Dohatsuten Ramen Tapas - Palo Alto

We shared a tonkotsu ramen and the pumpkin croquette and shiro-maguro tataki appetizers. The ramen was delicious and well-cooked (chewy noodles, fresh veggies, and great “jelly” egg). That was a 5 star. The kabocha kurokke was okay (4 stars) and the tataki meh (3 stars). On a previous trip I recall getting the shiro-maguro ponzu don and it was very good. So I was a little disappointed. We were encouraged to eat indoors. We were told, “it’s cooler”. However I would opt for the outdoor seating in the future although it is roadside. Service was quick at the start and efficient through meal delivery.

We wanted a hole in a wall place to have lunch while in this area. We looked up this place ahead of time and headed over here after our morning activity. Has their own lot and two men and women restroom located outside in their parking lot. Indoor and outdoor seating. We opted for indoor and the man who checked us in got us a high chair for our little one. Lamented menus and the decor is very outdated and homey. Service is a minimal which we are perfectly fine with. The food took a while to come out even though we arrived shortly after they opened at 11am and it wasn't overly busy. Yaki Onigiri $6.95 (2 pieces. Grilled rice balls, soy sauce butter flavored, no filling Well done. All three of us were able to enjoy this. Came out pippin' hot! Dohatsuten Ramen $16.25 (Spicy garlic minced pork, shredded chili, chashu pork, stewed taro pork, cabbage, carrots, green onions, chives, bean sprouts, nori seaweed, half egg My husband's. He enjoyed it. Taro Pork Ramen $15.95 (simmered tender pork belly, green onions, bean sprouts, spicy bamboo shoots, nori seaweed, half egg* extra noodles. We both got ours with Tonkastu broth. Unfortunately, I felt like the broth was spicy. I don't like spicy and we came with our toddler in which I was sharing my noodles with. I can eat spicy but it doesn't make my dining experience enjoyable. My pork belly was soft and delicious. We won't be coming back unfortunately as I don't want to be surprised by a spicy broth. Price point is good.

Met up with a friend at this sweet, humble ramen spot in Palo Alto. It 's a good thing she said that the restaurant was pretty unassuming from the front because I otherwise would have missed it. Anyway, it was quite busy for a rainy Wednesday afternoon ~1.5 hours before closing. There was a waitlist but it looks like my friend and I got here at a good time. Overall, the ramen spot itself was very quaint and inviting. We sat indoors because of the rain, but it looks like there was some outdoor seating up front.For dinner, we shared the Hokkaido Pumpkin Croquette (YUM! Highly recommend). The pumpkin flavor was so strong and felt so comforting. I wish I knew how they were able to get the perfect crunch with such a soft, decadent sweet potato filling. For my entree, I got the Taro Pork Ramen with the tonkotsu broth plus some spicy minced garlic. I haven 't had taro pork before, so I was pleasantly shocked at how sweet and tender the meat was. I 'll probably opt for pork belly next time because I love salty overload, but I was very happy with my choice. I think next time, I 'll choose the spicy miso broth. Always good leaving a ramen shop smelling like... well... ramen. Will have to come again to check out their other offerings.

I live close by, so my parents get food here a lot :DMy favourite dish is the curry don! It's what gets me to come back every time.One thing I've noticed, however, was the decrease in the ramen's quality? It used to be better. I don't know.

Ramen broth was mostly tasteless and watered down. The meat was decent.Chicken Karage was decent, but came Luke warm.Fish was not fresh and tasted rubbery.Food: 1/5