BANKRUPT — I tried to go today but it looks like it went bankrupt /closed. The store was blocked by boxes and it looks like they were more boxes stored inside the little shop. Bummer.
Jonathan T.
Place rating: 1 Foster City, CA
This is not real japanese ramen. Now I’m not a ramen connoisseur, but when I have good ramen like Santa Ramen or Maru Ichi, I can taste the quality of the ramen through the noodles, broth and extra ingredients. Don’t expect great ramen when you come here, instead expect fast food ramen. This is a Korean shop within a Chinese grocery store, how authentic do you expect it to be?!
Kat C.
Place rating: 3 San Francisco, CA
Cute little stand in the ~Ranch 99 style~ grocery store. After getting owned(again) by Santa Ramen(they’re renovating or something… so they were closed… WTFFFFF), I remembered hearing about Simply Ramen so decided to check it out. They had samples of their Shoyu and Miso ramen out along with cubes of kalbi-like steaks. I tried the Shoyu … hm … it was def lighter tasting and had seaweed and bamboo shoots in it. Considering i was starving, it tasted pretty good except I wouldn’t travel all the way to San Mateo just to eat here(unlike Santa… *cry) It’s def cheap, tho. Still… it reminded me of instant ramen. It was aitte…
Sue C.
Place rating: 5 Foster City, CA
As I said in my other reviews, I’m from Korea longing for real Korean food all the time. That being said, I think this tiny store is perfect for Korean appetizers. It’s very convenient because you can pick up your food while you do your grocery shopping at Marina. The japchae and kakdugi(daikon kimchi) were excellent. It’s very hard around here to get that good kakdugi, so I was very impressed. We also tried her fish pancakes which were great — it seemed like she had more than one kind of pancakes. The kimbab looked very tasty as well and the owner said she could roll us a fresh one if we want — such a nice Korean mom-like lady.(We didn’t get kimbab after all cuz we already had food at home, but her store is certainly on our list for it.)
Gloria H.
Place rating: 4 San Francisco, CA
Hubby came by on Thanksgiving hoping to grab some ramen and kimpop but they were closed. We swinged by today and got an order of the chap chae($ 4.99) that was still hot and an order of kimpop($ 4.99), which we needed to come back for because she was going to roll it up for us now — talk about fresh! We brought it back to my sister’s to share as appetizers for our noodle lunch and everyone enjoyed it. I also got a small cup of the free kimchi to try and it was pretty good. Don’t listen to any nay sayers — go try it yourself, everything is cooked fresh there so place your order and do your shopping.
Jack L.
Place rating: 1 Hayward, CA
Not sure why anyone would recommend this place, this place is attached to a Marina(asian market) and more of kiosk then anything. The ramen broth needed flavor and noodles weren’t impressive, a friend noted that it could easily be home made with instant noodles.
Rey J.
Place rating: 4 San Mateo, CA
Just went there for lunch and it’s definitely some good ramen. The only downside is that there’s no real place to sit as it’s in a asian market, but I live in the area, so I just ate at home. I had the Shoyu ramen and it was chock full of garlic, just as good, if not better than Santa. Some of the noodles were stuck to themselves just a little bit, but that was because I took it home, so the soup wasn’t as hot as it should be. But they were very tasty. They claim to be fresh made. Although I can’t confirm that fact, they did have a very«not from dry noodle» gummy-ness to them. The lady working the shop was a bit slow, but she made up for it by being very pleasant and giving us a few of pieces of kimbop on the house, or I think that’s what it’s called. It’s basically the pickled condiments you get at a Korean restaurant, rolled up like a piece of sushi. A nice treat on the way home. If you’re looking for some good, cheap, quality ramen and are sick of waiting in lines, I’d highly recommend Simply Ramen.
MooMoo L.
Place rating: 3 San Francisco Bay Area, CA
This is a one of the newest ramen places we found in San Mateo. It is a quick take out ramen place located within the Marina Market where there used to be a Vietnamese sandwich stand. The service was pretty quick with friendly smiles. The menu was simple with Shoyu, Miso, Spicy Seafood, Kimchee, and the cold noodle ramen. Average cost for Shoyu was $ 5.99. Since this is only a stand, everything is take out. They prepare well by placing noodle and toppings microwaveable bowl that is ready to be eaten from. The taste is about average for ramen, but super convenient. Ramen is topped with pork, corn, seweed, sprouts and bamboo shoots.
Danny e.
Place rating: 4 Daly City, CA
DUDE! VEGGIRAMEN?! HALLARATCHABALLAR! Cheap good eats. Cute little Korean lady let us know they have only been open for a week, and she hooked it up with some tasty little Ca Rolls too. LITTLEANDTASTY!!! What is! I’ll be back for a good cheap and speedy ramen. You can keep your long ass lines Santa Ramen… keep it!
