I’m sure I’m not the only one cranking up the heat in the early morning, bundling up in warm sweaters all day, and craving mightily a big bowl of steamy ramen as the sun sets.
So, it’s no wonder that I found my way recently to HiroNori.
Named for friends Hiro Igarashi and Nori Akaska, they opened their first location in Los Angeles in 2017. Two years later, it was even mentioned in the Michelin Guide. It now boasts 16 locations throughout California, including three in Silicon Valley: Cupertino, San Mateo, and Santa Clara.
It was the latter location that I visited on an early weeknight, where a steady stream of folks getting off work, as well as delivery drivers, were picking up to-go orders.
It’s no-cash payment with a 20 percent service charge is automatically added to your tab.
Don’t let the tarps on the walls deter you, as the place is getting a new interior paint job in the coming days. The dining room may be pretty bare bones, but it’s done up in stylish, wooden slat stools at blond wood tables.
HiroNori makes its own noodles, stocks, and sauces, and it shows.
With the ramen, you can choose thick or thin noodles. Chili sauce, which has a good kick along with a little sweetness a la sriracha, is complimentary, as is an addictive garlic sauce, creamy and whipped like Lebanese toum.
My husband went with the tonkatsu ramen ($17.90) with thick noodles. The opaque broth had a deep porky taste without being overly salty or greasy, which sometimes can be the case with too many other ramen joints.
The noodles were bouncy and supple. Two juicy, fatty slices of chasu garnished the bowl, along with spinach, green onions, bean sprouts, seaweed, and half a soy-sauce egg.
I went with thin noodles with the shoyu ramen ($16.90), made with a 2-year-old barrel-aged shoyu in a chicken broth that had a restorative poultry taste, along with a subtle roasty note. Again, it was not greasy or salty tasting, which I really appreciated. There was the succulent chasu, the sweet bite of green onions, silky spinach, bamboo shoots, daikon radish sprouts, and the half egg.
You can also add extras to any bowl. I opted for the broccolini ($2.50), which added three al dente stalks with crispy-edged florets. I loved the crisp-tender texture, but just know that the broccolini can taste a little oily, owing to the fact that it is most likely thrown into the deep-fryer for a quick cook.
The crispy chicken ($10.50) more than lives up to the name, arriving hot, tender, juicy, and crunchy on the outside with the taste of garlic and soy.
While HiroNori does offer pork buns, why not try something more out of the ordinary instead? The eel tempura buns are priced the same, too, at $9.50 for two or $14.25 for three.
Inside the soft clamshell bun, you’ll find a lacy, battered and fried piece of unagi that yields with no resistance, decked out in pickled onions, crunchy cucumbers, and a squiggle of sweet, thick, and savory hoisin sauce. Have one, and you might just order another.
HiroNori also offers an assortment of rice bowls, and even a cold spicy dipping noodle, which sounds like just the ticket when summer rolls around.
Coming Friday: Revved Up For Ramen, Part II: Kisetsu Ramen Pop-Up at Michelin-Starred Cyrus