Pledge allegiance to Japanese noodles at Ramen Nation in Lehi
Pictured clockwise from back left are the Miso Ramen bowl, the Karaage Don rice bowl and the Curry Ramen bowl at Ramen Nation in Lehi.
The Karaage Don rice bowl, with extra chicken, is served at Ramen Nation in Lehi.
The Veggie Miso ramen bowl at Ramen Nation in Lehi.
Pan-seared Gyoza is served as an appetizer at Ramen Nation in Lehi.
The Kids Bowl at Ramen Nation in Lehi.
The Miso ramen bowl at Ramen Nation in Lehi.
The Miso (left) and Veggie ramen noodle bowls at Ramen Nation in Lehi.
My wife’s sudden pronouncement was sincere, if not totally surprising.
“This is so good,” she stated during the middle of our weekend visit to Ramen Nation in Lehi, “that I could eat 10 bowls.”
I begged to differ.
Not because it wasn’t good enough to make the attempt, mind you, but mainly because I am familiar with her penchant for exaggeration. I best not belabor that last point — she does read these reviews after all — and continue with my own commentary.
We stopped by Ramen Nation on Saturday evening. Things were slow at first, but proceeded to really pick up closer to 8 p.m. Orders are placed at the front counter, and then the food is brought to your table.
The restaurant was clean and inviting, with seating at various tables for just over 80 people. There’s an outer “U” shape to the seating layout, featuring bench seating on one side and movable wooden cube seats on the other. A series of tables inside the “U” and also against the outer wall were barstool-style, with wooden block seats on top of metal posts. It created a cool visual.
One big mural featuring a Japanese woman and a steaming bowl, surrounded with lots of Oriental writing adorned the main wall, and windows provided a natural backdrop to the other two main sides.
The servers at the front were helpful in explaining the menu offerings, which focused heavily, naturally, on a variety of ramen noodle and rice bowls, with a handful of appetizers and salads also available. They were also willing to sub in or exchange ingredients in the orders upon request — something which was great for the pickier eaters in our group.
We had only been sitting at our table for a few minutes when our orders began arriving.
I am pretty much the only person in our family that cares for curry flavoring and so my eye immediately went to the Curry Ramen (which is also the most expensive item on the menu at $13). This proved to be a great choice. The curry broth was deliciously savory and came with several slices of fried chicken breast, green onions, bean sprouts and one-half of a hard-boiled egg.
Many of the ramen bowls come with the half hard-boiled egg, which, as one of my daughters pointed out, were a perfect fit inside the provided soup spoons. (Maybe that’s the point?)
My second favorite dish was the Karaage Don rice bowl. This comes with marinated fried chicken, with rice and a house sauce served with bok choy and spicy mayo. The fried chicken was prepared with a perfect level of crispness and tasted fantastic. Mixing it with the other ingredients only enhanced the total flavor package.
The Miso Ramen, obviously a staple, was excellent, and the broth offered an ever-so-slight kick. It came with slices of charshu (braised pork), green onions, bean sprouts and half a hard-boiled egg. Very tasty.
We sampled an order of Gyoza for an appetizer, and the plate came with five potstickers and a dipping sauce. You can order them fried, steamed or pan-seared. We opted for the latter and they were readily finished off by our group.
In addition to traditional fountain drinks, there are some specialty bottled drinks available. I went with a Huberts Watermelon Lemonade and it was absolutely awesome. Other Huberts lemonade options included raspberry and blood orange. There also were some green tea variations and chocolate milk available.
For dessert, Ramen Nation offers macaron ice cream sandwiches. There are five flavors normally available: mango, strawberry, vanilla, green tea and coffee. When we visited, however, there were only the latter two flavors remaining, neither of which appeal to us in general, so we passed. Perhaps on a future visit.
If you’re looking for quick, delicious ramen, then, like my wife, you too may pledge allegiance to Ramen Nation, and file it under “good.”
RAMEN NATION
Where: 3370 N. Digital Drive, Lehi
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, noon to 9 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sunday.
Prices: $3-$13
Info: (801) 341-8902, ramennation.com