★ Fu-Lin - Seattle

Fu-Lin is a Japanese/Chinese restaurant that specializes in Japanese style ramen. The restaurant has the atmosphere of a good old fashion chu-ka ryori (Chinese restaurant in Japan), the type that cators to the average worker looking for a cheap place to eat. There are a huge variety of noodle and rice dishes, and lot Japanese comics avaiable, just like many similar places in Japan. On this day I tried their tonkotsu ramen (pork bone ramen).

The Soup - is a thin creamy soup that barely has any resemblance to authentic tonkotsu soup. The soup is so thin that I suspect that the soup might be made from concentrate... or dare I say... instant noodle soup base.

The noodles - aren't much better than the soup. Not much flavor to them, springy but not firm and quickly becomes soggy as it sat in the soup. Not quite instant ramen quality, but just a few steps above it.

The Toppings - everything you expect from Japanese style ramen toppings are here, the cha-shu, menma bamboo shoots, green onions, etc. The one problem is that every one of them are of rather poor quality. The pork is okay but tastes like a regular HK style BBQ pork and doesn't match the ramen, the wakame seaweed are bland, and the green onions are way too strong for the thin flavored soup.

Overall - I guess if you are in Seattle and starving for a Japanese ramen experience then you could come here for this. I haven't tried the shoyu or miso ramen yet but definitely don't get the tonkotsu ramen.

Fu-Lin 512 S. King St.Seattle, WA 98104