Ramen Quest: Ganso Ramen

The first time I tried Ganso Ramen was February 2013, so therefore a revisit was necessary. I heard mixed reviews regarding Ganso Ramen, so I wanted to see for myself if the ramen was as bad as everyone I know says it was. I came here with my old colleague and Will, since both still work nearby in Downtown Brooklyn.

The ramen shop was quite large, more spacious than your average traditional ramen joints. It's very modern and chic with random Japanese posters and a chalkboard hanging on the wall. Service was on point and servers were friendly and attentive, but those are probably the only positive notes about the experience.

Japanese Fried Chicken

I ordered the Japanese Fried Chicken ($9.00) which is quick-fried and boneless and comes with a yuzu-mayo dipping sauce. I was little disappointed that it was only four pieces for $9.00 and I've also had better Japanese Fried Chicken in other ramen spots.

Will and my friend Wesley detected a little bitterness in the fried chicken which created a red flag and addressed it to our server. Our server spoke with a chef and the chef offered to make another one for us. 

Sizzling Gyoza

We also ordered the Sizzling Gyoza ($9.00), but it wasn't sizzling when it arrived to our table. I looked back on my review of Ganso on Yelp and there was definitely a $2.00 increase on the gyoza and the way they served it is different from what I had three years ago. The gyoza was cooked correctly and had good flavor and juices, but still $9.00 is a lot for gyoza.

Tonkotsu Ramen (Hakata Style)

Will ordered the Tonkotsu Ramen *Hakata Style* ($17.00). It's a rich, creamy pork broth with thin, straight noodles, roasted pork belly chashu, half egg, greens and extra flavors of sesame and roasted garlic. His ramen looked a lot better than mine. I tried his ramen and the broth is indeed rich, but salty and noodles were okay, but definitely not al-dente.

Tonkotsu Ramen (Kagoshima Style) 

Wesley ordered the Tonkotsu Ramen *Kagoshima Style*, slightly different and similar to Will's ramen. The only difference is that the broth has garlic and soy sauce.The toppings and noodles are all the same as Will's. Wesley is used to eating salty foods, but to him this over the top salty. He also had two beers to wash down the salt.

Braised Short Rib Ramen

The Braised Short Rib Ramen ($16.00). It's a deep beefy broth with thick Sapporo noodles, Hatcho miso-braised beef short rib, half egg, and greens. Honestly, I wasn't a fan of the braised short rib ramen because it was extremely salty which ruined majority of the ramen. However, at least the short rib was tender and moist.

The noodles were slightly wavy and overcooked in my opinion. 

I thought after three years maybe the food would be different and it was different, but not in the way I had hoped. Everything has gotten pricier and definitely saltier. We were all very discouraged from the quality of the ramen,and sad to say we won't be returning to Ganso.

Service: 85%
Food: 50%
Taste: 40%
Likelihood to return: 45%