped with simmered pork, fishcake, vegetables and hard-biled egg). It was easy to tell the two ramens apart when you look at them, but I was pretty sure they tasted alike. 

The chicken teriyaki was just as bad. You could tell that the chicken was sitting out in humid air for too long, you could taste it. A normal order includes a side salad, the voucher teriyaki doesn't have one. 

The coffee jelly was definitely the worst. We got a glass with black jelly mass. Remember when we were younger, and we'd mix black coffee with our gelatin mix? No? Atsu Atsu will help you remember. Tsss. P80 for this crap.

Overall, my Atsu-Atsu experience was natsu-good. Was it because we got Ensogo coupons that they had to cut down on quality and service? I hope not. 

Will I go back to Atsu-Atsu with high hopes of getting better food and service if I'm a regular paying customer? Definitely not.

 This was me before I started eating.

 Price: P120-P350

Atsu-Atsu is located at: 1281 Araneta Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines

Food :                     *

Ambiance:               ****

Service:                   **

Cleanliness:             *

Experience:             *

Value for money :    **

Serving:                   ***