Japanese Ramen in St. Paul (PHOTOS)

Pictured here is the best Japanese ramen you'll find in St. Paul.  It's courtesy of Fuji Ya, a Japanese restaurant in downtown St. Paul, where I visited for an impromptu lunch last Friday.

Fuji Ya serves two types of ramen during the lunch hour, but the die hard seefoodie in me opted for the spicy seafood ramen, described as a "spicy miso based stock with sauteed shrimp, scallop, shiitake, bamboo shoot, and scallions."

It was really good--and spicy.  Spicy enough to register in my hardened Korean stomach, which has seen the likes of bi bim naeng myun and spoonfuls of gochujang.

As George Takei would say, ohhhhh myyyyyy...

Japanese Lunch (In Pictures)

So, around noonish, we drove to downtown St. Paul.  Not a terribly long distance, since I live in North Minneapolis.  Despite the short drive, however, I haven't been in the downtown area in quite a while--well, at least long enough to find out THIS was now right by Fuji Ya.

Is Tom Cruise in there?

The Church of Scientology also had an "open house," which piqued my interest, but my husband quickly shot down that idea.  So off to Fuji Ya we went...

Does anyone like Garrison Keillor?  No?  Why do I hear crickets?

When we arrived, the waitress sat us near one of their window booths and gave us scented warm towels.  We perused the menu, and eventually settled on gyoza, ramen (my choice), and tempura (his choice).

Contemplative husband shot, also known as the "Staring at hipsters while waiting for dinner" look.

Gyoza!  Gyoooooza!

Now, I'll be the first to admit I have a bias towards Korean mandu, but gyoza is a close second to me--especially when it's this crispy and juicy.  It was extremely flavorful, albeit not very filling.

And then, suddenly: the main course!

Ramen!  It suddenly appears!

On a scale of 1 to Bacon, this is super chocolate coated bacon!  It's the real ish, and if you're not Gal Sone, you'll have trouble finishing it too.  There's plenty of flavor to go around--a mixture of seafood, al dente noodles, and a savory, nose-running broth that I couldn't get enough of...

Oh, I could make love to this.  Don't tell my husband...

Oh, and I also got this for only $10.50.  Yummo.

30 minutes later, I left with a distended belly and happy taste buds...

I need more of it.  Maybe next weekend (Valentine's Day is a great excuse for Japanese food).

XOXO,

Minsooky