Hot ramen on a temperate day. We tried this recently rebranded Columbus restaurant
Lately, I’ve been craving some good ramen after watching too many cooking videos on YouTube showing tonkotsu ramen. I decided to stem my cravings by going to one of my favorites that recently went through a rebrand.
Red 8 Kitchen was formerly known as Mizu Ramen before being rebranded after it came under new ownership. I used to DoorDash ramen from Mizu whenever I was not feeling well, but this was my first time actually being in the restaurant.
The restaurant was beautifully elegant inside, with a darker and calming theme. But the weather was too good to stay indoors, so visual journalist Mike Haskey and I decided to eat outside before summer descends on Columbus bringing sweltering heat and mosquitoes.
I decided to order the Tokyo Hot Ramen, which is made up of pork broth, pork chashu, green onions, black garlic oil, chili oil, seasoned egg, spicy paste and thin noodles. I decided to go with the “spicy” heat level, and ended up adding some more of the provided chili oil to my dish for more heat.
The dish was very flavorful, with a hint of garlic from the black garlic oil followed by the slight heat of chili oil. The green onions added a fresh and earthy flavor.
The pork chashu was delicious and similar to bacon, with a smoky flavor with less saltiness. I don’t believe I’ll be catching a fly with chopsticks anytime soon, after dropping the pork chashu in the broth at least three times while trying to use them.
My favorite part of the dish was the rich flavor of the pork broth. The full-bodied flavor of the broth reminded me of the healing feeling of eating homemade soup while sick as a child.
The egg rolls were amazing, and had a very satisfying crunch with every bite. If you don’t order egg rolls when they’re on a menu, are you actually living life to its fullest?
Mike got the soup dumplings combination under the dim sum portion of the menu. For those not familiar, these dumplings are stuffed with hot broth on the inside, requiring you to poke a hole into the dumpling to slurp out the broth before eating the dumpling.
The restaurant conveniently provides instructions on how to best eat the dumplings on each table. Mike seemed to enjoy each of the different flavored dumplings, which included pork, chicken, garlic, spicy, crab and truffle.
The portions were large and provided two meals for me. I’ve been known to down eight hot dogs in a single sitting, which means filling me is an impressive feat.
So, if you’re in the mood for ramen or just want a good meal, head down to Red 8 Kitchen for great food and service.