The art of ramen: San Mateo noodle houses serve up popular bowls of broth

At lunchtime, the line at Santa Ramen noodle house in San Mateo is out the door. People fill the tables and chairs crowded into the tiny restaurant, slurping ramen and chattering, while others wait to be seated. The line moves quickly and customers at the front file into chairs while others join the throng at the back.

The scene is a far cry from 1986, when owner Kazunori Kobayashi moved to the United States from Japan.

"In Japan, there are noodle houses everywhere,” he said. "When I came, there were not many around here.”

Kobayashi had worked in several restaurants in Japan, including noodle houses, and his friends urged him to open a ramen shop in San Mateo. While the food is a staple in Japan, few Japanese prepare the labor-intensive soup at home.

"In Japan, nobody makes it. Everybody makes instant,” said Kobayashi, laughing.

So, taking his friends’ somewhat self-indulgent advice to heart, he opened Santa Ramen 17 years ago to an instantly devoted customer base.

The key element in ramen is the broth. Tonkotsu Ramen, the most popular dish at Santa Ramen, involves simmering pork bones for two and a half days before adding noodles and toppings, including more pork.

"We make our broth using pork bones,” said Kobayashi. "Then we put noodles and different toppings with it.”

The toppings vary from pork, bean sprouts and green onion, to bamboo and seaweed.

Sunny Su, a regular customer, sampled a variety of dishes before settling on her favorite, miso.

"I like the miso the best,” she said. "I come quite often. The texture of the noodles is very good, also.”

Originally located on B Street, Santa Ramen moved several years ago to a larger location in the shopping center at the corner of 20th Avenue and El Camino Real to accommodate the increasingly large number of devout customers.

In April, Kobayashi opened a new noodle house, Ramen Dojo, in the old location. Devoted to spicy, or sutamina, ramen, the restaurant displays the menu on a blackboard hung on the wall. Customers choose between extra spicy, regular spicy or mild spicy variations of soy sauce, bitter pork or soy bean ramen. As at Santa Ramen, the pork flavor is by far the most popular.

"We can make it mild for young children,” said a waitress who didn’t want to give her name, "but most people like it spicy.”

If the equally long lines at Ramen Dojo are any indication, the spicy ramen shop is destined to become a local favorite like its older sibling, Santa Ramen.

If You Go:

Santa Ramen

1944 S. El Camino Real (at 20th Avenue), San Mateo; 344-5918; open Monday, Wednesday to Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., closed Tuesday.

Ramen Dojo

805 S. B St. (near Eighth Avenue), San Mateo; 401-6568; open Monday, Wednesday to Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m., closed Tuesday.