TAMPOPO - San Jose del Monte

Tried Tampopo Ramen at lunchtime, and the place - merely partitioned from the Promenade Mall itself - only had five or so diners in it. Staff were polite and there was the traditional greeting, but here it wasn't as enthusiastic as that of Ramen Nagi. I ordered the Black Pig Shabu Ramen and their steamed gyoza. The Black Pig Ramen was very good, but not quite as stellar as those of top ramen houses. The steamed gyoza was a departure from the previously fried versions, and had hints of China all over it. The mango shake was freshly made - not poured from a can - and is thus a plus point.Will come back!

Although Kuroda and Yushoken remain to be the top two ramen joints on my list, Tampopo is a welcome break from the two. It's milky and spicy, although I don't really fancy the corn in my ramen.

I brought my good friend and her daughter to Tampopo since they wanted to eat ramen. The restaurant is in the middle of the mall with no separate enclosure so the airconditioning is dependent on the mall. We came early during the lunch hour so there weren't too many people around. We ordered ramen and the black pig tonkatsu. The ramen was good, with many toppings available. The "top grade black pig" tonkatsu was nothing great - certainly not worth the increase in the price. On the whole, quite expensive but taste is mediocre.

On our first visit here. we waited at least 10minutes in the reception area waiting for someone to assist us or to tell us how long we would have to wait since they were "kinda" full that weekdayevening. After waiting 10minutes or more , we decided to eat somewhere else because they did not even bother to entertain or assist us. (whats the point of the reception table if there is no receptionist to welcome you?)Anyhow, we again tried to eat here the second time around, weekday night. and at last there was a receptionist who told us to wait . we did not mind , at least we were being assisted. after 10 minutes or so. we were finally seated. The ambience was ordinary since it is located in front of the mall entrance. Since I am an avid fan of Ramen , I wanted to ask the waiter what the differences are with each dishes. the answer of the waiter though was not only mediocre but insulting to me and to the establishment. When I asked him what the difference of each ramen were , he answered me with a shrug and added " Sir, I think its all the same" which kind off irked me. But not letting that ruin my dinner. After asking a series of questions regarding the dishes they served there. of which the answer was either "he doesnt Know" or "its all the same" or " I am new here so I dont Know" We finally ordered Deluxe Tampopo Black Pig Shobu Ramen , Deluxe Hakodate Ramen and the Black Pig Tonkatsu Set which cost me 700+ and two glasses of water. The waiting time was also hell since it took them at least 15 minutes or more to take out the first food. Tasting the Ramen; The ramen was okay, nothing fancy. The tonkatsu set was also average. not that good not bad also.Asking for the bill tooked us another 10 minutes or more. Its as if we were playing the waiting game. and dont you hate it when you pay expecting a 100 pesos change , that it seems that the wait for your change is very long, its as if they dont want to give your change back. Note to service crew: Serve me WELL, I will give you that 100 change plus another 100, IF service is satisfactory. and not the other way around. Anyway, after eating in this place. Id say there wont be another visit coming from me or my friends any time soon

I went there with my hubby and son though the latter didn't eat but kept us company instead.The wait time this time around was a lot better than the first two times we tired to line up...we didn't make it due to dinner time rush.I appreciate the house tea - cold or hot are both available. Yummy good...didn't scrimp on the tea leaves.We were seated in a more crowded area of the restaurant...not happy with it and was next to a big table of all men since we had a little kid with us and we were a bit squished to the corner. The other tables around the area outside of the walled area where we were didn't seem so close together. I swear that we heard all the stories told on the next able from the good to the bad.Hubby ordered the cold soba - Cold Buckwheat noodles, which he found nothing out-of-the-ordinary. He would order the ramen on the next round, if we go back.I ordered the regular pork chop set with unlimited rice and cabbage. It comes with Miso soup also. Flavor was okay but I found the meat tougher than I was used to for the price of almost half the price...roughly php350+/-. The coating of the pork chop was good and crispy but somehow comparing to other breaded pork chop places around town, this one isn't my favorite.In fairness, I think I should have ordered the premium cut breaded porkchop but due to the price, I didn't want to have to pay php700 for a set or about php650 for the a la carte. I would do that on the next visit instead since a lot of my friends later told me that their premium porkchop (black pig) was really good.The location of the restaurant is quite convenient so we will give this another go.