I may get some backlash in this, but I believe that I frequent one of the best ramen spots in Honolulu. Don’t get me wrong, there are MANY delicious ramen restaurants that make authentic Japanese ramen, but this place is my absolute favorite. I even contemplated writing this post because if even one or two more people make this their regular spot, that’s one or two more people to wait behind in line. I’ve decided to be nice today and share my thoughts on what I think is the best ramen restaurant in Honolulu, Wagaya!
Wagaya, meaning “our home” is a ramen restaurant located on the left hand side of South King St. after McCully St. in Honolulu. Owned by Tadaki and Pearl Kimura, they wanted to bring the “old school” taste of authentic ramen to Hawaii. Tadaki grew up in Japan and worked in the kitchen from an early age. Later, he was able to learn from chefs in the Bay Area, perfecting his own recipes to use fresh and organic ingredients whenever possible. They even grind their own pork in-house and make their sauces and dishes in small batches so that everyone gets a fresh dish. So if you dine later in the shift, you may not be able to try all the dishes because they do sell out!
Their menu consists of an array of appetizers from crunchy corn tempura (one of my favorites!), sweet and savory potato mochi, scrumptious chicken karaage, flavorful gyoza that they make in-house, and much more! They have a wide variety of tonkotsu ramen (creamy pork-broth based soup), some shoyu broth options, vegetarian ramen, and even a cold noodle dish! With each ramen, you are able to customize your spice level, add any extra toppings like eggs or veggies, and even the thickness of your noodles! What is also great about this place is the price. All of the ramen (other than the sparerib tan tan men) is less than $15.00.
My go-to dish is the garlic tonkotsu type of ramen with regular noodles and level 1 spice. If I’m extra hungry, I’ll go for the garlic tsukemen that comes with thicker noodles. The tsukemen broth is thicker and more intense because you’re meant to only dip the thick noodles in the broth. The last time I went to Wagaya, I took my extra broth home to reheat with extra water and new noodles, and it was like two meals in one! I was able to savor my Wagaya meal even longer.
Their tonkotsu broth is so flavorful, being porky, creamy, fatty, and savory in every bite – without being overly salty. They know how to cook the ramen noodles nicely al dente with a little bit of chew left to them, and the vegetables are blanched perfectly. One of my favorite toppings is the aji tama, a marinated soft-boiled egg that oozes perfectly jammy yolk although it was in hot broth. Somehow, the egg whites are a brownish tint from the marinating in soy sauce, and it that marination step adds that much more flavor to the egg as a whole. Whenever I see a full aji tama as a topping on ramen, I save the best for last! Some places here only give half an egg (sadly).
Of course, the desserts here are delicious as well. The selection of desserts are perfect to end your meal with something sweet. They carry popular mochi ice cream flavors, an almond pudding, Kona coffee jelly, and a yuzu sorbet. I can’t even decide which is my favorite because they’re all so good! All desserts are light and refreshing, so you don’t feel over-stuffed after your meal.
If you are ever in the area and craving ramen, I highly suggest Wagaya! However, I do want to note that I’ve never gone and not waited. It’s that popular! I’ve gotten takeout and delivery from Wagaya many times because I could not wait. My brother even got me a gift card for this restaurant as my Christmas gift one year because I couldn’t stop talking about this place. Dare I say it, this is probably the best ramen restaurant on Oahu. I can’t get enough! Until next time.
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