As the title of this column suggests, don’t judge a restaurant by its ho-hum website or its unassuming strip mall location and décor.
The website for Sakura Ramen gives little more than the address and phone number and a stripped-down version of the menu. The storefront, located between a row of hair salons and a Quest Diagnostic Center, would be easy to overlook. Even once inside, there’s nothing to prepare you for the wonders you are about to experience. After you are greeted by the friendly servers, you start to have an inkling that you are in for something special. They are enthusiastic about their business and proud of the food they serve, and well they should be.
The name may indicate ramen, but the menu is pan-Asian, with the appetizers representing many cuisines. Among the starter options, most priced well below $10 are vegetable spring rolls, pot stickers and dumplings, crab Rangoon, shrimp tempura, and bao (steamed buns) filled with a choice of shrimp tempura or BBQ pork. We enjoyed an order of steamed pork pot stickers, edamame topped with flaky sea salt, and in the only disappointment of the evening, the Chinese scallion pancakes. They were way too greasy and thin, and the Thai sweet chili sauce was right out of the bottle.
The entrées were magnificent, though. I’m not a big ramen fan, so I chose Korean fried noodles, with bean sprouts, onion, egg, cabbage, and scallions, with pork as my protein. With all entrées you choose your protein from a selection that includes chicken, beef, tofu, shrimp, or, of course, a vegetarian option. You also choose your spice level.
My vegetarian hubby didn’t care for the veggies served in the veggie ramen, so instead he decided to try the Korean spicy rice bowl, featuring a mélange of steamed spinach, bean sprouts, plenty of kimchi for heat, and a hanjuku egg (soft-boiled and marinated in soy sauce). Our friend Jeff ordered the Chinese kung pao with chicken. It included stir-fried zucchini and onions, and was topped by a homemade spicy brown sauce that was different from other kung pao dishes we’d seen. It was not as thick, but the dish did come as most kung pao dishes are served, topped with peanuts. Jeff’s hubby Mark picked up the ramen end of the menu with Tonkotsu ramen with traditional Japanese ramen noodles in a creamy pork broth, topped with scallions, bean sprouts, seaweed, hanjuku egg, bamboo, fish cake, and chicken katsu (breaded chicken cutlet). All were delicious, and we brought home plenty of leftovers.
Because it was opening weekend, which we didn’t know when we happened to plan our visit, there was a special two-for-one promotion of taro milk teas and boba teas, so we enjoyed those as our dessert, along with a complimentary order of Thai donuts, for posting on Facebook. This incredible feast cost us about $20 a person, not counting tip, making this a true bargain.
Sakura Ramen
977 E Commercial Blvd, Oakland Park
954-368-8744
sakuraramen977.com
Eating Well, Doing Good
Savor delicious hors d'oeuvres expertly crafted to complement a curated wine tasting experience on Thursday, April 24 at Papageno's Wine and Provisions. This is a chance to delight your palate while supporting Stonewall National Museum & Archives. Tickets are $25 per person, making it one of the most reasonably priced fundraisers in a long time. All proceeds benefit the Stonewall National Museum & Archives, a cornerstone of LGBTQ+ history and advocacy. Space is limited, so reserve your tickets at stonewall-museum.org/papagenos-wine-provisions.
