Nom Nom Ramen

The flavor is there, but the service isn’t.
I woke up this morning with a strong belief that ramen was the only thing I could eat in order to cure me of a hangover. So I went to the nearest place where I could satisfy that need: Nom Nom on 34^th street.
I arrived around 11:15. I saw one of the staff sitting behind the cashier so I asked if they were open. She explained to me they won’t be open for another 30 minutes because the soup is not ready. Fine. Can I order now and wait? No. Fine. So I sat at the table nearest the shop so that I would know when they opened. Although this staff member most likely saw me sitting there waiting, she didn’t tell me they were ready and I could order. I only noticed when another customer showed up and started ordering, only 15 minutes later! Seems obvious to me: if you know a customer is waiting for you to open, and you open, why not tell the customer you are open?
So I order. When my large bowl of spicy ‘Karai’ miso ramen is ready, I pick it up and grab a spoon and chopsticks. While doing so, I ask if I can have a cup of water. The response: ”Oh, we don’t give out cups of water. We only sell water.” Ummm, okay… Then when i made a joke about I’m gonna need water cause it looks so spicy, the dude just stared down and ignored me. Bad vibes man. But whatever. I got a cup of water from the Mediterranean place a couple shops down. She was nice enough to give it to me (for free!) even though i wasn’t even eating there. This no water policy really doesn’t make sense to me, and kind of seems a bit greedy, especially when the prices of their food are already pretty high, considering it’s not a real restaurant, but more of a canteen.
The ramen tasted good. It satisfied my craving, despite a careless and sloppy appearance (see picture). But i don’t think you can just substitute good service for good food. A good establishment should have both, not one or the other.
Maybe I hold my ramen shop proprietors to too high a standard (and this is certainly possible, having spent some time in the land of ramen itself, Japan). But I feel this kind of treatment is just illogical and rude. Either that or the staff have a serious lack of communication skills.
Please don’t eat here, if only to avoid supporting such greedy and rude people.

I will start by saying I don’t eat a lot of Ramen and I am a vegetarian. That being said, I enjoy the Ramen from Nom Nom. I get the Veg Karai Miso which I find to be rather delightful. The noodles are cooked well and the broth is flavorful and nice and spicy.
That being said, the service is just so disappointing. I get it, it’s in a food court so I shouldn’t expect much — but come on! Every time I am there, something goes wrong. They are ALWAYS out of their vegetable of the day — which is always posted on the order screen. Today we placed our order and then were told they were out of fountain soda (why wasn’t that posted too?), but can substitute a can of soda. $ 2.00 is a little steep for a can of soda to which the cashier rolled her eyes. Not to mention tap water is NOT an option. Today they were also out of tofu, which I was told while they were making my ramen (why wasn’t that posted too?). Tofu is really half of my dish considering I ordered a the veg option. I likely would not have ordered anything had they posted a sign or forewarned me. So instead I got an egg, which was fine but not what i wanted.
I feel like I always have to compromise when I come to this place. Although I find the ramen to be tasty, in retrospect it’s probably not worth the hassle.

They need to get their business together. They NEVER have veg of the day. They have run out of eggs more than enough times. The one in center city has waitstaff service.
WHO IS RUNNING THIS PLACE?! who are you and why are you absent! yes your food is cheap and the quality is decent, but I do not appreciate spending my $ 12 hard earned dollars on inconsistency.
I am so glad I’m going to Tokyo in March. There I can overdose on real ramen where they more than likely won’t run out of eggs! what the hell!
y’all had one job!

I don’t know why this place has such lousy reviews. I consider myself a ramen fiend and I’ve sampled ramen from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco, and I always love coming back to Nom Nom. This place was one of the first places I ever tried ramen and it will always be near and dear to my heart. They recently converted from ordering at the counter to table service, which I think is a pleasant change. Their pork buns are on point and more than once they’ve brought me an extra (free) portion because of how voraciously we devoured them. I generally order their pork ramen, but I’ve also had the miso and I think both are great options. The seasoned eggs that they prepare are so so good! I also love their pork belly and often order extra. You can order a large portion for a few dollars extra– do it. It’s great to bring some home for leftovers. I love how springy their noodles are and their bamboo doesn’t taste canned like many ramen joints. Their prices are a little too high considering the ambiance is pretty low-​key, but I will always come back here when I’m in the city.

I normally don’t like Japanese noodles but I love this place!!! It’s not too pricey and the location is pretty close to campus! It lost a star due to lack of consistency with the meat… you gotta give enough meat to win a girls heart…

At first, I thought the choice of location was questionable, but it makes sense. Everyone loves ramen, especially college kids, but will the high prices turn off budget-​conscious students? Not if the food has quality ingredients! The same broth that Nom Nom-​ers know and love from the original outpost is here. It arguably tastes better here, as a matter of fact, as my recent Shoyu Ramen proves. The broth is amazing and has much more flavor than the Shio. The ingredients in this week’s bowl included fresh scallions, marinated bamboo shoots, crunchy kikurage mushrooms, juicy chashu pork belly sprinkled with sesame seeds, and an added bonus… nori seaweed! Yes!!! The scallions and mushrooms are fresh and crunchy. The bamboo shoots are juicy and flavorful. The seaweed adds more of a sea component to the soup, something that the fish cake alone had left me wanting more of. The soup is more balanced now. I love adding a soft-​boiled egg to my soup for extra protein. I was never a fan of red ginger and am glad it doesn’t exist in this soup. Don’t be turned off by the fact that Nom Nom Ramen II is in a food court. Places like this can only make food courts better. Is it better than Terakawa? Yes. Is it better than The Ramen Bar? Yes. Is it better than Nom Nom 1? Yes.

Good ramen but refused to give me a cup of water and its 100 degrees outside. Totally worth bad business reviews I guess to save the penny it would cost them to give me a small cup of water. Absolutely rude, complained to boss who had no response. Ended up going to the cvs next door for a bottle of water.

As someone coming from Irvine which has a ton of great Asian food, I try to find the best /​most authentic Asian I can in Philly. Nom-​Nom Ramen is OK and my search continues.
Nom Nom Ramen’s Center City branch is better on price and quality — though I’m not sure if it’s that quantifiable, The noodles at the U.C. branch just don’t excite me quite as much. I did eat here a few times over the course of a few months, and it always satisfied me but never excited me. Actual food production time is quick and the staff is friendly enough. It’s a place to go if you want ramen and are in UC.

Overall, not bad for food court ramen. I came in here in a pinch and wasn’t sure what to expect, and was pleasantly surprised. The broth is rich and satisfying — actually better than one or two «nicer» noodle shops I’ve tried — although sometimes they are a bit heavy handed with the seasoning. The noodles are decently textured, and come with all the trimmings (sliced pork, scallions, etc.), except for sprouts and egg which are extra. At $ 10−12/bowl, it is slightly pricey, but the service is fast and the location convenient. Worth it if you’re in a hurry and have a sudden ramen craving!

A wonderfully amazing mouth-​orgasm lunch, no… but a sufficiently delicious ramen with a mixture of wows and ehhs is about where I’d say Nom Nom Ramen stands.
Pros:
+ pork belly was on point! the fat just melted in my mouth
+ i was very full at the end (i ordered a regular size shoyu pork belly ramen + 1 soft boiled egg)
+ egg was cooked nicely and nearly a perfect soft-​boil
+ i like the outside porch seating area
Cons:
— egg didnt have much flavor and i had to submerge it in the soup after i bit into it to give it some more seasoning
— broth had a much too strong black pepper taste. this was a huge issue for me because you get the broth in every mouthful. i ended up trying to mask the taste with hot chili sauce.
While obvs not as cheap as Chinatown’s Terakawa (i mean, we’re in the middle of Univ. City), I’m not sure I got the bang for my buck. I just feel like my $ 13.45 (this total include the izze drink i bought) could have been much better spent elsewhere in the area unless I’m crazily craving japanese ramen… but even then, I feel like Ramen Bar might have the edge in taste.

Paid for a marinated egg, didn’t get one. But did get a handful of scallions I specifically asked to not get. Spent 5 minutes fishing green specks out of my soup, which made the whole bowl get cold.
I was the ONLY one ordering, and specifically heard the cashier say «no scallions with egg» to the cook. Plus, the receipt had «season egg» on it.
Will be going to the Quiznos next door next time.

You can’t really expect a lot from a ramen place in a food court setting; but this Nom Nom Ramen location was so disappointing. In my opinion, a ramen bowl here is too expensive for the «okay» quality of ingredients and ramen noodles offered. I paid about $ 14 for one bowl of ramen but I can go to Ramen Bar a few blocks away to get better quality ramen for the same price.
While the ramen may not be the best, it still is descent. I’d recommend this location for those who want ramen and are in a hurry. This location is convenient for those craving ramen that don’t have time to go to a sit-​in restaurant. Other than that, I would suggest going to Ramen Bar if you’re in the UC area.

Yet again, another disappointing ramen location on Penn’s campus. Perhaps my standards are too high growing up in Los Angeles, but Nom Nom Ramen was definitely a let down.
Sure, it’s cheaper than Ramen Bar, but it’s in a food court for Pete’s sake — of course it’s going to be cheaper. Regardless, cheaper is relative, I still paid $ 11 for a bowl of ramen, service in what I remember as all plastic. Lots of broth, limited noodles and toppings. If you want to make your plate look for filled so you don’t leave still feeling hungry, be prepared to dish out more money. This place sure knows how to squeeze every cent out of you for lunch.
I was never a fan of Ramen Bar but I think Nom Nom Ramen has made me more of a fan of Ramen Bar than before. Unless you are a starving engineering student craving ramen, this is not the place to go. Ramen Bar is closer to campus if you’re coming near 38^th street anyways, and you’ll be in a nicer set-​up with service.

It was difficult for me to decide what rating to give Nom Nom Ramen. On the one hand, their pork belly is one of the best I have ever had in ramen and in general. On the other hand, their ramen broth is not the best I’ve had. It’s a tough decision because Ramen Bar is just a few blocks down. In terms of price, Nom Nom Ramen is comparable with Ramen Bar. But Ramen bar has better broth, whereas Nom Nom Ramen has better meat…
Also, the service at Nom Nom Ramen is not as fast as I would like it to be. Granted, I went during lunchtime, so they were definitely busy with many orders. I think I will give it another shot sometime in the near future, but unfortunately Nom Nom Ramen is not as nom nom as I would like it to be…

Hey guys, first time reviewer, first time Nom Nom-​er. I was a little late to the news that a new ramen shop had spawned in one of the food courts near the University of Pennsylvania, so I decided to head there during my lunch break.
Things were a little busy for the lunch rush, but the staff took our orders promptly and were very friendly. The items on the menu were a tad expensive (especially with extra ingredients, but they do accept credit cards now!).
I ordered the karai pork belly ramen for lunch. I loved the way the ramen was prepared. It was tender, but not too soggy, and it absorbed the spicy miso broth well. The ingredients paired very well with the ramen. My complaints happened when I did run out of ramen. The soup was a little salty and may be a little overwhelming for those unaccustomed to a spicy flavor. The pork belly was tender and succulent, but the smokey flavor gave it a little smoked-​ham taste. They do offer free ice water in case it the ramen is too much for some to handle!

I’m not the hugest fan of Ramen Bar, so I was really excited to see a new ramen place open up! And it should be cheap since it’s in a food court, right?
Wrong. Nom Nom Ramen was only mediocre, and it was surprisingly expensive especially for a food court! I think I paid $ 8 – 9 for a small miso ramen and then went back and paid another $ 2 for 2 more slices of pork belly meat and some shredded pork because I ran out within the first half of my bowl. I suppose it’s better than paying for waiter service on top of that… (Also remember, cash only!)
Unfortunately the ramen noodles didn’t taste much better than cup noodles, and the broth was weak. The meat was really great, but they were stingy with it. I’ll be back, but only because I love ramen and the meat was great! I really hope they give greater portions or lower the prices once they get more established.

Nom Nom Ramen is located in a food court along with Taco Bell and Quizno subs. So what you’d expect would be some sort of fast food ramen experience. For a number of reasons, it wasn’t quite that.
The ramen itself was decent. I tried the Karai Pork Belly ramen. The best part about it was that the pork was really well cooked. Other than that, there wasn’t much else in the ramen besides the noodle themselves, since I decided not to pay an extra dollar or two to get the bok choy and egg that they offer for extra.
However, it’s overpriced for the experience. You don’t expect to pay up to $ 15 for a meal in a food court — that’s just not a thing. You can get ramen for that price at a sit-​down restaurant. It’s also not very fast service; granted it’s new, but it seemed like they had four staff members and some of them were just kind of sitting there.
So yeah, that’s my take — I really hope they consider taking down their prices and maybe making their processes more efficient. Otherwise I might as well go to Ramen Bar which is a few blocks down!

There is no great ramen in Philly. But I did think Nom Nom was pretty good.
This new University City location is a bit hidden. It is inside the small food court next to the CVS at Walnut and 34^th.
The Pork Belly ramen is just under $ 10. It feels strange to pay $ 10 for food court ramen. But there is not any cheaper ramen around.
The broth of the ramen was only okay. But the pork was amazing. It was so tender and flavorful. It was especially great compared to the pork at Ramen Bar. At Ramen Bar, the «pork» is basically just fat. The pork at Nom Nom was actually meat and very delicious.
I would recommend Nom Nom if you are in the area. But don’t go out of your way to go there.

I was so excited to have another ramen restaurant in University City because I had always thought the Ramen Bar was too pricey for my liking… However, Nom Nom Ramen is just as expensive (if not more!), especially considering the fact that it’s in a food court. Expect to pay around $ 10-​$ 15 for a regular sized portion.
The actual food itself is decent — the ramen is very chewy and ‘bouncy.’ I liked the texture, though I can understand why someone else would think that it was slightly undercooked. I’m vegetarian, and there’s only one ramen option without meat as of right now since it’s still at the «soft opening.» The vegetarian option didn’t even have an egg in it unfortunately, so expect some pickled veggies, bamboo, a couple slices of tofu, and lettuce as toppings for the noodles. The portions are pretty small — I paid a little more than $ 9 for a regular, which my friends thought definitely wasn’t filling enough. There are four different types of soup, and having the variety of soups is nice since there are so few actual ramen options. I’ve tried the miso and the spicy soups, both of which were very tasty.
The staff is nice but still seem… a little new and frazzled. They literally completely forgot my friend’s order even though they had no other customers at the time. We had to go up to the counter and ask for the order before they even realized that they didn’t have it prepared yet.
I’m hoping that all of these negative aspects of Nom Nom Ramen will be improved over time since a lot of it seems to be attributed to the fact that it’s so new. I do hope that the prices will decrease… but overall, decent, tasty ramen if you’re willing to pay the Nom Nom price.

Having never tried Nom Nom Ramen, I was excited when it opened in the food court beside Penn. I tried the karai miso ramen with pork belly for about $ 13. CASH ONLY.
According to the Nom Nom Ramen website, the broth is made of spicy miso and tonkotsu. While the heat was definitely there, I couldn’t identify the tonkotsu flavor. It was just really spicy and really salty. The noodles were slightly overcooked for my taste.
The real stars of the meal were the toppings. The pork belly was melt-​in-​your-​mouth tender (but really salty) and the marinated soft boiled egg was perfect. The black garlic sauce was flavorful, but there wasn’t much of it.
Service was slow, especially considering how many people were working. There was a bunch of us congregating around the pickup sign staring hungrily at the ramen being prepared. Thinking back on my meal, the price was not worth the level of service, ambiance, or taste provided.
If I end up going back, I’ll try the shio or shoyu ramen to see if those broths are better.