Ramen place for very timid, picky eaters

[Anonymous]

I am looking to take a family outing for either sit in or pick up ramen. I am looking for the most basic ramen I can find. These folks eat nothing interesting, haha. I am hoping to gently expose them to a good, solid ramen that has good broth, good noodles and minimal choices to make. Any ideas?

[Anonymous]

Who are these people you are taking?

Are they your children, where it's your job to introduce them to food in which case this is reasonable, or are they other people?

If they are your children, I'd pick some place that is available something like Uber eats, so you can pull up the menu, see exactly what's in each dish, and talk them through before you go. Usually you can leave anything off, and I would approach it as "We're going to get noodles and broth, and here are some choices of what you can add if you want . . . " and then go through each thing.

Then write down what they chose to order, and help them order in the restaurant.

If these are not your minor children, then plan an outing that doesn't involve value judgment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am looking to take a family outing for either sit in or pick up ramen. I am looking for the most basic ramen I can find. These folks eat nothing interesting, haha. I am hoping to gently expose them to a good, solid ramen that has good broth, good noodles and minimal choices to make. Any ideas?

What’s the point if they can’t handle exotic food? Take them out for pasta and call it a day!

[Anonymous]

We like Akira. We just get a side of noodles for our kids (plus some appetizers they like) and give them some of our broth but you could just get a plain bowl of noodles with broth of your choice. They are flexible. But, we go much less now as their prices went too high.

[Anonymous]

If you are willing to spend a bit more, go to a hot pot place and they can pick exactly what they want and some let you order off an iPad. Go at lunch when its cheaper.

[Anonymous]

Jinya ramen

[Anonymous]

Any ramen place, OP. They will always have the basics.

Ramen broths come in 3 types:
Shoyu (soy sauce)
Miso (miso)
Shio (salt)

And then the Tonkotsu one, a regional specialty of Kyushu, is very popular here (pork broth).

So either get them a run-of-the-mill Shoyu, Shio or Tonkotsu. Avoid the Miso, it might be a step too far. Avoid any fancy ones, and any thing marked spicy. Japanese cooking, unlike some other Asian cuisines, is not traditionally spicy at all. Wasabi is the closest thing to spicy in their classic repertoire, but nowadays, Japanese restaurants add spicy mayo mixes to their sushi/nigiri, or add spice to their broths, to mix things up.

People with a limited western palate really shouldn't feel too out of place with cooked traditional Japanese food. It's salty and umami, but not too spicy or tangy.

[Anonymous]

Do they want to eat ramen? Or are you springing it on them to get them to try something new?

[Anonymous]

If you are trying to introduce "these people" to an exotic noodle soup, consider pho. You can get just noodles and broth.

[Anonymous]

I know you said you want a restaurant, but I am a very picky and simple eater and have found I like this ramen:

https://www.lotusfoods.com/collections/rice-ramen-noodles/products/organic-millet-brown-rice-ramen-4-ramen-cakes

I make it with trader joe's bone broth, and I also toss in some baked chicken (that I bake with paprika, onion powder and garlic powder). So, basically chicken soup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jinya ramen

This - you can get fancy or plain, with whatever you want. So if you want miso broth and noodles only, that’s what you order.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Jinya ramen

This - you can get fancy or plain, with whatever you want. So if you want miso broth and noodles only, that’s what you order.

The Jinya menu is very confusing. No go for newbies.

[Anonymous]

Go to noodles and company and get whatever Americanized version they have of soba or ramen or whatever. It will be the friendliest to a limited palate and will not seem so intimidating because it is offered alongside mac and cheese. It won’t be authentic at all, but that is fine, the point is to have them enjoy!

[Anonymous]

I love Akira, I think they have the best tonkotsu broth (I especially love the spicy version).

I think Jinya would be a confusing menu for a less adventurous eater.

But I agree with a PP that any ramen has a lot “going on” in it. If you think your guests would like it anyway, then go to Akira or Jinya and order for them.

If they are going to basically just want broth and noodles, I agree with a PP to try Vietnamese pho with them instead as a new food.

[Anonymous]

Daikaya