bantam king

bantam king
501 G St NW, Washington, DC 20003
tel: 202) 733-2612

what was consumed: chicken ramen, gyoza, fried chicken plate (with chicken drippings to rice, of course)

bantam king is owned/run by the same people at daikaya (one of my favorite ramen places in the city), so i was excited about trying out bantam king.

at bantam king, it's all about chicken: chicken ramen, fried chicken, etc. the various types of ramen come in a chicken broth. and while that might be unconventional for ramen purists, it's still delicious (haha). and oh, the fried chicken. to me, the fried chicken was a sort of cross between american style fried chicken, japanese style karage, and some chinese spices, altogether a great combination for light and delicious fried chicken. and for those who aren't fans of ramen (who are you and why are you not a fan?!), there is also a rice option. be sure to enjoy the punch of flavor thanks to the chicken drippings. YUM.

also a quick nod to the time and effort put into bantam king's decor. so many references to japan-based pop culture. love it!

online: https://www.bantamking.com/

haikan

haikan
805 V St NW, Washington, DC 20001
tel: 202) 299-1000

what was consumed: a few happy hour specials (cirspy pork belly, chicken kara-age, haikan fries, deviled eggs) as well as a veggie ramen with extra chasyu (this is turning into my favorite MO when enjoying ramen. not so traditional, but ... YUM).

looking for a fun ramen, and then some, place? be sure to check out haikan.

my "ladies who dine group" decided to head to haikan for an evening of chatter and delicious food. on a cold night, ramen just sounded even better. it was easy to make a reservation at haikan, and i'm glad that we did (though it was a little bit tight for our group of 6). but that's ok! haikan has a fun vibe - the happy hour crowd is boisterous, just as is the dinner crowd that comes in afterward. definitely try the happy hour bites - they are delicious. and while haikan specializes in ramen, i enjoy the other little things they have to offer. a little something for everyone (though, who doesn't like ramen?). oishi!

also, there's something really fun about the area around that atlantic plumbing building (the 9:30 club, the other restaurants ... and i love that movie theater). happy to see this as a part of my former stomping grounds. can't wait to try the other things around there!

online: https://www.haikandc.com/

jinya ramen bar

jinya ramen bar
1336 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20005
tel: 202) 588-8560

what was consumed: quinoa salad, jinya ramen, spicy ramen

is there such thing as too many ramen places? no, i say, no!

bjl said he'd seen jinya ramen coming to and from the gym. i was happy to accompany when he suggested we go there.

jinya is apparently one of many (there are locations across the country), which can be both good and bad. maybe they have a solid product? is their product so overproduced that it loses that which makes it special? is the authenticity lost? will it be like any of the other chains that we see? no matter - we still head over.

despite our early dinner dining habit (for reals, we prefer our dinner on the early side),  there was already a wait and jinya looked pretty close to at-capacity. we, of course, opted for two bar seats that just happened to open up as we walked up. yay!

jinya offers some more traditional/expected ramen options (e.g. shoyu, tonkatsu) along with some jinya specialities. what's more, some of jinya's ramens are served with thick noodles (verses the more common (dare i say traditional) think noodles). i might be a fan.

online: https://jinya-ramenbar.com/locations/detail/washington-dc-14th