Yotteko-Ya Kyoto Ramen

As I walked around McCully Shopping Center, I noticed the sign outside of Yotteko-Ya that read, "Our homemade soup is simmered for over 10 hours with the coicest pork, the freshest chickens and 10 different vegetables and spices. This meticulous process produces a uniquely thick collagen rich stock that will actually help prevent aging of the skin and joints." How could I not go in and try it?

Hidden in the corner of the second level of McCully Shopping center, this little ramen shop is easy to miss, but don't be fooled by the humble outside decor. The inside of the restaurant is uniquely decorated, with red walls and a celing covered in rows of white lanterns. I found that there was a mixture of both Japanese nationals and locals all slurpping away at their hot bowls of ramen.



My mom and I shared an order of pan fried gyoza. These gyoza were generously packed with a pork and vegetable filling. I could immediately tell that there was a lot of garlic in the filling. Although it was very tasty, I found the strong garlic flavor a bit too over-powering.

Customers are able to choose amongst two different styles of noodles; the traditional (chewier) Japanese style or the (softer) Local style. There were three different types of broths as well. The "Yataji" was the traditional shoyu based broth, "Tonshio" was the hawaiian salt based broth, and the "Paitan" was the new broth that was richer and creamier.



I had the Paitan ramen with the Japanese style noodles. The broth was unlike anything I had tasted before! It was obvious that it was simmered for a long time because the the flavors were so rich and complex. The slice of chashu on the top was so tasty and tender that I wish I ordered the char sui version of the ramen, rather than the vegetable. Next time I will make sure to try the Chashu Gohan, which is a fried rice made with the homemade charshu.



My mom had the Yataji ramen, which was also very delicious. This was more like the traditional shoyu broth that I'm used to having, but it was definitely much better!


Yotteko-Ya Kyoto Ramen
1960 Kapiolani Blvd. #214
Honolulu, HI 96826