Minizō

Minizo is CLOSED. I went there today and was told by another cart operator that it closed about a month ago and Ken went back to work for Shigezo.

I had ramen here for the first time today, despite living/​working so nearby. I ordered the shoyu ramen. It was just okay. The broth was kind of bland. I didn’t get the impression that there was a lot of time invested in it. The noodles were just okay too. I didn’t like that it was served with a lid on top. Just sped up the process for overcooking the noodles.
I’ll probably keep coming back though, because Yuzu is too far.

I can only attest to the vegetarian ramen. It’s the best I’ve had. I used to think Hapa was the best until I tried this one. The broth is much more rich and flavorful, however Hapa is better toppings and a lil cheaper. Also, Minizo gives you way more noodles than Hapa. Both are great, but Minizo takes the cake in terms of broth and noodle portions. Hapa wins with their toppings that come with it (Minizo you have to add and pay extra, so I didn’t…)

I have been to Shigezo many times and Maru a few times and have had great food and great service at both. Unfortunately, not true of this location.
Tonight we stood for many minutes waiting for the fellow inside the cart to acknowledge/​greet us as we stood in front of him while he prepped ingredients. He wasn’t working on an order. And we waited and waited and…
Not only was the «service» disappointing, the ramen was only so-​so, and I’ve had the same ramen at the two brick and mortar restaurants, and it was great. The soft boiled egg in my ramen was actually raw, the white of the egg translucent. Bummer.
While I waited for my order a father with his child waited, and waited and waited for the chef to at least acknowledge him. No luck. The poor fellow walked off to find another cart to eat at.
I will not return, which is too bad, because this location is close to my home.

The ramen is GREAT. this would be a five star review… EXCEPT: every time I try to get ramen (during their posted hours mind you) they are closed. I was able to get ramen here once and the guy did live up the posts: total douche. That being said, the ramen was great, and I promised myself I would not only go in more frequently but I would tell everyone I know about it…
Only problem is they are closed every time I swing by. They’ve got short enough hours as it is, but now I’m not sure if they’re ever open??? If you’re feeling like ramen skip Minizo (since they’re probably closed) and go downtown to their actual restaurant Shigezo.

Hmmm, not sure why all the great ratings? Maybe I caught them on a bad day. Guy working was totally a dead rock-​ignored me while I stood there, as if I was bothering him– which would have been ok IF the ramen had been good. (I wasn’t there for his company)
Broth wwwaaayyyy too salty and not much other flavors, which made the noodles hard to enjoy.
Ahhh, if only I were back on the islands… Sunshine, beaches, and real

Best ramen bowls I’ve had, Not that I’ve had many, however, better than the sit down places I’ve been with similar reviews. Friendly owner, hot and very tasty order on a cold Portland day.

Disappointing. A long wait for a bowl of Ramen.
It was okay, noodles seemed a bit undercooked. The quality was okay not outstanding.
My workmate and I each chose to eat from a different vendor. He was completely done chowing down and ready to go, then I got my ramen.
Shoulda ate my lunch I brought from home, but I wanted to support a local business.

Noodles had kind of rancid cooking oil taste to them. Quite strange. The chasu was quite good and broth was alright.

Judging from several of the other recent comments about the fellow running this cart, I became a bit more assured in my own assessment of the place. If we were to go just on the food and execution, Minizō would probably get 4 stars. The fellow looked every bit the part of the ninja warrior whirling around, this way and that, prepping all that hot, delicious porcine, eggified ramen. No complaints about the delivery, and the «sides» of kimchee were enormous and added a very pleasing zip to the palate to contrast the understated elegance of the ramen broth. Score!
A few more words about the service, but just a few. Again, several commentators have covered this area fairly and adroitly, so it would be merely redundant to dwell here for long. If you wanna be charitable, you could say the guy has a dry, sarcastic personality. If you aren’t feeling quite so generous, you might read him as condescending, maybe even disdainful toward his customers; as hard-​boiled as the many eggs he dumps so effortlessly and perhaps even heedlessly into his many noodle dish concoctions… Hey, not everybody’s cut out for customer service, but if you know that to be true of yourself, wouldn’t you be doing yourself and everyone else a favor by flowing more to your strengths.

I should have waited before writing an angry review, but I’ve decided to keep it simple, and just say that the service and quality of Minizo leaves much to be desired.
I experienced more than rude service by the guy working at this cart, for no reason other than the fact that he was an asshole to everyone he talked to, at least that I witnessed. I’m not going to be the one who doesn’t say anything about it.
I hope the owners of this cart realize that some of the employees working at this location do not care about customer service.
On top of it all, the food was particularly flavorless. I had the Shoyu Ramen, and I was disappointed with the bland flavor of the ramen broth.
I won’t visit this cart again, and I do not recommend it, based on poor service and unremarkable food.

Porky ramen goodness. Had the shoyu ramen; I highly recommend it. The broth is deep and porky; the noodles are chewy, and fresh made daily. Char-​siu pork that was added on top was delicious… I just wish there had been more of it, as there was only one medium sized piece. The hard boiled egg was perfectly done. Can’t wait to go again and try the shio ramen.

I had Shio Abu-​ramen, and it was really good. The noodles were thin and straight but still chewy — just the way I liked. The kinpira gobo topping tasted very authentic and was as good as I remember from Japan. In addition, the bowl came with a lot of bean sprouts, green onions, and tofu.
The sauce was quite flavorful and not overwhelming. I once tried Abu-​ramen at their previous Alder location and was not crazy about the «burnt» flavor of the sauce, but the sauce tasted much better this time.
The staff was also very helpful explaining the difference between the menu items.
I would definitely go back for the very satisfying lunch costing only 7 dollars.

The food cart guy was not very nice.
I had asked if the ramen stock had seafood (dashi, which is bonito) in it and he didn’t even look up at me and said it did. I hate giving 2 stars, but it’s kind of embarrassing to see someone run a ramen cart with such apathy and disdain! Maybe the guy –hopefully not the owner– was having a bad day, but he sat on a chair with his leg resting on another chair in the dining area under the tents while people went up to the cart and looked at the menu, and he didn’t even get up to help them.
So, if you have seafood allergies or are vegan, you won’t be able to eat at this cart.
The guy also had no suggestions on what other items they had that I *could* have eaten. It was kind of a bummer to get the crappy response I did when I saw all the other food cart cooks smiling and answering questions and offering food suggestions to their customers.

OH SO GOOD. Visited on a early Saturday afternoon. Ordered the Shoyu ramen and loved every single thing about it. The broth was rich and delicious, the noodles were perfect, soft boiled egg was to die for, though I gave my pork slice to my comrade, he said it was fantastic. I was surprised that I nearly devoured the entire bowl, it definitely kept me full for most of the day as well.
I ordered a bowl of the ramen with just the sea salt broth to go for a friend (can’t remember the name.) About 15 minutes later the noodles had soaked up a lot of the broth giving it a different consistency than ours fresh from the chef. However, he said it was fantastic and loved every ounce of it.
I’d go back again today if they were open still… my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Eating ramen in a German pub? Sure! Why not? The cart is right outside of Prost!, which could allow for some interesting German-​Japanese cuisine fusion. Too bad the shuyo ramen I had was pretty average. It’s all about the broth, man.

Location, customer service, price, noodles and the tender slice of pork are all top notch. But the shio broth needs improved individuality. Boke, Murakutei & Biwa are individualistic, and I have several more to check. In Japan culture criticism is avoided, but continuous improvement is not.

Awesome ramen I love their tonkatsu ramen here. It costs less than if you buy it at the restaurant. I heard in the summer they might have takoyaki. Broth was flavorful and noodles were cooked al dente.
All ramen dishes are cooked to order. Owner was very friendly and made helpful suggestions on what to order. While this carts isn’t izakaya quality ramen it’s good enough for a ramen fix. Best of all they open in the morning when none of the izakayas in town are only open during afternoon.
I would come here again if it wasn’t so far away from Beaverton. Would love to try thier other menu items too.

I have a love/​hate relationship with this cart. I love it because it’s so incredibly, heart-​wrenchingly, dream-​inducing-​ly delicious. Flavor perfection. So where does the hate come in? It’s so far away. But lord knows I can’t stay away, so gas money be damned, I’m going to have me some delicious ramen. Vegetarian options for us vegheads that do not disappoint. Incredibly friendly cart-​chef. Goodness all around!

Cute little cart with great Ramen.
The Shoyu Ramen is some of the best Ramen I have had outside Japan! The price was pretty good, and the size means it could easily have been two meals. I couldn’t help but eat it all at once though.
One warning though, it is salt-​a-​licious. So, if you don’t like salt or are on a low sodium diet, then the Shoyu Ramen is not for you. I’m sure the other food is delicious as well. I’ll let you know after the ext time I go back !