Ginza Ramen & Poke
Japanese · 15069 Interstate 35 #217, Selma, Texas 78154
★★★★½ 2 reviews(210) 646-8888
Menu Items
Reviews
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Really Good Poke Bowls, Some Of My Favorite In San Antonio
I've reviewed Ginza in the past, so this is more of an update than a full review. I recently visited, and ordered the onion soup & a poke bowl.
Our orders were taken quick, food came out after just a few minutes and the portions on most everything were very good.
**Onion Soup Appetizer**
This was my first time ordering the onion soup here, so when the fullsize bowl for $2.75 was delivered I was a bit surprised. I managed to finish the whole bowl, but it left little room for the poke bowl that was coming.
**2 Protein Poke Bowl**
My poke bowl was decently sized as well, I don't remember it being as large on previous visits, but the portion of pepper tuna on my bowl was rather small, which would be my main criticism.
My poke bowl had good flavor, the only other thing I would critique, would be that the lettuce used was very stalky, not sure if it was just my bowl, but I seemed to get the stalk of the lettuce.
There was a lot of white colored, thick, crunchy lettuce, and not much of the green leafy part. The smoked tuna had good flavor, and the amount of sauce applied to the bowl was enough to evenly coat everything. I had pickled radish, squid salad, half salad/half rice, seaweed salad, and onion.
I feel like the portions have improved since my last visit, making it a better value for the money, if you want to get full, the soup is the way to do it, It was tasty and priced well for an appetizer.
After this most recent visit, I would consider visiting here more often, especially when the weather is chilly, and Id like a good bowl of onion soup.— Paul
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Another Trip To Ginza For More Poke & Takoyaki
I've eaten at Ginza Ramen and Poke 4 times now, and every time I've ordered some version of the poke bowl. I've changed up the toppings and ordered a few different sides, but overall its one of my favorite places for poke bowls here in San Antonio. The portions are decent sized, and the ingredients are fresh.
Its not my absolute favorite, as theres a few others where the sauces put it over the top, and ginza lacks a few of the toppings I really love, but the food here is pretty good. (If you want to try my favorite, I'd suggest Hula Poke on San Pedro or Dezavala).
If your unfamiliar with "poke" its a Hawaiian thing. Its Japanese influenced, and basically sushi in a bowl. Its your common sushi meats, ahi tuna, spicy tuna, tempura shrimp, shredded crab, salmon, crab, squid or eel. Its scooped as single scoops (1 scoop per choice) and put on top of steamed rice, salad, or a combination.
Then you choose your toppings, cabbage, kimchi, cucumber, mango, seaweed salad, crab salad, jalapeno, edemame, ect.. While the fish is limited to what you pay for (1 or 2 scoops) the toppings are unlimited, so load up your bowl.
Everything is made fresh to order, from bowls to fried items that come out blazing hot from the kitchen, and everything I've ever ordered has always tasted very fresh. The poke is also offered as burritos, and then theres also the ramen which I have not tried here. As an added bonus they have a decent drink fridge that has a good variety of drinks including Calpico.
Now that we've covered the poke bowls, lets move on to the takoyaki, I've had it many a place, and if you've never tried it before, I would suggest ordering it minus the bonito flakes for the first time. Takoyaki is basically deep fried seafood balls, usually octopus, but sometimes shrimp or other seafood. Its battered and deep fried, its soft like dressing, and almost liquidy in the middle, so be careful not to burn your mouth or have it pour out all over you when you bite into it. Lastly its topped with bonito flakes
and a cream sauce.
Now lets talk bonito flakes and why I suggest you avoid them on your first venture into takoyaki. Bonito flakes are dehydrated bonito fish. Its shaved into paper thin pieces and then sprinkled all over your freshly cooked takoyaki balls. This is where the fun starts. Bonito flakes because they are dehydrated will start to soak up the steam from the takoyaki, causing the really pungent aroma of fish. I made the mistake of ordering it to go with flakes and had to roll windows down at a red light, and 2nd the fish flakes begin to move. As they soak up the steam they start to expand, causing them to squirm around. Check out the attached video. (sorry I dont have a pic of the takoyaki here without the flakes)
The first time I saw this I was super confused, and called a friend who explained to me what was on my takoyaki. I'd had takoyaki at least 3 times before that, but not all places top it with bonito flakes.
I figure I may as well talk about the Calpico as well, since some of you may not be familiar with this type of food at all. Calpico is a Japanese dairy drink. If you've ever had the sherbert ice cream in 7-up (it was an 80s party thing) this stuff tastes just like it. Calpico comes in multiple flavors including regular (kinda lime flavored), strawberry, mango, peach & lychee. Its like creamy 7-up.
Ginza Ramen can get kinda busy in the evening, so if its a Friday be prepared for a small line and a bit of a wait. They are quick at getting the orders out, but the location is small and there may be a wait for a table as well.
I love pickled daikon radish, which they dont have here, I also love toasted sesame seeds, crispy garlic, crispy onion, sesame oil, and a few other items. These toppings are widely available at other poke places but not here. So despite the bowls being really good, I feel they could be better but lack the ingredients to get there.
Poke bowl with spicy tuna and tempura shrimp. Cabbage, salad / rice mix, crab salad, and lychee Calpico.
Poke bowl To-Go. Seaweed salad, tuna, crab salad, rice, red onion, cucumber.
Poke bowl with spicy tuna and tempura shrimp. Cabbage, salad / rice mix, crab salad.
Poke bowl with spicy tuna and tempura shrimp. Cabbage, salad / rice mix, crab salad.
— Paul