Chika Ramen

Since this location is in the Pacific East Mall, parking is fairly difficult to find. I typically only eat at the phở places nearby or go to Asian Pearl for the dim sum but my friend wanted sushi and took me here. I had the Dragon Roll and the Spider Roll. Service was ok. Rolls were ok but not the freshest. Nothing to really bring me back.

***Update***
They are currently closed going through «RENOVATION».

They are renovating. Another words, bankrupt! Somebody else gonna take over. New ownership.

Some friends and I came here and got a variety of sushi. The food wasn’t horrible but definitely sub-​par. I found the prices on the high side for the quality of food I got.
Since this place is called Chika Ramen, maybe I should’ve gotten the ramen. However, based on other reviews, I probably won’t be back.
There are tons of ramen and sushi places our there. Why come here?

Chika was way better when it opened.
They should;
Take an item off their menu if they don’t serve it anymore. (like seriously, why leave it on there just so you can tell customers you don’t serve it at all)
Spicy up their tuna. I ordered 3 rolls with spicy tuna, Spicy Tuna roll, Tiger and Leo roll. Their tuna did not even give a little kick.
Stop cooking their rice for so long. The sushi rice was absolute mush.
Sigh, guess I’ll go get my sushi fix somewhere else. Won’t be returning at all.

DO. NOT. EAT. HERE.
So I came here to have a quick bite before heading out to the BF game. I ordered tuna poki and on the menu the picture of it was on top of mixed greens. which looked delish… WRONG. They brought out the «poki» and it was raw tuna with teriyaki sauce on top of iceberg lettuce. I asked her wheres the mixed green and she said that they were out. Why is there teriyaki sauce on my poki and why is it no spicy? I asked another waitress and she said the picture is from an old menu. Uhhhh… okay. watever bitch. When I asked if the manager was there she said yes. but when she went to get him he supposedly just left. I asked the waitress what her name was and she told me she didnt have to tell me. She also told me I was rude. Called to complain the next day and they wouldn’t let me talk to the manager and said that they won’t be back for a few weeks. yea right. This place is a joke.

So much has changed in the past 2 years, I refuse to eat here anymore. I stopped eating here for a few months because there were a few instances of terrible service. When we did finally go back, The sushi chef and a few other staff members I knew of moved to Gyoza Express in San Pablo. I ordered my usual beef teriyaki and they were using a different kind of beef. Not only that, but it was very pink and unchewably tough. The service was bad, the food was bad, and after finding Tachikawa in Pinole, I’m giving up on Chika for good this time.

Its the only Japanese restaurant in the Richmond Ranch 99, so we decided to give it a shot. The menu is very broad — with many varieties of sushi rolls, appetizers, combo rice plates, and of course, traditional ramen (noodle soup) and «sizzling ramen» (aka chow mien on a hot platter). We noted the staff here all speak Chinese, so we weren’t sure how authentic the meal is going to be. Good service though.
For appetizer, we ordered a seaweed-​cucumber salad, grilled squid, and unagi sushi. All of these were pretty good. The grilled squid could of used some more seasoning and lacked the smoky charred flavor, but was well cooked and tender. Unagi tested fresh and the rice was loosely packed the way I like it.
For entrée, I got the «sizzling chicken ramen» and wife got the braised pork belly ramen. The pork bell was thinly sliced, well seasoned, and melt in your mouth. However, my wife indicated her ramen itself was too salty — definitely below the quality of «I Love Ramen» in Concord, which is Japanese owned. My sizzling ramen did look and taste like Hong-​Kong style chow mien, but the nice thing here is that they don’t have too much gravy so the noodles were never soggy. You can taste the carmelized onions and chicken. The portions were also very large and could easily feed two.
Not sure I would come back, since there are simply too many good options at the Richmond Ranch 99. I do applaud this restaurant for effort though especially with their ambitious menu.

The worst place for sushi. Would not recommended this place for anyone
I don’t mind paying $ 12/​per rolls but it does not worth the price.
The rice are too hard, had a stomachache after eating at this place
At first I thought it was me so I gave it another try
same situation happened.
oh, bad customer service. The server was not attentive. We came on a monday and there was only 2 customers (including us) yet they refused to meet our needs …
bleh! doesn’t matter
I won’t be coming here lol

I really enjoyed Chika Ramen when it first opened up in Pacific East! They were really friendly and the food was great. but yesterday was the first time I went again and boy did they change.
The GOOD:
The staff was friendly and the restaurant was clean, so there are my two stars.
The BAD:
We used to get the Taurus Roll, which is supposed to be baked scallop upon some kind of roll I forgot. but I get it because the scallop is (well. was) really good! But I guess they changed the recipe? It was extremely salty with random sauces and they topped it off with scoops of green onion. No scallop taste. Plus, the price went up!
Went around 3:20 (still lunch pricing… dinner begins after 4) and the Chicken Katsu & Veggie Tempura bento was supposed to be $ 8.95, but the waitress ended up charging dinner pricing, which was was $ 10.95. Not really angry about the two dollars, but just giving a heads up to always check the receipt before you pay!

This is literally the worst restaurant I have ever been to in my entire life. My good friend and I came here expecting to enjoy some sushi after not seeing each other for a long time. Instead, we left absolutely furious and almost in tears.
First off, they weren’t attentive to us – the only customers in the restauraunt. It was almost like there was no one working there.
But that’s fine. I don’t mind that. What ruined our evening was when we mentioned their buy one, get one 50% off deal – which they didn’t apply to our bill even though it qualified – they refused. Even though our purchase qualified.
Not only that, they ***refused to bring out the manager*** when we asked to speak to him. They ***threatened to call security*** if we didn’t pay right away. Worst of all, they ***claimed we were poor*** and couldn’t afford to pay our bill.
They ruined not only our day, but our experience at the 99 ranch plaza. I’m never going to be able to come back to this shopping center without feeling like I’m welcome here.
As for the food, it was decent but not worth the average $ 12/​roll price. I don’t mind paying more money, but my friend got a stomachache just an hour after eating there.
Dear manager, I’m sorry you have waitresses that ruin your business. My friend and I love eating sushi, but we won’t be eating here or recommending this place to anyone else.

This place wasn’t half bad. They had Lion King, which it seems is getting progressively harder to find on Sushi menu’s. They also had Hamachi Kama on the menu, although I didn’t have the pleasure of trying it. We were skeptical about coming here because Unilocal didn’t rate this place that highly.
I didn’t find this food to be revolutionary by any stretch, however I felt that the dishes were well executed and tasty. Their shrimp tempura was also well executed. Slightly more crispy than I prefer, yet not over-​fried to the point that I didn’t enjoy it. I would come back to this place. Very clean bathroom as well.
On a side note I felt that the lighting was a tad bit drab and depressing. I wish they set a better mood in the atmosphere.

Like another review stated, the customer service definitely deserves 5 stars. I remember asking them for water after my friend asked for more ginger. I felt so darn bad, because after the waitress gave my friend the ginger, I asked for water… having the waitress make two trips. Nonetheless, she was really friendly about it.
I ordered a bento box, which came out to be $ 11.90. There were more food than I could finish on the plate. The rice for the sushi was dry. It wasn’t moist and sticky. The chicken katsu was pretty dry too, but you could always ask for more sauce.
My friend ordered 2 plates of sushi. I didn’t taste them, but the presentation is 5 stars. Looked appetizing!

In the Pacific East Mall so parking is usually harsh. They opened not too long ago, but I haven’t seen them packed yet after their opening week.
Service:
The service here is so-​so. Every time you need something you have to flag them down. They also give you a small attitude (or maybe it was only towards me).
Food:
It’s not really japanese food here. It’s more asian fusion. I didn’t like their ramen or any of their noodle dishes. Their bento boxes were decent, but nothing too great. The sushi rolls were also not to my liking. I think they were trying too hard with the sushi rolls since it was like tasting too many flavors all at once. Also the ingredients didn’t seem too fresh.
Overall:
I would not recommend this place.

This place is located in the 99 ranch plaza in El Cerrito, so parking is a pain in the ass since the plaza is usually always crowded and the Asian people like my mom tend to make their own parking spots wherever they please.
The staff is very friendly. They are taiwanese (running a Japanese restaurant), so I guess its not too authentic. The food is very mediocre. I’m tempted to give it a two star because the ramen leaves alot to be desired, but it wasn’t so bad that I wouldn’t come back. The prices are the normal going rate for this type of cuisine, and the restaurant offers nothing special or unique. Try it and forget it.

We’ve gone to 99 Ranch numerous times but never noticed this place till about 2 weeks ago. The advertisements outside their restaurant sure lured us in… their ramen seemed like a great deal on a cold December afternoon. We were not disappointed. Service was prompt and courteous, prices were reasonable (relatively cheap even), and food was pretty good. Hubby ordered the spicy beef stew ramen while i got the saba shioyaki with a side order of steamed rice. The ramen was perfectly seasoned. The saba shioyaki was fresh with generous portion. The tempura ice cream (green tea flavor) was delish! Our bill was just a little over $ 20 (without tip).
We dined there again this afternoon and I couldn’t believe we spent less than $ 50 (without tip) for 2 huge rolls (aquarius and salmon-​salmon), 2 bento boxes (3-​item each served with soup, salad, rice, and orange slice), and 1 dessert (tempura ice cream). That is such a great deal for a Japanese restaurant.
This is now our go-​to place for our Japanese cravings.
ps — i didn’t care much for the miso soup… it was kinda bland for my taste.

This is no Santa Ramen but the Stewed Beef Ramen I ordered was pretty decent. They don’t skimp on the meat at all and the portion was pretty decently sized! I couldn’t even finish my bowl!!!
The service here was really good. Waitress made sure our waters glasses were filled and if we needed anything. The chef even came out and asked if we were alright!
I definitely recommend this place for lunch!

This is the new management, and they renovate the mood of the place
More Japanese ambiance. The Server is very attentive to us, they look so neat
With their attire. The Place is Clean, and the food serves fast no long wait.
The noodles in my Ramen is Okay the broth is pork broth a little salty but
Okay. The Pork itself is very tasty and tender. Overall experience is good.

Being a mild compulsion to always try anything with the word ‘Ramen’ in it, Chika Ramen was no exception. I may have to reconsider this rule in light of this latest trial. I believe this was the first time I have ever issued a ‘meh’ when eating ramen. Even the appetizers that we had; Agadashi Tofu, and the little skewered and grilled fish were ‘meh’. It’s sort of a strange review as it wasn’t ‘Take me to the hospital now’ type of bad, but really just, well ‘meh’.
Service was friendly and they really did seem to try and please. I even heard the next table over have some issue with something on their bill and the staff seemed to resolve it quite well.
I generally try places twice even if I don’t like it, and I may have to give this place another go around, but in the meantime I proclaim ‘meh’…
Due to the number of other shops that have occupied this mall slot and gone away maybe it’s just haunted or doomed to begin, but with ramen it should never never never be ‘meh’. Go hire a exorcist or scare them away with the noodles…

The chika ramen was decent… Not good but not bad either. For a restaurant named after this dish, it should be better.
We also ordered a bento box combo with shortribs and gyozas. The gyozas were really good but the shortribs were HORRIBLE. I don’t think they used any marinade at all which is absolutely a must when it comes to this dish.
The kabobs looked great on the menu but fell short in reality. We had the beef and lamb kabobs and they were also mediocre at best.
The décor was quite tasteful and the service was excellent. But the food was NOT.