New Japanese Restaurant in Foster City Makes Headlines

One Foster City restaurant in particular has been receiving a lot of regional attention lately - .

The Japanese ramen noodle restaurant, located at 495 Beach Park Blvd., just opened in January, but word has been spreading quickly about the small, 40-seat joint.

KQED's local foodie blog, "Bay Area Bites," featured the Foster City Restaurant in one of its posts recently as one of the only Japanese restaurants outside of San Jose or San Francisco that serves okonomiyaki, a grilled dish some call "Asia's version of the frittata" or "like Japanese pizza."

"This newer Japanese spot may focus on ramen, but it's their other dishes on the menu that are both tastier and more interesting," wrote Bay Area Bites blogger Elaine Wu. "Their okonomiyaki is bold and chock-full of ingredients. It’s drenched in more brown sauce and mayo than I’d like, but it has a load of flavor and texture with its abundance of cabbage, pickled ginger, and bonito flakes on top. And it’s not too doughy either, which is a good thing. It’s served pre-sliced, so it feels like you’re eating a very exotic pizza."

Ramen Taro also received an appreciative nod from the San Francisco Chronicle recently.

Chronicle writer Mandy Erickson called Ramen Taro's food "inexpensive, simple and satisfying," and recommended many of the restaurant's non-ramen dishes, all the while encouraging diners not to skip the appetizers, which she called "some of the best dishes" on the menu.

"There are fried noodle and fried rice dishes, pancakes filled with vegetables and meat - even a Scotch-egg-like creation that employs pumpkin instead of sausage," Erickson wrote.

One of Erickson's favorite "standout" dishes was the Buta kakuni, or "stewed pork belly."

"Four generous slabs of luscious meat, imbued with lightly sweetened soy sauce, are paired with stewed daikon radish, a mildly bitter vegetable that cuts the pig's fattiness," she described.

All in all, Foster City's Ramen Taro seems to creating quite a name for itself on the Peninsula, both from food critics and bloggers alike, as well as from everyday patrons, who have logged nearly 60 reviews on the restaurant's Yelp.com page.

"This place deserves five stars for their five-star ramen and awesome service!" wrote Yelp reviewer Belle V. from San Francisco.

"I am so happy to finally find a ramen noodle restaurant near our home," wrote Yelp reviewer D.F. of Foster City. "Love the ramen noodles, and the fried chicken wing appetizer is awesome! My family really enjoys this place."

Ramen Taro is located at 1495 Beach Park Blvd. in Foster City. Call 650-212-2883.

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