A new ramen shop has opened up in downtown Rolla, named Ramen Bay. It is located on North Pine Street. The inside of the building is rather lovely— soft warm lighting rather than harsh fluorescents. There’s a beautiful mural of a maneki-neko, more commonly known as the waving cat, painted on one of the walls and a statue outside of the building to greet you as you enter. The maneki-neko is traditionally believed to bring good luck to the owner; however, there are many color variations for these cats meaning different things, white is for good luck, while black is to ward off evil, red is for good health, yellow or gold is for wealth, and pink is for romance.
Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to dine inside, so I did not get to experience the customer service or proper presentation of the food. However, the food they sent me was packaged beautifully. They had the noodles separated from the broth so the soup wouldn’t get soggy, and the dumplings were packaged in an adorable ornamental box. The food was put into a reusable bag, rather than a plastic bag, which I thought was practical and thoughtful.
I ordered dumplings and a bowl of seafood ramen. The dumplings were flavorful and moist. The dough masterfully toed the line between soft and mushy. Honestly, the best dumplings I have eaten; my step-dad is Japanese and I grew up on the food, so I have definitely eaten a lot. The seafood ramen had a good amount of seafood in it. There were scallops, mussels, and shrimp in addition to the usual soft boiled egg, microgreens, and nori seaweed. The broth was absolutely delicious despite the noodles not absorbing much flavor and remaining slightly tough, but those factors could be attributed to ordering takeout .
Overall Ramen Bay is exquisite and definitely worth the price. I’m so glad to have another restaurant to serve Asian cuisine, especially one that specializes in ramen. I encourage everyone to stop by and check them out!