Getting good ramen in Cleveland is tough. To get a decent bowl, you have to take a roadtrip to Columbus. Now, I don’t necessarily mind the roadtrip, since I can stop at the Japanese grocery store and bakery, and now Ikea. But every now and then, I wouldn’t mind going down the street instead of driving for 2 hours. So, when I heard about a ramen pop-up, I sent my husband to stand in line.
The origins of the ramen is questionable. I was always under the impression that it came from China, but there are those who believe it originated in Japan. Around the 1950s, the name ramen became more widely used. At the same time, instant ramen noodles became readily available, allowing families to eat it at home. Although, there’s a wide variety of ramen these days, the main ingredients remains the same – broth and noodles.
Now let me tell you about this delicious ramen pop-up. Back in December 2017, we tried Mason’s Creamery Ramen 
Pop-up for the first time and it was delicious! My son and I waited in our warm house, while my husband stood in line, outside in the cold. But I’m pretty sure he thought it was worth it. I had never had ramen from a pop-up, so I was really curious to see how we were going to get it. It’s actually pretty cool. They give you one container that includes the noodles, egg, sprouts, etc. And another container that includes the broth. Then all you have to do is combine it!
So first, the broth (the backbone of every ramen). Their broth was salty, fatty, and full of flavor. “Fattiness” may be a odd description for broth, but it’s so necessary when it comes to ramen. It’s the type of fattiness where your lips shine like you just applied lip gloss after your slurp up the noodles. For those that have never eaten ramen or have never had good ramen, that description may seem gross, but it’s not. It’s kind of like your fingers getting shiny/buttery after you eat a nice flaky croissant and I’m sure that doesn’t gross you out. Nonetheless, Mason’s broth had good flavor.
Next, the noodles. Noodles are actually a lot trickier than people realize. And in the case of this pop-up there’s the added factor that it may not be eaten right away. For us it takes 20 minutes to get to/from Mason’s Creamery. I think they have actually done a pretty good job with their noodles. It had a nice firmness that allowed the broth to seep in just enough and we were able to make that nice slurping sound as we ate it. It’s the fabulous slurp that you will hear in every ramen joint in Japan, but would be definitely be frowned upon here in the US.
Each of the toppings in our tonkotsu ramen added a nice touch. The pork was sliced just thick enough. And although, I’m generally not a fan of fatty meat, the fat on the pork melted in my mouth as I ate it. The egg white portion of the medium-boiled egg nicely soaked in the broth. When the egg was cut open, the yolk was just runny enough where some ran into the broth while the slightly firmer portion added a bit of sweetness to the egg.
My husband, son, and I are all looking forward to the next pop-up. We may even try the vegetarian version and get some of their ice cream!
