Food Review: Goku Ramen Bar in Maumelle

There’s a lot of talk about the new Ramen bar in Maumelle, so I had to give it a try. Let’s break it down!

ENVIRONMENT

Goku Ramen is located in the small space that used to be home to Pizza House, and before then was Pasta House for years in the shopping center at 1900 Club Manor Dr.
The interior looks much different than it did, with a fun, modern feel and tv’s playing shows about ramen. How great is that?!
Since the space is small, and there are many tables and bars for seating, it can feel a little cramped if it is a busy night.
When you arrive, you find a seat, look through the menu for what you want, then go up to the ordering bar to order and pay for your food. It is brought to you when it’s ready, but you have to get your own drinks and refills. *They do charge a 3% fee for using a card, so bring cash if that isn’t something you want to pay for.*
The only complaint I have about the environment is what is on each table. While you have salt, pepper, and chili powder, there’s no soy or sriracha. If you ask, you can get soy sauce, but they do not have sriracha. Next time, I may bring my own. Finally, the napkins are problematic. Each table has a large roll of paper towels, but the kind that are impossible to tear off and disintegrate after your first wipe. Please trade these for some with “tear-a-square”. We were knocking things over trying to tear these paper towels. At least it was entertaining!

MENU

You can find their full menu on their website. While it is small, with mostly different ramen and rice bowls, there are so many fun appetizers that are unique and priced fairly.

FOOD

TAKOYAKI, $8.25
Description: Fried octopus pastries with Japanese mayo, takoyaki sauce, green onion, and fish flakes

My friend and I shared a couple of appetizers and this takoyaki was new to me. Honestly, octopus is not my favorite, but Cristianna said it’s one of her favorite dishes. When I tried it, I loved it! There’s only a tiny piece of octopus in the middle of these pastries. the rest of the pastry is a wonderful and unique texture, like a savory mochi. The sauces and fish flakes bring so much flavor! Though, a little heat from sriracha would have perfected these. This was the best thing I had the whole meal.

VEGETABLE CROQUETTE, $5.11
Description: Deep fried mashed potatoes and vegetables with sauce and yummy mayo.

I chose this appetizer because it sounds amazing. However, it was a little lack-luster. There weren’t many vegetables at all in the croquettes, so it was similar to a really tasty hash brown, but with smooth mashed potatoes instead. With not much sauce, I had to add soy sauce to mine for a little more flavor.

TONKOTSU RAMEN WITH BRAISED PORK
Description: Pork soup base with green onion, soft boiled egg, napa cabbage, corn, and protein of your choice (shrimp, braised pork, chicken breast, fried chicken karaage, or vegetables and tofu)

This is a pretty decent ramen! I love tonkotsu ramen because it has the most flavor than the other options, in my opinion. This broth was good! The braised pork was tender and delicious! The noodles were the perfect texture, and there were SO many noodles. After picking through and eating all the bites I wanted with the pork, egg, and veggies, I had over an entire to-go cup full of leftover noodles. These were great the next day heated up with some other pork I had on hand.

FRIED CHICKAN KARAAGE, $2.51

Cristianna is a menu wiz and figured out it would only cost $2.50 to get a side of fried chicken since they only charge you this much for two proteins. This is a great deal! Do it!
The chicken was flavorful and crunchy and really good dipped in the ramen broth.

Overall, I think this is a wonderful addition to Maumelle- a place you can get ramen for comfort food or try something new with their appetizers. Go give Goku Ramen a try, if you haven’t already!

Food Review: Olé Eatery in Branson, MO

Branson has a new authentic Spanish tapas restaurant! And it is better than I imagined. Here’s the breakdown:

 

ENVIRONMENT

While we will cover the incredible food, we must first talk about the environment. In a shopping mall, Olé Eatery is nothing fancy.

It is broken down into two rooms; one is where you order and pay at the counter. The other is the dining area, which is large and open.

This atmosphere does not set the scene for the incredible food we were about to have. With the meal I had here, I would expect a romantic, date-night type of atmosphere instead. It definitely needs sprucing up.

 

FOOD

The menu can be found here on their website. It is full of four different paellas (Spain’s national dish) and many tapas, or small shareable dishes.

Paella Negra: $21.89
Description: “Black Rice” Spanish rice cooked with squid ink with shrimp, clams, calamari, and scallops.

I lived in Spain for a summer, studying, and I had my fill of paella. It’s safe to say my expectations were high. I almost got the traditional Paella with chicken and Spanish chorizo, but I asked the man behind the counter which paella was the most flavorful and he suggested this one.
While I’ve had squid ink pasta and found it pretty bland, this perfect dish was anything but bland. There was so much flavor! The rice was cooked perfectly and it was saucy, not one dry bite. The seafood was cooked perfectly. The garlic aioli and fresh herbs that topped it off gave it a fresh bite. I LOVED this dish. It was the most flavorful, delicious paella I’ve ever had. Also, while the serving appears small, it was very large. Drew and I could barely finish it all.

Chicharron: $9.29
Description: crunchy pork belly with sweet chili aioli

While this dish was good, it was my least favorite. Fried pork belly is always good and they fried it well, it just was a little dry and could use more of the chili aioli.

Patas Bravas: $5.49
Description: Potatoes with Spanish Salsa Brava and lemon oil

I did not want to get this. I wanted the ham croquettes, croquetas españolas, but they were out. So, I went for one of the cheaper menu items. I was not disappointed! While they are no ham croquettes, they were cooked well enough they had a crunch and the sauces were delicious.

Churros: $5.49

Churros in Spain were my favorite thing to eat.  Well, except the dulce de leche gelato. In Spain, you would typically get a “hot chocolate” with your churros. However, it was not regular hot chocolate. This was thick, like a melted chocolate bar. You dip the churros in the “hot chocolate”. It’s just how it is done.
So, I was a little disappointed to see the small amount of chocolate drizzle over the churros and a small dollop of what seemed like chocolate icing on the side.
While the churros were good, they weren’t anything unique. Next time, I’ll try the guava empanada.

 

OVERALL

I loved this meal. The paella was the best paella I’ve ever had. Hands down. The tapas are super fun, too. I can’t wait to try their croquetas españolas next time if they aren’t out. The staff was very kind.  The atmosphere is the only thing that could improve. The food is way too good to be in an environment that doesn’t do it justice.