Umai

I never had the opportunity to enjoy what may or may not have been great ramen. Extremely overcrowded seating and sloooooow, slow, slow service. In a nutshell… Hipster hell. We left to eat elsewhere.

The bowls were small, the noodles plain and manufactured, and the broth not very flavorful. Eating it gave me a greasy queasy feeling. Pork was shredded (why?), mediocre and overdone: felt like it was precooked and then just added to the hot broth for residual heating.
Came here on a wet day, and the available seating felt dank. I know it’s a cart, but still. Also, ramen is supposed to be perfect comfort for such days, but this bowl did not warm me up at all.

At my favorite food cart again, can’t stay away too long. Am working my way thru the menu, everything has been absolutely delicious. Can’t recommend more highly. Only regret that they aren’t open for dinner, but happy with lunch.

Their hours are frustrating. But you can’t be mad when the ramen is this amaze balls.

This place is the best. Brothless ramen add bacon is unbeatable. Sometimes they run out of food which can be heart breaking.

The first two times we attempted to eat here they were closed due to a ramen shortage and owner’s health issues, however the third time was a charm and the ramen was def worth the wait.
The two people running the cart were both friendly and the location is pretty sweet: tucked away nicely on a alley of Hawthorne across from an Oscar Wilde mural. When we were there the Mexican truck near by was bumping some freaky-​ass techno which, I would say, added to the experience. The vegetarian ramen was bomb: the broth was light and delicious, the veggies were fresh and the home-​made ramen noodles were incredibly good: I’m still dreaming about this ramen.

Another awesome ramen cart in Portland. Even on Sundays (when they may only be open for a shorter time than other days), Umai remains a popular spot. They’re tucked in the back alley just off Hawthorne, where two other carts reside.
Simple menu here. Two or three starters (i.e. chicken karaage) and a couple types of ramen. Three different broths.
UMAI MISO RAMEN ($ 10): Hand-​crafted noodles with pickled shiitake mushrooms, steamed greens, pork shoulder, marinated soft-​boiled egg, and scallions. Hearty, delicious. Noodles right around al dente, which is how I like it. Pork shoulder was a huge winner. Add shichimi-​togarashi (free on the counter) if you need more spice.
CHICKEN KARAAGE ($ 4): Light batter on the chicken, almost tempura-​like. Goes very well with the yuzu kosho aioli.
Portland continues to add more quality ramen spots, and the panda is one happy camper.

A better ramen food truck than Hapa PDX, let’s start there! So I suggest you come here and try some ramen! I haven’t been to all of the new offerings since PDX is now ramen-​crazed but this was the best ramen I’ve had thus far in Portland proper. Most definitely the better ramen cart of the two I’m aware of.
Secondly, it made my boyfriend exclaim: «Well, I don’t have to run off to Beaverton for good ramen anymore!».
Thirdly, I’d give them 5 stars if they gave me more than 3 pieces of chicken karaage as their starter order. It’d be nice to get more ‘bang for my buck’ when I’m shelling out $ 4 on top of my $ 10 bowl of ramen — but I want to note, this is the *only* reason I’m not giving them 5 stars. I just wanted more karaage. I don’t know if I’ll order it again, but I’m honestly torn because it was the best karaage I’ve had in Portland thus far in our karaage search! The only way I’d make their karaage better — which is fried to order, may I add — is if they gave me a little side of aioli to dip the chicken bits in. It was so good. So, so good. I think what made them magic is they use potato starch/​flour instead of regular ‘ol AP which made the crust light rather than hard and crunchy.
But lastly: The Miso ramen is delicious! It was all so balanced, there was definitely enough toppings though I wouldn’t mind if they magically also offered pork belly (but I’ll take crispy pork shoulder for now!). Surprisingly, my favorite part of their ramen was how the mushrooms were pickled and also sweet. This was amazing and I really want to know how to replicate this.
Come here for some Umai Miso ramen, and if you want to give away $ 4 for the best karaage in Portland… I highly suggest it, I’ll admit it. Delicious! Great lunch.

My boyfriend and I ordered regular and spicy miso ramen, respectively. The pulled pork style meat was something I’ve never had before. I didn’t necessarily like it more than the traditional pork belly but it wasn’t bad. To date, however, my boyfriend holds that this was the best ramen egg he’s ever had anywhere.

Oh, Umai…
Oh, pardon me, i was wistfully daydreaming of a noodle bowl.
Umai is tucked away on 33^rd alley, just off the Hawthorne strip. They offer delightful veg options, and, in my experience, are happy to customize for you. PLUS, their awesome house-​made noodles … gluten-​free.
I want an Umai noodle bowl now.

Today was my first time at Umai. We came specifically to try their dumplings during Portland Dumpling Week. They featured two kinds: a lamb ($ 7 for five pieces) and a veggie ($ 6 for four pieces). We ordered one of each. They took a bit to come out… maybe 15 minutes, but they were busy. The lamb dumplings were excellent. The veggie ones were pretty good.
I love ramen, so I’ll be back for sure. Can’t wait.
What’s really great about Umai is that they care about the ingredients they’re using. They use organic produce and eggs. Awesome!

Very very good. Not an expansive menu but what they have is great. I tried the Shio Ramen, and damn was it good. Broth was tasty, ratios were dank, and the egg was top tier. Thank you bae for giving me your egg because I want all of them. Not a whole lot of space around there to eat but we went at a lull in their day when none of the other food spots were open. GO THERE, EAT THEIR RAMEN.

Used to go Boke bowl quite often, but it always bothered me that they added sweet potatoes or squash, or whatever the hell they are in there. So glad to find this place tucked in a Hawthorne alley. So fire. I don’t have the words right now, I stopped eating to write this. Bye Boke, it’s been real.

A little difficult to find, despite the sign they put out at the intersection of 33^rd & Hawthorne. I walked past it at first, but then found it in the small corner lot. It’s kind of a sketchy area for a lone girl on a rainy night, but I really wanted to have some noodles.
I ended up ordering the Umai ramen with shio broth, as per the recommendation of the guy in the food truck. It was served with a generous portion of meat, which was crispy and delicious. The warm and savory broth were perfect on a cold, rainy night. The portion was enough to fill me up, but not make me feel gross. The picnic tables were well sheltered from the rainy, albeit not from the wind. I really enjoyed my meal and the service. They do have water if you ask for a cup.
I’d be happy to return!

Food trucks can be anywhere in Portland, even a dark alley. Umai is literally in an alley right off of Hawthorne. I tried to eat at this cart on Saturday around 6 PM. However, it was sold out. Was I upset? Absolutely not. It is a sign that it is excellent food. I went to and was dazzled by Carte Blanche nearby then came back to Umai during the afternoon on Sunday. Upon my return, I ordered the Umai Ramen with Miso Soup (Bottom two pictures). I enjoyed all the ingredients: handmade Ramen noodles, shitake mushrooms, pork shoulder, marinated egg, vegetables, and scallions. It is the first time I have seen a Ramen dish with pork shoulder. This meat is always a plus because it is tender and full of flavor. Nevertheless, none of the ingredients blew me away (e.g. the pork shoulder is very good but I cannot say it is the best I have had). The miso soup is also very good. On the other hand, it is difficult to be blown away by miso soup. My views on Ramen are that I enjoy Ramen when I eat it but do not crave it and never overwhelmed by it. Consistent with these views, the ingredients of the Umai Ramen work well in concert but do not give me the awe factor. I recommend it if you want to try a Ramen cart because it is one of the better Ramen dishes I have tried. However, there is not an unforgettable taste or element that differentiates it as the best Ramen in Portland.
If you are traveling the Portland area and looking for recommendations, please see

I’m a tad okay maybe more, obsessed with ramen! This is my fourth run in trying to find me the best ramen house Portland has to offer. I don’t give 5 stars easily but this place makes some freaking amazing ramen! For starter they make their noodles from scratch, daily! At first, I didn’t really care much about that, until I had their Umai on a shoyu broth! You can totally taste the different between homemade noodles versus store brought. I can’t quite describe it but it brings out the flavors, texture of the whole meal. The shoyu broth was perfect, tasteful and not over all salty! It was so good, I was sipping through my bowl. The pork was very well cooked, it was moist, seasoned and melts in your mouth goodness. I ordered an investigation extra portion of shiitake mushrooms. I love shiitake, I can eat that everyday. My only critic would be is, I preferred my mushrooms not pickled. Don’t get me wrong, it was great, but I feel like shiitake is a star of its own, no need to add anything more. I like my ramen savory good! I have to say though, get here a bit early on weekends. I got here during lunch time (12:30−1) and literally right after I ordered, a couple of groups came in! Service was pleasant and quick If you’re out and about, especially under this intense rainy days, this place is just what you need!

We went here yesterday for a late lunch. The place is cute and it’s nice to have music in the background. The guy that greeted us was nice and explained the different broths, which we appreciated as this was our first ramen experience. I ordered the sea salt broth and my boyfriend ordered the soy sauce based broth. Food didn’t take long at all. The pork shoulder was delicious, but I would have liked more. Also as two people who don’t normally like mushrooms, we were both surprised by the pickled shiitakes. They were bursting with flavor and delicious. The marinated egg was good too — also something we’d never tried. Overall I’d say it was really good flavor-​wise, but I would have appreciated more pork for $ 10 a bowl.

Our second time at Umai and we like it even better than the first time. I agree with some other reviewers that this food cart has some of the best ramen broth in the city. It is hard for me to decide between Umai and Yuzu in Beaverton. One a brick and mortar location and this food cart and both put out outstanding ramen bowls.
This trip we ordered the Shio (sea salt and light broth bit so flavorful) ramen and am order of chicken Karaage (boneless fried chicken) to top off the bowl.
Ramen is made house made and you can taste the difference. Shio broth was light and flavorful. Marinated egg was delicious and the fried chicken was a perfect combo with the noodles and the broth.
Will be back to try all the flavors.

I’ve now had all the broths and can feel confident in saying UMAI IS THE BEST RAMEN IN PORTLAND. Extra awesome that it comes from a truck.
My reviews are strictly for the «Umai» style, which is noodles, pork shoulder, egg, some green stuff, PICKLED MUSHROOMS (OMG!!!), and broth. There are three types of broth. Let me tell you about them!
Shio (sea salt) — I’d call this the «lightest» of the bunch. This will be my go-​to for the summer.
Shoyo (soy sauce) — Similar to the shio, but adds a nice depth.
Miso (you know what miso is, right?) — I had this a few weeks after the first two so I’m having trouble comparing it. Regardless, it was outstanding.
They also have brothless ramen (why would you do that?), some sandwiches, starters, and a few other items, but all you need is the Umai ramen.
I’ll have to revisit a few more times to really figure out the nuances of the broths. I was on a roll, but again, missed a few weeks and my memory became fuzzy.
I bowl will run you $ 10. Extra sides are all about $ 1. Drinks are $ 1 – 2.
Want ramen? Go now. If you’re disappointed, you have bad taste.

Shoyu Ramen ($ 10) — ⁵⁄₅. Definitely was skeptical coming to a food pod for ramen, but their Shoyu Ramen was amazing! Ramen had a perfect level of chewy texture, I came about a half hour after they opened so I’m sure I got a fresh batch of noodles. The broth wasn’t the traditional tonkatsu, but was a flavorful pork broth well prepared (signs of blanched and then washed bones prior to making the broth). Although the traditional chashu was swapped out for pulled pork, it was a great swap. Pulled pork was tender, but with a crispy crust. Topped with steamed veggies and half a perfectly soft-​boiled egg (no signs of overcooking, completely runny yolk).
Without a doubt, I’ll be stopping by here again to check out their shio and miso ramen. It’s not the traditional ramen that I’ve come to know an love, but nonetheless it’s delicious.