Kiwami Ramen

miss this place, we ate here at least once a week or more.
Sudden closing was a surprise to us, new location or closed forever?

This is my 2^nd review of a ramen shop. Unfortunately, this is my 2^nd review of a fave ramen shop that closed. (My fave shop in Hawai’i used to be Japanese Ramen Kai which shut down last year.)
Kiwami was my go-​to place for tsukemen. Their Spicy Tsukemen (medium spiciness, noodles served hot) was a Saturday ritual. It was an addiction. I was so disappointed to find the doors locked this past weekend. Bummed.
Will continue to dream of this place. Always dreaming of ramen…

All good things must come to an end, and it seems like this is especially true in Hawaii’s restaurant industry. Sadly, Kiwami Ramen will be serving up its last bowls of ramen tomorrow (¹⁰⁄₂₄). So hurry on down and get your last bowl of ramen or tsukemen and say good-​bye to one of Hawaii’s best ramen-​yas.
My hope is that they will be like Michael Jordan and come back for a third run, but I won’t hold my breath.

The service here was very friendly. The ramen noodles here were legitimate and broth perfect. The gyoza I also recommend.

Our first choice was to go to Gomaichi Ramen. Apparently they are closed on Sundays. Luckily my hubby found this place. The waitress and food was great. I heard that black sesame ice cream was good so when I saw that on their menu I didn’t hesitate to order it. Man it was so delicious!!!

Goma Miso shouldn’t taste like pure peanut butter, but it did. .. Tsukumen ramen shouldn’t be so oily and bland, but it was…
My friends and I came here last night and it should have been perfect ramen weather since it was cool and rainy. We walked into the restaurant at 7-​ish PM and we were the only ones there. The restaurant started to fill up as we ate our meals, but really though, I don’t have much to say.
I really wanted to like Kiwami, I really did! But the broth was so bland, both ramen broth and tsukumen broth. On the bright side, the noodles were a good heavy portion and the egg was great! But unfortunately, I will not be returning to Kiwami. I just don’t like peanut butter ramen or bland oil dipping soup. I had to load up my tsukumen with chili powder and pepper! I’ve been drinking so much water today (the next day) to try and cleanse my body of all that pepper that I took in!

It used to be in the Waikiki shopping center, they now moved to a place near by Ala Moana Mall. Exit from Nordstrom men shoes department, walk straight across the street and look for Kiwami ramen on 2^nd floor.
Pork serves here is legit, it’s thick cut, marinated and tender. I love this place, will always come back when I am in town.

I love ramen! I’ve been loyal to agu ramen, but what brought us here was meeting a friend at Wal mart. We planned to go to gomaichi but it was closed so we made our way a block further and found kiwami! I’m glad we did because I loved their ramen noodles. And the complimentary rice with charsiu! I went the basic shoyu ramen. They come either in large or regular! And the large is HUGE. The regular felt like a large. They also make three different gyozas — original, pork, and seafood. I want to come to try their tsukumen! Very well done, Kiwami!

I had the large miso ramen here and it was HUGE. The broth was really rich and full of flavor. I also had a side of 6 gyoza and they too were very large and for $ 5.99 I thought it was a good deal. They even threw in a free mini chashiu rice, which was nice of them. I would come again here.

The waitress said that the two most popular ramen are shoyu AO and goma miso. I tried the goma miso because it has peanut butter and that sounded interesting. I liked how the peanut butter added to the thickness and savoriness of the soup. The noodles were good and the waitress was helpful and friendly. We also ordered gyoza, which were very tasty. The only downside to this place is that they don’t have AC and it was super stuffy. Both desserts looked yummy, but I didn’t have room for them. I’ll have to come back and try! My boyfriend got the shoyu ramen (I think) and I was surprised at how fresh tasting the soup was; it tasted almost like homemade chicken soup. I’d like to try that ramen next time.

Had lunch here with a friend yesterday.
Of course, we had ramen. He gave this place a very good recommendation, and thus we went.
I would say the price is fair, and maybe I didn’t order it right. Spy ramen is just tastes funky for me.
Will still like to give this place another try sometimes.

Good ramen!
I enjoy the AO ramen, which is a shoyu base with a nice serving of mizuna.
Don’t forget to get a stamp card. 10 ramen = 1 comped ramen

Remember that one year when ramen shops were popping up like crazy? ohh wait a minute, that’s still going on now… oops
Kiwami was apparently in Waikiki and moved out to Keeamoku a while ago… I’ll estimate about ²⁄₃ years ago? Since then, this place has always been on my list of ramen places to try but I just never got the chance to see what the fuss was really all about. Sooo now fast forward a year or two later…
I’m on a ramen craze… no, not craze… I’ll say ramen obsession. About once a week, I always eat ramen. I see my Man-​Friend about once a week, so usually that suffices for date night. (I’m a simple, cheap date! Lucky guy i tell you!) Also, lucky me that he’s not a picky eater too!
At a change of plans last minute, (seriously, it was sooo last minute where it was 655pm and we needed to be somewhere at 7pm) he reminded me of this place I kept nagging him to try out. So glad that he listens and remembers my nagging when it comes to food! There is no greater feeling ladies when you know your man listens to you, and it’s about food you’ve always been wanting to try!
Parking was a little sketchy… This older gentleman who was at the entrance of the parking lot said it’s $ 1 to park in the lot for restaurants, however when we gave him a $ 20, he was scrounging up for change to break the 20… If you’re the lot attendant, who I’m just going to assume has been there for quite a while now, asking your wife whose sitting on the side waiting for you to get off work for change… that’s uhhh questionable. Nonetheless, that didn’t stop us and made our way up the stairs, excited of this ramen shop. Small, yet cozy shop, the waitress was definitely friendly and very knowledgeable of the items they offered. Since we’re always having hot ramen, we went different and decided to try their Tsukemen with the spicy dip broth and another with the miso dip broth. Both were very plentiful and full of flavor. The noodles were cooked perfectly chewy and didn’t clump together! It was my first time ever trying Tsukemen and i must say, other places have their work cut out for them! We ended with their black sesame, which wasn’t a huge portion but definitely packing the quality in every bite. Topped with kinako, it just ended the meal so nice. The price is very reasonable and affordable and so far from lacking in quality or quantity in noodles.
So glad I got to try this place… and now is in my top ramen rotation picks!

It was my first time eating here since they moved from Waikiki and I was excited to finally revisit the great food.
Parking can be a challenge in the building due to the limited spaces and parking on the street is even more challenging but once you get past that eating can begin.
Service was as good as i remembered and was warmly welcomed. The ramen was fantastic. The texture of the noodles was cooked perfectly and the flavor of the soup was just right. I loved the slice of pork in the ramen.
The vegetable gyoza was ok, guess I prefer protein in it.
I ordered the Yuzu sorbet for dessert and it was awesome. The combination of citrus, sweet and slightly bitter so good.
With so many places to eat at and so many other choices I am already looking forward to another visit here when they come up in the rotation of places to eat.

This restaurant is deceiving. As you pull up in front of their building a laser projection of the restaurants marquee and pics of ramen dishes appear on the wall like a vegas hot spot. You enter and the feeling of hip, modern, urban, cool kind of leaves you. The ambiance inside is not welcoming, service is ok, not warm. The cushions that you sit on need cleaning. Definitely cleaning of the brown food and oil stains.
The food taste ok, but not exciting or fresh/​new. Nothing really shouts come again.
The dinner ware is really nice.

On a rainy blustery day, Kiwami Ramen comes to mind as a nearby cozy place for a hot bowl of silken noodles and savory broth. Only, every time I’ve been there, it’s been hot and humid weather, go figure!
Among the ramen shops, what makes Kiwami distinctive for me has to do with the noodle texture (good bite), taste of the broth (the miso broth was light and not too salty) and the serving portion (ample). And, I have to say, I just like the homey hole-​in-​the-​wall atmosphere and being able to chat with the owner like you were just invited in to her house.
The dipping noodle dish also is a surprisingly refreshing ramen choice, and the sesame seed ice cream was a richly satisfying finish to the meal.

Kiwami Ramen is located across the street from Walmart on Keeaumoku next to Panda Cuisine. There is parking below the restaurant and there is an abundance of street parking on Keeaumoku.
I had heard some good things about this restaurant and the pictures looked so good, however I left a bit disappointed. I tried the tsukemen and the miso ramen, but both were just «okay». The tsukemen dipping sauce wasn’t that flavorful as I expected and the noodles didn’t stand out. The miso broth wasn’t bad, but again the noodles were nothing that great. One interesting thing is that the gyoza is baked, which I assume is healthier for you, but I would rather have the gyoza fried and crispy than be a little less healthy haha.
I really wanted to like Kiwami Ramen, but it was only just okay. It wasn’t bad, but just unmemorable. I would rather go back to Santouka Ramen to get my fill of noodles.

Kiwami ramen is located on koreamoku across the street from Walmart. I think there is a parking garage under the building that it is located in, but I was lucky enough to find street parking. Yay for loading zones after 6pm!
We had come because my mother wanted to get her bonus united airlines miles through mileage plus dining. Woo! Great for me: free dinner! We had a little issue since my mother was under the impression that united doesn’t recognize transactions processed on a digital device, like an ipad. You know those stores that swipe your card on an ipad like thing? They don’t swipe your card on a normal credit card transaction thingy plugged into the wall. I guess it makes it more hip and high tech, but the transaction goes through a third party and I guess sometimes United doesn’t recognize it. The waitresses handled the situation really well, great service!
The ramen is just okay. I got the specialty dip ramen. The dipping sauce wasn’t very good and the bamboo shoots tasted a little funny. I tried my mom’s Ao ramen and liked it a lot better, lots of fresh veggies and the soup was flavorful. I had the yuzu sorbet for dessert and it was Ahhhhmazing.
With so many ramen places in the area, I’m hoping this place stays in business. I’ll come back for the chicken ramen and yuzu sorbet if I’m in the area and am craving healthy ramen.

After conducting a not so impartial ramen challange (Santouka, Agu, and Kiwami) I have established a ranking system based on a couple of key points that are near and dear to my heart… parking and desserts.
Please don’t stop reading.
Here’s what I think you need to know:
#3. Santouka. LOVE the kara miso, HATE the parking. The red bean covered Ohagi is soooooo good! Save room for dessert! No tsukemen.
#2. Agu. The best gyoza! Love the Hakata style noodles in my spicy kotteri tonkotsu. BIG BIG parking stalls. No tsukemen.
#1. Kiwami. Because I’ve officially fallen in love with tsukemen. The spicy sauce is awesome and the portions are generous. Kiwami’s charsiu rice is really delicious and complimentary during lunch. There’s a parking lot underneath and it’s right around the corner from City Café where they serve up super yummy Taiwanese shave ice and bubble drinks. No contest.

I know, «to each their own» but I really feel like I need to stand up for this place! I truly feel that this is one of the better ramen places because the broth and the noodles are better than any of the other places. Top 3 for sure! But that’s my opinion. I am a loyal follower from when they were in Waikiki since I used to work in Waikiki. And funny enough, I now work in the Ala Moana area and Kiwami followed me there (har har).
LOCATION
Next to Crooks on Keeamoku. Park downstairs, walk up. Super convenient location compared to Waiks. Sometimes they have workers who stand on the street passing out free drink coupons. Oh, and sometimes Midweek has coupons, too!
ATMOSPHERE
It doesn’t seem much has changed from when it was an udon place, but there’s a lot of tables. Comfortable atmosphere.
SERVICE
Kinda slow, I admit can be better. They are nice enough and don’t have too many working at a time. This was the case when they were in Waiks, too, so I kind of expected that haha.
FOOD
All the standard ramens are BOMB (shoyu, miso, shio). Note that the noodles are thinner than other places, which I personally like better. I like them a little softer vs the «al dente» noodles at some of the other places. The broth is rich and smooth.
— TSUKEMEN /​DIP NOODLE: Not too many places have tsukemen, and I don’t know why! The noodles are a little thicker for this, and the dipping sauce a little more salty because you’re meant to just dip the noodles in and not drink the soup like how you would with a regular ramen. I like that you can choose the noodles to be warm or cold, and spiciness. I tried the shoyu the last time and thought it was amazing like the rest of their food.
— PICANTE: I used to loooove this. I still do. But unfortunately for me and my allergies to chili pepper, I can no longer eat this. Sad face. I liked that it is soup-​less, just noodles mixed in a spicy sauce, topped with some greens and char siu, and mayo on the side. Oh, and it comes with a slice of pineapple! Random, but I think it was a nice touch.

With the flood of new ramen shops popping up around town, it’s really hard to keep up with them. It’s almost confusing trying to remember all of them and reading which ones are fellow Unilocaler’s favorites! We all have different tastes and expectations. For me, personally, having been able to try ramen in Japan, it gets even more confusing! It’s so much different there, but there are a lot of shops here that closely mimic the shops in Japan. Kiwami is a shop that previously had a location here, but recently opened up a new shop in town. For those of you who are familiar with Tsuku Tsuku Tei, Kiwami opened up in their former spot on Keeaumoku St. There is a small parking lot downstairs, which by the way, I’ve always been able to find a spot. It’s a pay lot, but the restaurant will validate and it’s a reasonable price.
The menu is pretty straightforward and easy to understand. Basically three different kinds of broth– shoyu, miso or shio. They also offer Tsukemen or dipping style ramen where the noodles are served separate from the soup and you «dip» the noodles into the broth. They have three combos for those who wish to add a little variety to their meal. I ordered the Shoyu Ramen with Charsiu rice combo which also comes with a small green salad. It’s very satisfying and the price is reasonable. Oh, we also had an order of gyoza, which I didn’t think was anything real special, although it was tasty. They give you this dipping sauce for the gyoza which I didn’t really care for.
As for the atmosphere and service, it’s a fairly roomy place for a ramen shop, nice surroundings. Service was quick and friendly, our waters were always filled and the servers came by several times to check on us. I like the location, like I mentioned earlier about the parking downstairs, there are also lots of options to park around the surrounding streets. I enjoyed my meal here and on the particular evening I was there, I was surrounded by four of my favorite women! How lucky can a guy get! :) I’ll be back, that’s for sure!