Finally went to Raijin Ramen.
There's a reason why there's no line up compared to Santouka, Kinton, or Sansotei.
First of all, they don't offer any choice between pork belly and shoulder. I asked for pork belly, and the lady took my order, left, and delivered me a bowl with shoulder. When I asked later what happened, someone else said there's no substitutions. Thanks for making things clear upon ordering.
The slice of char siu I got was also very thin. Definitely not as generous on the meat front as Santouka or Kinton.
I ordered the shio tonkotsu ramen. The soup was ok. Not as heavy as Kinton, and not as salty as Santouka. Also, the noodles have less gansui taste to them, which some may appreciate. I personally don't mind a stronger alkaline taste.
However, I found there were too big problems: one, the black, burned garlic oil they put on top, and two, the big chunks of cabbage in the soup. I think thin-sliced cabbage would have been a distinctive accompaniment. I really did not like the chunky cabbage. The burned garlic oil was not very attractive, and bitter. I actually asked them if they put charcoal in the soup, since there was another dish which was described as a charcoal ramen.
I'll probably go back sometime, just because the place was convenient. I saw some people ordering a very attractive bowl with a big pile of seared pork on top, and bean sprouts instead of cabbage. KInd of which I ordered that instead.
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