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Ryujin – Sacramento, CA – Excellent Ramen & Customer Service!
Kuro Tonkotsu Ramen with black garlic oil, a soft boiled egg, mushrooms, and cabbage
Spicy Miso Ramen with BBQ pork, corn, green onion, and a soft boiled egg
I like this place. The ramen is tasty and the customer service is excellent. I had to go twice to get a solid opinion. Please read carefully.
During my first visit, I had the Kuro Tonkotsu Ramen. The broth was pork based and the ramen came with a black garlic oil, bbq pork, a soft boiled egg, and cabbage. The black garlic oil was what made it interesting and flavorful. I found the broth to be tasty and the noodles had a perfect texture. My friend and I both appreciated the fact that the egg, mushrooms, and cabbage were included without an extra charge. Shoki tends to charge for extras so Ryujin gets some bonus points including the egg, mushrooms, and cabbage without making me pay extra for it.
During my second visit, I had the Miso Ramen. I asked for them to make it spicy. It came with bbq pork, corn, green onion, and a soft boiled egg. The broth was good but it didn’t quite have the depth of flavor the Shoki’s Miso Ramen has. I would say Shoki’s Miso Ramen is slightly better but only because it seems a bit richer and that’s what I like. It’s really a matter of personal preference.
I know everyone in Sac is going to be comparing Ryujin to Shoki and to be honest, I have trouble comparing because the broths are very different. Shoki’s broth is richer and my favorite at Shoki tends to be the the Tan Tan Men. Ryujin has a lighter broth that is very tasty and the best ramen I had at Ryujin so far is the Kuro Tonkotsu Ramen. I like the fact that Shoki lets you specify how spicy you want your broth (Mild, Medium, Spicy, Very Spicy). With Ryujin, they don’t really ask you how spicy you want your broth but I was able to ask for my Miso Ramen to be spicy and they didn’t charge me any extra.
So here is my final verdict straight up (with pros and cons of Shoki and Ryujin laid out):
-Shoki is better for Shoyu or Tan Tan Ramen because the broth is richer.
-Ryujin is better for the pork based broths such as the Kuro Tonkotsu Ramen.
-Both are very good.
-Ryujin has far better customer service. I mean it. My water got refilled 4 times. Every person working there greeted me with a smile. We were greeted when we walked in, and when we walked out both times. I felt really taken care of both times I went to Ryujin. When I go to Shoki, I get the feeling they just want me to hurry up and finish my bowl. Also, Shoki isn’t great about refilling your water.
-Ryujin gives you more bang for your buck and tends to include things that Shoki would charge you a dollar extra for. By this I mean that Ryujin didn’t charge me extra for the corn, mushrooms, and egg and I know for sure that Shoki charges a whole $1.50 extra for each extra non-meat thing you want to add that isn’t in your bowl. Shoki charges you $2.50 more for extra meat. Ryujin also gives you the option to have double noodles for $2 more and double soup for $1 more. So for $3 you get a double meal.
-It really comes down to whether you like miso or pork based broth better, how much you value good customer service, and if you care about paying for extras.
If you like Shoki, I’d say you should give Ryujin a shot. I can honestly say the ramen is good (and I’m a ramen snob) and the customer service is better than Shoki. So I won’t say Ryujin is the best ramen I’ve ever had but I will say it’s the best place in Sac for ramen with pork based broth. Try the Kuro Tonkatsu Ramen at Ryujin!
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