Pop-Up restaurant is all the rage in SF thanks to the success of Mission Street Food (it has became a permanent restaurant). These pop-ups are usually held in abandoned building in the gritty area of Mission. I was introduced to another pop-up called Ken Ken Ramen, from the owner of the Lower Haight/Mission clothing store Revolver (you’d see him arriving on a bicycle sometimes). The story behind this ramen joint involves a Tampopo-sque quest for ‘how-to-make-the-best-ramen.’
It operates on Thursday and Sunday night on the corner of Mission and 18th for now.
The Gyoza is beautiful. However it looks better than it tastes, I found the stuffing is a bit mushy for my preference.
Karage. Light and tender, very good!
The $11 miso flavored Ramen. Wow the broth is rich and dense with pork bone flavored. The slow cooked egg is perfectly runny, the vegetables are fresh and the pork is incredibly tender, flavored and juicy. You can tell this is a bowl of ramen made with high quality ingredients and lots of love. The noodle has just the right texture. I didn’t feel sick afterward like some overtly oily and salty ramen does. I got pretty addicted to it and went back 3 times already. I heard that it used to cost $13 a bowl, but since people complain too much they lowered the price a little bit.
Not on the regular menu: Coffee Jelly made from SF’s local popular Ritual Coffee. A perfect palete cleanser to the wonderful ramen.
It’s a fun place to be with a decent selection of beers and wine. Pop-up always have unpredictability: will they be able to keep up the quality?
Ken Ken Ramen
twitter.com/KenKenRamen
2199 Mission St (between Sycamore St 18th St), San Francisco, CA 94110
