New ramen restaurant hits the spot
T-Kumi Ramen had its soft opening mid-January in West Davis. Located on the second floor of the Westlake Plaza shopping center, T-Kumi Ramen offers quick-service ramen, rice bowls, snacks and boba tea.
The restaurant’s ramen is customizable: there are four different types of broth to choose from and ten choices for protein including chashu, crispy tofu, garlic prawn and soft shell crab. Other additions are available as well.
The serving sizes are big and this extends to the protein as well, with a generous amount of tofu, seafood or meat given. The broth is rich and flavorful, and the noodles are satisfyingly firm. The crispy tofu is well-seasoned and tastes delicious on its own or added to the ramen.
T-Kumi Ramen also offers rice bowls and a variety of other snacks, such as the T-Kumi Green Onion Pancake, takoyaki, bacon cheese sticks, french fries and several others. Along with classic milk teas, T-Kumi offers popular toppings for boba tea, as well as frozen tea, coffee and fruit drinks.
The food is decently priced, ideal for college students and community members alike. Ramen with tofu costs $9.75, and ramen with seafood costs a few dollars more. T-Kumi currently offers three combo deals, providing a discounted price for food and drinks purchased together.
While located far from the bustle of downtown, T-Kumi Ramen is close to many apartment complexes that are popular with students. Westlake Plaza is also home to a grocery store and several other restaurants and businesses, including the popular boba cafe Mandro Teahouse. T-Kumi Ramen, with its large seating area and casual environment, seems to be in competition with Mandro Teahouse as a hangout spot for students. T-Kumi Ramen is emerging as a friendly place to study, with customers ordering and paying upfront, where the WiFi password is displayed at the register.
Though it has not yet had its grand opening, T-Kumi Ramen has received predominantly positive reviews on Yelp and Yahoo rating websites.
T-Kumi Ramen is great for a quick bite at a reasonable price. Though it’s a 10- to 15-minute drive from campus, Westlake Plaza has its own parking lot, making T-Kumi Ramen an attractive alternative to the traffic and parking mess of downtown Davis. Soft-opening hours are 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
Written by: Cheyenne Wiseman — arts@theaggie.org
