Yakitori. 

Spicy Cucumbers.

Spicy Shoyu Ramen. 

Fried Doughnuts and Pandan Custard.

Tiger Den is located in the hottest strip mall in Chinatown, Houston amongst the some of the best such as ShareTea, Kung Fu Tea, Juicebox, Fu Fu, and many others. There was a clipboard where you could sign your name on a list, but we waited no more than 10 minutes at 9 o’clock on a Sunday night. The restaurant has a darker, bar-like feel that is immediately brightened up by their enthusiastic servers. We were seated on a long community table but there were booth and table options as well. Loved it!

The menu consists of a number of appetizers as well as an extensive Yakitori menu, which makes this a great spot for bar hopping. Yakitori literally means “grilled bird”, but as the menu states, the more modern interpretation of yakitori could be any type of protein grilled on a skewer over a charcoal grill. We ordered the Chicken Wings yakitori with soy marinade. These wings were a treat! You could really taste the chargrilled flavor!

The spicy cucumbers are a must-have. The spices appeared a bit overwhelming, but the cucumbers were light and refreshing, a necessity for a balanced ramen meal.

I can’t enjoy  my ramen without a bit of kick so I opted for the Spicy Shoyu Ramen. The broth was well-balanced with the right about of spice and the perfect amount of richness. I find that ramen restaurants tend to veer towards an overly rich broth, but Tiger Den does it well with the perfect mixture of richness and depth.

I’m not finished yet! The Fried Doughnuts and Pandan Custard were amazing. It’s a simple and fairly “light” end to a great meal. Excellent job Tiger Den!

Regrets: Not trying the Tsukemen, dipping ramen noodles. It was highly recommended but we weren’t in the mood.

Rating: 5/5 spoons!

Fresh Ramen noodles.

Pan Fried Dumpling with Pork and Cabbage filling. 

Shio Ramen. 

Spicy Miso Ramen. Added corn.

Soft Serve. Avocado Yuzu with Toasted Coconut. Calpico Yogurt with Crushed Wasabi Peas and Chocolate Balls.

Our server recommended that we try the Spicy Miso Ramen, “but once you try it, you won’t wanna try anything else!”. I opted for the original Shiso Ramen and “The Chef” ordered the Spicy Miso Ramen. To be honest, I was actually sad when I tried both bowls, because I really wanted the Spicy Miso Ramen to myself! She was right, but there is nothing wrong with the Shio. I’m a spicy kinda girl so the Spicy Miso would have been the perfect choice, but for those who want something more mild, I would go with the Shio or other ramens. The broth is very homey and simple compared to Toki Underground’s rich and intense broth. Don’t forget you can add toppings to your bowl: corn, extra ramen, Chashu, veggies, and more. The potstickers were good, but they came after we almost finished our ramen, which leads into our next topic: service.

When we originally sat down, the server expected us to order right away and considering it was our first time, the menu was confusing so we had to inquire about a breakdown of the menu and special recommendations. Afterwards, everything was okay, but I expected more since we were 1 of 2 tables in house.

Before leaving, something caught our eyes: soft serve! We ordered the Avocado Yuzu with Toasted Coconut and the Calpico Yogurt with Crushed Wasabi Peas + Chocolate Balls. I’m so glad we ordered it! They were so delicious. Now that I’m back in NOLA, I don’t know where else I can get this! My fav was the avocado since the texture of the soft serve was so smooth and airy, almost like whipped marshmallow?? So good! I highly recommend that you leave room for dessert and to get the Avocado Soft Serve if it’s available that day! Although service was a little iffy, the ramen and soft serve is delicious and is definitely worth a shot. How does it compare to other ramen shops in the city? Stay tuned!

Rating: 3.5/5 spoons

Walking in, you already feel this extra cool vibe…Live jazz music playing. There’s no cover, but they do charge 0.50 per dish once the DJ starts playing. Chump change for awesome vibes and great food!

Cool Japanese movie posters.

House Plum Wine. 

Spicy Tuna Tataki.

Takoyaki. Octopus Dumplings.

“The Chef” was raving about octopus dumplings he had in NYC and was dying to try Yuki’s…They were different from the ones he tried, but he LOVED them too! Loved the plating!

Snowcrab Pintxo. Basque influenced tapas.

Fried Squid Legs.

Japanese Ramen. Braised Pork Belly and Egg.

Yuki was a great experience! Great selection of beers and have a large selection of shoju. The food was consistent across the board…consistently DELICIOUS! Best bar experience I’ve EVER had…Live music, great food…Can’t get enough of it in this city!

Our dinner was definitely an experience…every dish brought some excitement to us…both visually and to our taste buds. We ordered the Chef’s Tasting so we had no idea what would show up to our table….

Kaki No Shiki. Shigoku Oyster. Lychee Granite.

Random Fact: These are West Coast oysters. They have deeper bowl-shaped shells from the way they roll along the coast. The flavor profile is less briney than Gulf Coast oysters.

For a girl who use to be squeamish when it comes to raw oysters, these were delicious. Fresh and plump…mMmm!

Roasted Golden Beets. Skyr Yogurt. Bitter Greens. Acacia Honey. 

Chef’s Nigiri Selection. (above and below)

Hirame Uzuzukuri. Thinly-sliced Flounder Sashimi. Candied Quinoa. Olive Oil. 

This had to be one of my favorite dishes. It was refreshing with a sweet and tangy twist to it. 

Wagyu To. Short Rib. Cauliflower. Beet. Black Pepper. Kumquat. 

Hamachi Nabe. Baby Yellowtail. Koshi Hikari Rice. Farm egg. Soy broth. 

I know, this picture makes this dish look like a plain bowl of rice, but the presentation was beautiful! When the waiter brought it out, there were these dancing rice flakes on top. It was crazyyy! As the waiter mixed the bowl, the dancing flakes disappeared and I didn’t get to photograph the interesting presentation. 

Atlantic Salmon. Yokai Berry. Dinosaur Kale. Asian Pear. Yuzu. 

Hirame Shiro. Halibut. Shrimp Cocunut Milk. Basil. Candied Onion. 

Pork Jowl. Brussels Sprout Kimchee. Romaine. Preserved Lemon Creme Fraiche. 

Okashi. Coriander Creme Brulee. Carrot. Rose. Marcona Almonds. 

*Sorry for the blurry picture! Must’ve been in food coma at this point! =P

Now that I’ve seen these works of art, I definitely see the influence it had on Paul Qui. Everything from presentation to flavor…it’s no wonder he won Top Chef!

Presentation was top notch! The sashimi dishes were unbelievable! I have never had fish so fresh in my life…it was almost like they plucked them straight out of the ocean for us.  Every dish had unique flavors and textures. It’s amazing how they could combine so many different elements onto one dish, and yet, they come together and make such wonderful dishes. I just can’t say it enough! 

The experience was definitely a pricey one ($$$$), but well worth it!