Went to the Tokushima do-Henkotsu Ramen restaurant yesterday for dinner. It is located in a little mall on Saratoga Avenue near Hwy 280 in west San Jose, right next to the Mitsuwa Marketplace. We’ve eaten here before, but wanted to introduce a friend of ours to this place.

We got there a little after 6 pm – traffic was pretty bad as it was rush hour on Friday – but we were able to find a table. The place is even smaller than Ramen Halu. Lucky we got a table right away because people who came after us had to wait.

Tokushima-style ramen is different from normal Tokyo-style ramen. The noodles are more like spaghetti noodles than regular ramen. The broth is really special though – very dark and rich with lots of pork flavor.

I got the “Negi & Niku” special – it comes with more shredded green onion and more chashu pork. Their pork is really wonderful. Instead of dry loin meat, they use fattier pieces – almost like bacon. So delicious.

We also got a side order of chaofan (fried rice). There’s something really special about this rice that I can’t put my finger on. It is so good, you can’t stop eating it. I also like that they put pieces of pickled ginger in the rice.

Although I think the noodles at Ramen Halu are better, the prices here at Henkotsu are better. My special large bowl was $8.50. AND, they take Visa or MasterCard (Halu is cash only).

Aloha, Nate