Ramen Shalala in Mountain View is a ramen shop that usually has long waits during peak times. We decided to drop by later in the evening on Saturday to avoid the crowd. The three ramen sizes are prominently displayed in front of the open kitchen as you walk in the door. Tables with bench seating and chairs line the open spaces next to the street facing windows.
The restaurant only seats around 24 people and two waiters were covering all the tables. Service was efficient and the food came quickly after we ordered.
The Tori Paitan Ramen is basically Shio Ramen with Charsu pork, soft boiled egg, and topped with green onions. The broth was flavorful and not overly salty like some ramen places, but lacked the richness of some others I have had in the past (i.e. it had less pork fat). On balance though, I would be happy drinking the broth by itself. The regular bowl came with a good portion of ramen, which was of the thin variety. I tend to like ramen on the chewier side, but most people would find it perfectly acceptable. The charsu was on the firm side in contrast to other ramen shops’ whose meat has a more tender mouth feel. I liked the slight texture contrast, but then again, I like chewy ramen. The egg was decent, but the yolk was not runny, just soft.
The spicy miso ramen with spice level 1(there are 3 levels of spiciness). The broth had a nice miso taste with a hint of heat. It works well with the ramen, but unlike the Tori Paitan/shio broth, I would struggle to finish it, as it needs ramen for balance. The ramen noodles themselves were thicker compared to the Tori Paitan, with more chewiness, which suited my liking. When we go back, I will make sure to request this ramen in my Tori Taipan.
In summary, Shalala provides good portion of tasty ramen and would be a place I would put on rotation as places to go when we happen to be in Mountain View, although a long wait time of more than 30 minutes might make me think twice.
Rating: Call
