Taiyo Ramen

Family owned. always smiling and service is the best in the west!!! Always always get the Kim Chee Homemade to your tummy yummy

This is one of those open late spots to go when you got the munchies or the drunchies. I been coming here for years & the food is pretty consistent.
LOCATION: next to Nijiya market on Piikoi. Next so Cho Dangs & Payless right by Ala Moana. There’s a parking lot but it gets crazy packed so there’s always parking at the mall & you can walk over.
FOOD: they have many ramen options and one or two udons. They also have beef curry or chicken curry. Their FRIED RICE and KIMCHEE fried rice are really good and filling. The RAMEN is okay… The noodles are cheap like the ones that come in instant ramen, which I don’t like. Broth is decent but could use more flavor. Not many toppings but the CHA SHU that comes on top is so ono. What I do like here is thee GYOZA. Gyoza here is pan-​fried and the filling is yummy. You can order 4piece or 6piece.
DRINKS: I’m pretty sure they don’t sell alcohol here, just standard soft drinks.
SERVICE: typical service where they take your order and after they drop the food they don’t come back to check on you at all BUT the waters never go empty so they are attentive, just not friendly. Which isn’t the worst thing ever. One thing that irritated me was when I was eating, a worker was collecting all the ichimi off the tables to refill and consolidate but when my food came and I wanted to add spicy pepper I had none and could not flag a server. Oh wells
PRICING: pretty deals, everything fills you up and if you’re not super hungry you can probably share most entrees with someone else. Today my cousin got a katsu curry, I got a tonkotsu ramen & 6piece gyoza and the tab was around $ 26, not bad at all.
I’d say this is place is worth a try if you’re in the area and looking for somewhere to eat, but I wouldn’t make plans to go here and I probably wouldn’t recommend it to others.

This is our «go to» place for dinner especially when during days when we have long hours and have no time to cook :)
Great variety of ramen. Recommend the chicken katsu! We also like the ox-​tail.
They keep the place clean, well-​lit. It’s not a very big place but it’s comfortable enough. Quite difficult to maneuver a stroller through (especially the jogging stroller) but we manage. It’s entertaining to watch the Korean tv program during the meal. We’ve also taken food out and they wrap the food very well and quite securely (even with all the broth and sides).
Staff is very quick to respond and friendly! We almost have our stamp card filled to get our free entrée! Don’t forget your stamps! Overall, would highly recommend this place… enjoy!

Taiyo is one of my go-​to Ramen places. The food is consistently good, their Kim-​Chee Fried rice is great (all of their fried rice options are really good). I am a big fan of their Katsu as well, nice thick cuts of chicken with a crisp crust. Nice staff, good prices.

Chicken katsu curry hit the spot
Mapo tofu rice was good, but different. Not your normal Chinese mapo tofu flavor…
Gyoza was good.
I would give it 3.5 stars

What we ordered: the chicken katsu ramen, the Gomoku ramen (full of vegetables and a slice each of fish cake and pork), and a six-​dumpling order of gyoza.
The Good: Very generous portions at a fair price; tasty soup, noodles, dumplings, and katsu; prompt, cheerful service. Katsu and gyoza were expertly fried; noodles were suitably al dente — not overcooked.
The Bad: Both broths were fine, but not especially well-​seasoned (some of you may prefer them mild anyway, but we tend to like our flavors bold). Also, we missed out on the chance to order the fabulous, generous looking chicken katsu curry. We were regretting it as soon as we saw someone else’s being delivered. :-(
The Ugly: The parking lot is nuts. We showed up about 8:20p — well past dinner — and had to wait until a spot opened up. Are you kidding me?
On the whole, this was good enough for a repeat performance. I would have given 3.5 stars if that were an option.

I’m not sure what I could say about this place that hasn’t already been said.
Do you love ramen? Do you love chicken katsu? Most importantly, are you eating on a budget?!? Then this is the place for you!
Taiyo Ramen is one of my favorite cheap eats. Most items are about $ 10 and the portions are generous (I usually save half for lunch the next day). Like most people who come here, I almost always order the Chicken Katsu Curry with a side order of gyoza. They go perfectly with the complimentary side of kimchi (which they should really bottle and sell in stores). If you need to get warmed up, you can get spicy with their kimchi fried rice or fill yourself with any of the ramens.
The only downside is the parking lot. Taiyo Ramen shares the limited lot with Payless Shoes, Eggs n Things, Chodang, Nijiya Market, and anyone else who dares to park here and walk across the street. It also gets busy between the hours of 6pm-​9pm. I recommend making a pick up order (ask for your Chicken Katsu on the side, so it stays crispy) and eating in the comfort of your home.
Also, don’t forgot to get your stamp card filled. Collect 10 stamps and get a free entrée (up to $ 8)!

*Location: Near Ala Moana’s Niijiya Market, Eggs N Things, and Payless Shoes.
*Hours: Opens as late as 1 am.
*Customer Service: Good. It is kind of short staffed though in the front so it can get busy.
*Clean and small restaurant
Food Review:
«Shoyu Ramen» ($ 9)
The broth tasted average and was garnished with bean sprouts, pork, fish cake, and white onions. It wasn’t the worst or best, it was pretty standard and average. It was a good place to go after my friend and I saw a concert late at night. (³⁄₅ stars)

Good eats. So many different ramens to choose from. Their shrimp fried rice is delicious! Prices are reasonable and cheap for their location so close to Ala Moana Mall.
It’s kind of small hole in the wall place. Food is very tasty and portions are pretty big. They have a stamp card which is cool. They also have a TV. Service is very quick so coming here on my lunch is very convenient.

1. VERDICT/​VALUE
Hungry? Come here for decent food served quickly at a reasonable price :) My go-​to place for a quick ramen bite; recommended!
2. FOOD
A ramen place run by some nice Korean folks; you’re consistent, honest-​to-​goodness food here!
On this trip, I had the Gomoku Ramen ($ 10.50): a light, shio/​salt soup base with noodles covered by onions, corn, seeweed, half a boiled egg, a slice of char siu, green onions and bamboo shoots. Yes, I wish there was more than one thin slice of fish cake, but it’s good and tasty!
For an extra $ 3.50, one can get a mini pork fried rice — strangely addictive as it’s got enough ingredients and oil to taste good… as a chaser to your ramen!
3. SERVICE
Need to eat right away? Food is consistently served pretty quickly and the service is reasonably professional. Korean-​speakers would feel at home here.
4. ATMOSPHERE
It’s a home-​y place: nothing special, but it’s cozy, clean, and offers Korean television programming on the big LCD TV. Morning visitors will usually be treated to a group of Korean folks hand-​making the gyoza in the restaurant (which are good by the way!). The parking lot (free of charge) is of a reasonable size but always full based on the supermarket and restaurants nearby.

Date Visited: ¹²⁄₁₇
Parking: Smallish lot considering there are more than a few establishments in this little area. Note: I think you can park near Bloomingdale’s and walk through. We used to do that before the renovations so not sure if that has changed.
Service: Fast! We actually did take out but didn’t make a phone order prior to arriving. We got in and out in under 10 minutes, even though there was a wait.
Food & Pricing: I saw some people saying that the fried rice is $ 8-​$ 8.50 but I paid $ 10, so, maybe the price went up? BUT I don’t mind because it lasted me for dinner and then my bf and I had the rest with eggs the next morning for breakfast :) good deals!
Final Verdict: die to fast service, good portions and proximity to where I live, this’ll be my go-​to kimchee fried rice place :)

(4.5 stars)
It was a ramen kind of day (although the weather wasn’t in agreement. Never is.), so we decided to eat at Taiyo Ramen for a quick lunch. So convenient! You can park at Ala Moana, shop a little (or a lot), then walk on over to Taiyo, which is adjacent to Chodang and near Nijiya Market. The shop is a bit small, but it’s comfy and service is pretty good.
We ordered the curry ramen and yakisoba, and both were very tasty! The noodles were really good, and the portions are generous. Only wish the restaurant was a little colder. it was already hot walking over to Taiyo, and that combined with the hot ramen was like a double whammy. Oh well. The ramen was still yummy!
Definitely hope to return to Taiyo. It’s been featured on KBFD (all about those Korean shows haha), and having tried it, wouldn’t at all mind coming again!

I didn’t enjoy this place as much as my bf did.
Everything about this place is awesome — they open late, great customer service, LARGE portions, and inexpensive!
Maybe I ordered the wrong things or been spoiled by the ramen places back home (Bay Area, California) but the Miso Ramen I had wasn’t as great. It is lighter and didn’t feel as heavy, but I didn’t enjoy the soup. My bf ordered the Shoyu Ramen and it tasted slightly better than mine. We also ordered the Pot Stickers, which was one of the best I’ve had.
I would probably come back to try something different — maybe the popular Kim Chee Fried Rice or the Mabo Tofu plate.

Came in tonight because my friends were feeling cheap. I hadn’t been here in a few years, but I remember it being a bit better before. My friends said that it wasn’t worth it to order ramen here, but the Mabo Tofu was good. I ordered the Mabo Tofu Ramen (spicy) hoping to find a happy medium between the two. When we ordered, the waitress tried to get us to order gyoza and ended up walking away with a disappointed and slightly irritated sigh when we didn’t. The service all went downhill from there.
While waiting for the food to arrive, we noticed a sign posted to the wall saying that due to the weather they were temporarily not able to serve kimchi. We concluded that lately it’s been too hot or rainy for halmoni to leave the house and make more – pretty tragic.
The food finally arrived, and mine was pretty bland. There was basically no meat in the sauce, and for being owned and operated by Koreans was surprisingly lacking in spice. I ended up just pouring a ton of gyoza sauce inside which made it slightly better. The noodles were also gooey and stuck together which was a little off-​putting.
The funniest part (it’s always funny when it’s not you) was when the waitress came by to refill water multiple times. She first came by, «more wataaa?» One friend said no. Chinese one said yes. She just looked at him and walked away. Second pass, she refilled everyone’s water except his. Korean racism at its finest. Looks like the staff here has been hanging out with the notorious Chodang ladies next door.

Came here for lunch today and it was packed! We were seated and served pretty quickly.
Tried the following:
— gomoku ramen, added wontons — would not recommend the wontons! Maybe I’m spoiled by my moms? But they were barely filled and the taste of the meat inside was slightly off-​putting. The ramen bowl itself was HUGE and I barely put a dent in it. I did like the abundance of veggies it had.
— chicken curry w/​pork fried rice — RECOMMEND. The curry flavor is perfect, the chicken and carrots were tender, and the rice has a nice sesame aroma to it that ties everything together.
— gyoza — RECOMMEND. Perfectly seared on the bottom side and the filling was moist and flavorful.
.Also agree with other reviewers that the kimchi is yummy!
Minus the wontons, this place was good. Would go back for just the curry.

I always order the chicken katsu curry plate. Their curry always tastes great but one time I picked up my food, walked back to work to eat & when I opened my plate, there was large chunks of beef thrown in with my katsu! & the katsu was dry & old! Every single other time I’ve ever been here, it’s been great. Hence the reason for the 4stars & why I keep returning. A coworker of mine told me its the opposite for him. He’s only had one or two instances that there ISNT different meat mixed into his order. I’m not sure how or why this happens but in all honesty the beef was tender & tasty the one day I got it. Maybe I should change my order LOL. Also, if you’re a fruit punch drinker like me, you might wanna just get a soda here. I find that the fruit punch is too watery for my liking.
The workers are just the right amount of friendly; acknowledging & greeting customers as soon as they walk in the door & thanking them as they leave. I hate walking into any store & not hearing any greeting until you are right up at the counter, in the person’s face.

Taiyo has been one of my go-​to ramen shops for years – since way back when it was located in the strip mall that got torn down to make way for Nordstrom. I’m no ramen aficionado, but I like their variety of dishes, of which ramen is just one selection. It’s a fun location to eat with a friend or two, or even a relaxing break from a solo shopping marathon.
First off, I’ve always had friendly and efficient service from all of the Taiyo waitresses. The restaurant is clean and very casual – most of the wall space it taken up by a flat screen TV and very efficient split-​level air conditioning (it’s CHILLY in there, which is great if you’re eating steamy ramen) – there’s nothing fancy about the surroundings and the tables are packed in pretty tightly, but the food is what I’m there for.
Some of my favorites:
Kimchee
Kimchee Fried Rice: huge portion, and heavily flavored with delicious sesame seed oil. Warning: if you smell somebody else’s order of this, you’ll wish you had some, too.
Gyoza: nice and garlicky – always have to add and order to my meal
Miso ramen: I’m always amazed how easily those noodles slide right down
Mabo tofu: comforting and not too spicy. You can have your mabo over rice or over ramen
There are tons of other menu items, and a few months ago, I saw a sign announcing that they have oxtail soup. I think I’m due for a visit!
Tip: As I mentioned, the tables are packed in pretty tightly. If you’re dining with a person in a wheelchair, this could be a mobility issue.

When you’re drunk after a night at the club in the area and want to load up on carbs, this is one of the spot to go as they open late night til 3am to satisfy those saimin cravings. Although because its summer, I try to not eat anything hot because it already is hot as it is outside. But when you’re intoxicated with alcohol, all I wanted was soup and nothing like a good bowl of ramen will do the cure.
We were parked in ala moana coming from a night of rumours to club hop to the district. But my friend and I was too out of it to go to the club so we decided to walk ourselves to taiyo ramen on a saturday evening at 1 in the morning. Surprisingly there were quite a few people in there enjoying some late night munchies. We were seated quickly and ordered right away what we wanted. I got the kim chee ramen and idk if it was only because I was drunk that it tasted so darn good that night. But I don’t doubt it as I’ve eaten here before but it’s been a while.
They offer a wide variety of saimin dishes and rice dishes that will probably make you sit there a while thinking what the heck you’ll get because there’s so many choices. The ramen portions are pretty huge though and for like $ 7-​$ 9 on a bowl, that’s pretty worth it if you want a quick fix for ramen. Friendly and quick service was provided that night even at the wee hours of the night, it was a decent experience.
They have one of the best kim chee dishes that I’ve tried here and their gyoza is tasty as well. A recommended spot for all you ramen lovers. I mean it’s not no fancy smanchy ramen that you’ll get like those other japanese places but the choices here are considerable. You can also get different types of sides and extra toppings to personalize your preference in your dishes.

When it comes to ramen, let me tell you… I can be a harsh critic. Saimin and ramen noodles by far has to be one of my favorite meals. That may be due to the pure fact that I am full Japanese or something… I’m not entirely sure, but I’ll literally eat it any day at any time. Today was the perfect night for some hot noodles. The weather was rainy and chilly and I needed a warm pick-​me-​up.
My boyfriend told me «lets go eat some ramen.»
«Where are we going?» I asked him,
He didn’t let me know where we were driving and only responded with directions as if we were going to Eggs ‘n Things. We arrived at the parking lot and I was confused on whether or not Eggs ‘n Things really sold ramen… Tyler laughed at me and led me to the side into Taiyon Ramen. It was a cute little shop.
The menu was easy and simple. There was quite a bit of choices too. I saw that they had a chicken katsu ramen on their menu… Anything with the word katsu in it… IM THERE! Literally I couldn’t ask for a better combination. I even asked them for my katsu on the side and they put it on a separate plate and gave me a side of sauce. Our food came our fairly fast as well.
The first bite of my ramen was amazing like usual. I had a shoyu ramen because I had the katsu on the side. My BF got curry ramen and we shared a size of gyoza (like always.) Mmmm and their gyoza was pretty bomb as well! It was the perfect amount of crispy and juicy and went great with my ramen. The noodles also weren’t too chewy which can sometimes be a problem at other places. Our server was also attentive on filling up our waters and making sure we were doing all right. With our ramen came also came a side of kimchee. It was pretty good, but I’m not a big fan on spicy foods so it wasn’t really for me.
I was also impressed that their bathroom was super clean! That’s a plus to know that they take maintain the bathrooms.
We made a good choice on coming to Taiyon Ramen tonight. It was very yummy, even though I couldn’t finish all my food. They gave us a huge portion for the amount we paid. It was a perfect end to a cold and windy night. I’d also like to say thanks babe for paying

Tuesday March 3, 2015 I was asked by Mel B on where do you want to go after HOMESTRETCH. I told him that I was hungry for ramen and suggested Taiyo Ramen near Ala Moana Shopping Center. I needed something to warm me up since I was getting the chills at The Arts at Mark’s Garage.
We arrived at Taiyo Ramen and was greeted by the employees. The menu was already placed on the table before we sat down. I ordered the shio ramen and the 4 piece gyoza. Mel B ordered the saimin with shoyu soup base.
When my bowl of ramen came out I noticed it was loaded with bean sprouts and one piece of char siu meat. The ramen bowl also came with a side of kim chee. I still have to get used to of eating yellow noodles. Once the gyoza was delivered to the table… I grabbed a piece with my chopsticks and took a bite. It was still hot from being cooked.
My previous visit to Taiyo Ramen I had ordered a wonton ramen and I also received a stamp card.
If I am ever in the area after Ala Moana Shopping Center is closed at least I know there is a ramen shop opened late at night.