Cleanse your palates and join us on another chapter of the Ramen Saga. Today, we are revisiting the Tiger House Hibachi & Ramen. Caleb and Mohan join me once again for another lovely evening of ramen and camaraderie. Tiger House is another location that we’d been to in the past but decided to revisit for a fresh review.
First Impressions
From the outside, this appears to be a rather posh place, for a strip mall. All of the shops here are granted a certain level of apparent status due to the sleek and recent construction of the main buildings and the general location. Tiger house is surrounded by a variety of salons, tutoring centers, and other restaurants, perhaps we will revisit some of these other places in the near future! The Tiger House uses a clean font and a minimalist design to their logo that gives them a very modern look. However, when you go in the front door, you are greeted by a very different ramen atmosphere!
The Establishment
Pink! The walls are adorned with pink details, glossy tiles, and artificial greenery. The ceiling has a large glittering crystal chandelier, the music is also very modern. It’s all so different from the usual ramen experience. In my search for traditionalism, I’m not sure if it’s my favorite styling but it is certainly striking. It gave me the impression that this restaurant used to be a salon, however the staff suggested that they have been here for a few years now so there has been plenty of time to make the decorations their own if that was the case. Instead, I think on it as a kitsch and bold design choice.
It honestly felt to me like this place had previously been a nail salon. The color palette, the glittering effects, the incredibly bright lighting. It was much brighter in this establishment than it is in most ramen shops. The music, a selection of pop songs, was also paired well with this bright color palette. A selection of relatively modern songs played fervently over our meal. The main dining area was well arranged however the facade fell away rather quickly when one rounded the corner to visit the restroom. Several tiles were missing from the walls, and staff tables are visible from the hallway too the lavatory. The bathroom itself was about average. Nothing terribly off-putting or notable about it. Rather uninspired decorum within.
The Menu
Moving on to the menu itself, I was pleased to see a more traditional printed presentation available for the three of us. However this menu sorely lacked in organization and was downright confusing in places. Some items were not even displayed on the correct page in an effort to fill up negative space. An oddity that stood out to me was the way the boba page was titled, implying all of the teas contained boba when only a few actually did. The menu also did not mention desserts at all, perhaps there was a separate menu for those. Astute visitors would notice that the menu was repeated on three screen above and behind the main counter. This seemed to be aimed at takeout customers, and I felt it was an odd choice to use televisions for the menu when it didn’t appear that the items changed very often. As I understand, TVs are very cheap these days and likely have a lower front end cost than a custom sign. again, no desserts mentioned. I brought this up to the guys, noting how much space the various menu sections took up on the screens.
Notably, the menu sold Yummy sauce on its own. Normally it would come with a serving of Yum Yum balls (Takoyaki). They must have either had a lot of demand for the sauce or are very proud of it, they would send you home with a jug of it if you asked!
First Course - Drinks and Appetizers
While we got ourselves situated, we began our meal with some drinks and appetizers. It’s here that I should add that the staff was especially patient and helpful. The waitress took her time helping Mohan work out a non-dairy option for his drink and meal. However, I was a bit remiss to discover that we had been given forks, and I had to ask for chopsticks. I suppose that fit in line with the more modern approach of the establishment. Mohan suggested that it was an effort to meet a more casual crowd. I conceded the thought, especially considering other aspects of the restaurant. Thankfully the waitress brought the appropriate implements over for us, and we had our first course in short order.
We had ordered a selection of milk tea, takoyaki, fried squid tentacles, and katzu chicken. A delightful start to the meal, though it was a small adventure navigating the disorderly menu. I ordered the Passion Kumquat tea with lychee boba, Caleb had the strawberry moon boba with strawberry jelly, and Mohan decided upon the mango paradise with strawberry jelly sans diary. I found my drink to be delightfully sweet and tangy with a refreshing overture and pleasing texture. This was my first boba experience, and I found that it didn’t offend the palate. It was smooth and I noted the ‘popping’ experience I’ve heard people rave about before. Caleb found his strawberry moon to have great flavor without being overfly sweet. Mohan had a similar retort for his drink as well. The fruit slices in both of their drinks provided a pattern of color and texture.
Surprise Lemon!
Delightful beverages
We had a moment to catch up over our drinks. Mohan had been dealing with some back issues as a result of his work, and Caleb’s advice had been doing a lot to help alleviate that. You may recall that Caleb works as a physical therapist, and he is looking to expand his practice in order to further satisfy his growing client base and to spread his knowledge of the human body to a greater audience. Mohan has been seeing success in his workplace, receiving a new promotion with greater benefits and compensation. However this has brought a lot of upheaval to his schedule and has him at the desk more often than not. Ramen has a way of bringing people together, and I think I like that most about our conversations.
Now that the appetizers have arrived, it was time to break out the chopsticks and get acquainted with the first course of the Tiger House. The Katzu chicken was probably the group favorite. It was paired with a delightful katsu sauce, giving it the namesake. The crunch in the breading was satisfying but not overpowering. It hit the palate like a traditional southwestern fried chicken, alongside the sauce I didn’t feel far from home. Fried squid tentacles accompanied the chicken, and they had an interesting presentation. I felt perhaps they had a little more of the body included than I would have liked, but it was still a good dish. The meat was a bit tough, and there was a sensation of umami alongside the crispy shell. The paired sweet chili sauce was tangy and goes well enough, however the dish was much preferred with the “yummy” sauce which smoothed out the flavor. The dish was slightly overcooked which attributed to the toughness, but provided a more satisfying crunch as a result.
Katzu Chicken
Fried Tentacles
Yum Yum Balls
Finally we had the “Yum Yum” balls, the Tiger House‘s take on Takoyaki. This was the usual far for ramen and wasn’t particularly stellar on its own. Very little octopus within, having a stronger emphasis on the sauce and the batter. The batter was sweet and creamy, but the meat was chewy and tough. A truly clean blend of the two textures is difficult, but I still wasn’t terribly impressed by this dish.
Second Course - Entrees
As we finished our appetizers, the time came to order our entrees. While we worked out the details of our dishes, Caleb recounted his recent trip to New York to Mohan and I. He showed us plenty of photos of the farm that he visited where a friend of his grew and sold sunflowers! There were plenty of pictures of sunflowers, farm equipment, and hummingbirds. He had recounted various locations he had visited with his daughter on the trip, including an old mill overlooking a waterfall and the local farmer’s market.
The waitress came by again, and we ordered our dishes. There was some deliberation on which dishes to order, especially since the house special broth featured milk, which wouldn’t work for some of our party. Mohan eventually decided on the seafood ramen special, and Caleb had the miso. I made the choice to build my own. After taking photos for the blog, it was time to dig in! It’s at this point in the dinner that the conversation quiets down a bit so that everyone can enjoy their meals. Kanpai!
Build Your own Tiger is the house version of build your own ramen. There were a variety of ingredient choices available, and I decided to go with the Tiger Yellow broth, ramen noodles, chicken breast, fried tofu, Ikurage (wood ear mushroom), bamboo shoot, egg, and seaweed. The broth is so creamy and smooth, I actually had wanted to come back to the restaurant for the broth alone. It’s reminiscent of other creamy curries I’ve had from different Asian restaurants. The spice within creeps up on you, but isn’t unbearable or overly powerful. There seemed to be a bit more noodles than the average place, though not as many as that one restaurant (Link). The egg was a little less creamy than I am typically accustomed to, but it paired well with the other ingredients. I enjoyed the dish. Though I might have gotten even more ingredients, it was quite filling.
Some Delicious Dishes
Mohan proudly told us that it was nearly the 13th anniversary of his emigration to the United States. Congratulations were in order! Inspired by Caleb’s tales of his trip to the farm in New York, he recounted some of his days in India on his grandfather’s farm. Fondly recalling those days back home. It’s interesting to hear more about the building blocks of society and economy abroad.
When we saw the waitress again, we inquired about the desserts. Apparently, they do not have any desserts at all, answering the question as to why the menu did not include any. Such a strange restriction for an otherwise satisfactory establishment. Mohan joked about the boba tea being their dessert several times in the meal, and it looked like he was right!
Final Thoughts
While this wasn’t the best ramen experience I’ve had, the place has excellent dishes and drinks. If you’re looking for a lengthy traditional experience, you may want to look elsewhere. However the food here is good enough to warrant coming by, and the unique styling can either be off-putting or a real draw for some. It’s a sight to see either way. I’d say come along for a quick dish. The restaurant seems geared towards an extremely casual dining experience. Either order takeout, or expect to have an expedient dinner.
