On the latest episode of Arlington Eats on MyArlingtonTV, host Jeremy Thomas visits Kintaro Ramen where owners are putting their spin on ramen noodles. 

“Kintaro means Golden Boy so what we wanted to do was to create a brand, a different kind of ramen shop,” said Jesus Garcia, co-owner and Culinary Director of Kintaro Ramen. “The area has already been introduced to the ramen scene, so with Kintaro, I hope to push the boundaries a little bit more with the way that we produce our broths, our seasonings, noodles and everything else.”

Garcia says he studied ramen making and worked at ramen shops in Japan. He says his time there and elsewhere influenced Kintaro’s flavor, menu and even how you order food via a kiosk. 

“But at the same time, I put my own influence culturally and culinary career wise into what we do here,” he said. “It’s an ode to everything I’ve done up to this point in the culinary field. It’s encapsulated in a bowl of ramen.”

In their bowls of ramen, you can taste a wide range of flavors, including in their two most popular menu items.

“The Karashi Tonkotsu and the Karashimiso. Karashi literally means mustard, but it’s a way of saying something is spicy. Like Carolina Reaper is our spiciest flavor, and with the other ones, you can get a mild or habanero spice. Those are our two most popular. On top of it, it’s all built on the base of a pork broth that’s very rich. It has pork belly, pork bones, backbones so it has the whole pig bean, cooked and extracted all those flavors into a really creamy broth. You still get that nice strong base. Then on top of that, you add seasoning that pairs well with the soy sauce.” 

You can also get some items pork free. Garcia, who is from Tarrant County, says even with starting Kintaro Ramen in April 2020, he is grateful to continue to share its flavors to those right here in the American Dream City and beyond. 

“The Arlington crowd, in general, has supported us. We wanted to add something else to the City of Arlington to help it go forward in the culinary trajectory it was on. We’re branching out from here. Whatever happens, we’ll always say that our original store is in Downtown Arlington.”

Kintaro Ramen is located at 101 E Abram St. Ste. 130 in Arlington. For operating hours and more information, visit the restaurant’s Facebook page.